First Week Success

    Week one is in the books :)....and just what I want to talk about!

    This week, we will officially begin our 30 book reading challenge.  Please help your child have a “free choice book” that they may read at school.  I’d also like a separate “free choice book” read at home each night for 20-30 minutes.   My hope is that by the end of this term 1, we will have at least 6 books read.  This includes the book we are reading together as a class, Wonder.

  It’s very important that the books your child chooses are “free choice” and that they are interested in them.  I also like to encourage them to read across all genres, including nonfiction.  If you find your child is always reaching for Historical Fiction, be sure that they get some exposure to Fantasy, or Science fiction this year as well.  In general, each book that is at least 100 pages in length will count toward the 30 book goal.  Some books that are really long, (300+ pages),  will count as two books toward the goal.

   High-interest books are important to choose because I do not want the students to choose a book, then stop reading 5 chapters in.  I also do not want students to choose books that they struggle with conceptually or with vocabulary.  Many times, a student doesn’t like to read because they have chosen books at a level too high, and cannot understand what is going on, or it pains them to read.  This shouldn’t be the case!

    During Open House, I spoke briefly about Ipass and the information that will be helpful for you as a parent.  IPass can help you monitor your child’s grades throughout the year, but it will also reveal your child’s SRI scores.  This information is in the “Test Scores” tab on the left.  The SRI or Scholastic Reading Inventory is a reading assessment test given to our students at MURSD every year.   This testing gives us something called a Lexile Score.  Lexile Scores can be used to find books for your child that are at their “comfort level”.  It is the level that they can comfortably understand what they are reading and understand the plot in the text.  When choosing a book, it’s a good idea to choose books slightly above the Lexile score, for a little challenge, but also choose books right at their comfort level.  The Lexile score can also give you book recommendations.  At this website: https://lexile.com/fab/ you will find an easy website for matching your student readers to names of books at their level.

    This week, I hope to take my classes to our school library and have students meet Ms. Arnold, our Librarian.  She knows of our 30 book challenge and is very excited to help our students always have access to high-interest books and to always be reading!

    Please also know that I am very sensitive to the reluctant readers!  Not all students will reach the 30 book reading goal.  That’s why it’s a goal!  It’s something to aspire to, and reach for,  that is high enough of a reach to also be a challenge.  Many students who finish the year off tell me that they are extremely proud of how many books they have read this year.  Perhaps they didn’t reach 30, but they read more than they ever did!  Then….before you know it, they’re hooked :)