My hope as a reading teacher is to instill a love of reading in your child. There are multiple things I do in my classroom to achieve this. I want to explain, as best as I can, the things I do and why I do them. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
Accelerated Reading Program
This is computer based program that Forsan Elementary uses. It begins in first grade and continues throughout your child's elementary career.
Your child will take a computer reading assessment every 6 weeks to track their progress in reading. This test is the reading STAR test, not to be confused with the STAAR test that they will begin in 3rd grade. This is where their ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) level will be determined. Students are allowed to check out library books and take AR tests in their ZPD. Our goal is to keep their ZPD level rising all year!
I think Accelerated Reader is a great way to encourage students to read which leads to exposure to tons of books and vocabulary. However, my class is not centered around AR. Students will have point goals and will be rewarded for meeting goals throughout the year. A majority of their reading will be done at home for homework as we are busy doing other things in the classroom to help the students with becoming better readers/reading to learn.
Goals- AR goals are not only a set amount of points but also the comprehension average. The average must be 85% or better. I am strict about this! If your child has their points for their goal but their average is 84.4% they WILL NOT get credit for reaching their goal. Comprehension is the most important thing to me so I am hard on them.
Children that have been absent from school will not get extended time to reach their goal. Please understand that if I let one student slide by for being absent, I will have to do that for others.
However, if your child is absent for an entire week I will take their 6 weeks goal, divide it by 6, and take that amount out of the "goal" in order for them to get credit.
Of course, everyone is different and the AR program does not reach every student the way it is anticipated to. Do not worry if your child falls into this category as I have other ways for them to feel accomplished and proud!
Whole group Reading
To ensure that our state standards are taught explicitly, we have a section of our class designated to whole group reading. This is the time that we learn a certain reading skill and practice that reading skill. We use a variety of texts during this time including: read alouds, our reading basal, student work books, and digitized text. All of these are on second grade level, where your child should be reading, so that they align with our standards.
Guided Reading and Literacy Centers
My love and passion is in guided reading and literacy centers! If done correctly, this can and will help every student progress in reading and writing.
Guided reading is an instructional approach that involves me working with a small group of students who demonstrate similar reading behaviors and can all read similar levels of texts. It is a tailored reading instruction time to ensure that your child is not confused or bored based on the level of text. This is where they will see themselves getting better at reading!
While I am meeting with my guided reading groups, the remainder of the class will be working in literacy centers. These centers include- reading (students have a chance to read and test), writing, poetry, and word work. I will admit that it is chaos but controlled chaos. Guided reading/center time will happen at the end of every class block for about 20-30 minutes.