Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Parent Support

As I watched all of our parents coming to school and spending time talking about their child's education, I was reminded once again how proud I am of the parent involvement at Prairieland.  I am so glad that our parents find so many ways to be involved in the education of our students.  We have many parents who come to the school and volunteer on a regular basis, we have many parents who assist with extra curricular activities after school and sometimes on the weekends, we have many parents who spend time reading with their child at night, we have many parents who study with their child, we have many parents who talk with their child on a regular basis about what they are learning about in school.... I could go on and on about all of the ways that our parents are involved in the educational process.  I know that not everyone is able to to come to the school during the day to volunteer, so I am so happy to see our parents getting involved in many different ways.  I came across a document put together by the Michigan Department of Education that summarizes the research done on parent involvement.  It is very interesting, but I really like how it outlines the various types of parent involvement.  Here is a link to the document:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Final_Parent_Involvement_Fact_Sheet_14732_7.pdf

Thank you for all that you do to make the Prairieland community so wonderful!  It is a GREAT day to be a Cougar!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Parent Conferences

It is already time for Parent/Teacher Conferences!  It is important to take full advantage of this opportunity to talk with your child's teacher about how your child is performing in school.  We are a team and this time to connect and share is so important to the success of all of our children. 

During your conference, you will be given some information about your child's MAP scores.  This is a new assessment for us, and we are still learning about how to best use the information that we are getting.  Please feel free to explore the website- www.nwea.org to find out more about this assessment.

You will also receive information about your child's reading level (the lexile is listed on the MAP score report).  It is a good idea for you to be aware of your child's reading level when you are choosing books for your child to read at home.  Please keep in mind, that a good way to challenge your child with books above his/her level is to read to them and talk with them about what you are reading.  Speaking of reading, I discovered some interesting information as I looked at the MAP scores.  When I looked through our scores, I noticed that most of our students' Reading MAP scores dropped from our spring testing to our fall testing, whereas most of our Math MAP scores increased.  I think this really shows us the importance of keeping students reading and talking about their reading!

I look forward to seeing all of you on Friday at Parent Teacher Conferences!  Be sure to stop in the IMC to see the Book Fair.  We will also have computers on for you to take the District Parent Satisfaction survey.

It's a GREAT day to be a Cougar!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

New Resolve and Literacy information

Okay, so I have not been a good blogger so far!  I really do want to do better, and will try to be more regular.  Interaction on the blog will help me to be motivated, so please feel free to respond, ask questions, share sites, etc... 

I would like to share some information with you about what we are doing with our literacy instruction.  The way that we instruct students in literacy is changing.   First of all, you will be hearing terms like Reader's Workshop, Writer's Workshop, Daily 5, and CAFE in relation to literacy time.  What all of this means is that the instruction and practice opportunities for students is very individualized.  Students are spending a lot of time reading independently at their level.  During this time, they are working on the skills that they need to work on to improve their reading.  The reason that much of this is done independently is that our students are not all reading at the same level, and they do not need to work on the same skills.  So, we are moving away from whole group lessons on reading skills and having students all read the same book.  Instead, our teachers are using assessments to find out where are students are in their reading abilities and what skills they need to refine in order to advance.  They are helping students find books at the appropriate level and they are conferencing with them individually or in small groups to guide them and provide them with instruction on specific skills. Our students are engaged in literacy activities like the ones I have described for 90 minutes each day.

Our students also have an additional 30 minutes per day to work in intervention groups.  This time is used for intensive work on specific reading skills for students who are not meeting the grade level benchmark.  These students will be in small groups working with other students who have similar needs.  The rest of the students are in larger groups working on enrichment activities to help them advance their reading levels and deepen their thinking about what they read.

What can you do as a parent to support our literacy instruction?  Encourage your child to read for enjoyment.  This means that they are reading whatever they are interested in- the  newspaper, magazines, graphic novels, chapter books, etc...  Talk with them about what they are reading and ask them questions.  It is also wonderful when you read with your child.  When children listen to reading, they are still working on important comprehension skills.  Encouraging  your child to write is also very beneficial.  You can purchase a journal for your child to write their thoughts and feelings, or just to record what they do each day.  You can also encourage them to write letters or e-mails to friends or family. 

As always, we appreciate all that our parents do to support the education of our Prairieland Cougars!
It's a GREAT day to be a Cougar!