This week, we are introducing the first component of the Daily 5 — Read to Self. Students have had some practice learning how to take care of books and how to listen to stories. This unit of study teaches students how to build their “reading stamina.” In this context, reading stamina means the amount of time students are able to read independently without disruption. The goal of Read to Self is to increase each student’s reading stamina, so that they are able to read independently and uninterrupted for longer periods of time.

The following are some suggestions of what you can do to help your child at home with this task.

1. When your child chooses a book, ask him/her to look at the cover and predict what the

story is about. The following are some examples of what you may say to engage them in this conversation.

• “Look at the cover of The Kissing Hand. What do you see?”

• “It has a momma raccoon and a baby raccoon. The momma is giving the baby a kiss on her hand.”

• “Do they seem happy or sad? Do you think the momma will show her love for her baby in the story?”

2. Feel free to discuss how to properly select books to read. Students can read books by

reading the pictures or the words, or they may choose to retell the story using their own words.

• “Would The Kissing Hand be a good choice for a book you can read?” Explain why they can read the pictures or try to read the words. Let your child read the book to you either by pictures or words. Once s/he is finished, have him/her go back through the story and retell what was read.

3. Create fun places in your home to read. It may be on the floor or even under a table. Let your child discover the place where s/he feels the most comfortable and then add a blanket, bean bag chair, a small rug, or anything else that allows him/her to have a cozy spot in which to read. Be sure to have a selection of books at your child’s independent level (those that can be read independently with little-to-no assistance) so that your child may make appropriate choices.

• Read with your child, next to your child, or in the same room with your child. Modeling this practice provides them with encouragement.

This week, we are introducing the second component of the Daily 5 — Work on Writing. Students have had some practice learning how to write a story on topics they are interested in. This unit of study teaches students how to build their “writing stamina.” In this context, writing stamina means the amount of time students are able to write independently without disruption. The goal of Work on Writing is to increase each student’s writing stamina so that s/he is able to write independently and uninterrupted for longer periods of time.

The following are some suggestions of what you can do to help your child at home with this task.

1. When your child is involved in writing, whether it is a story or even homework, consider

the following dialogue when s/he comes across an unfamiliar word in terms of spelling.

When you come to words you do not know how to spell, try sounding the word out and writing the letters you hear. Then, underline the word. This makes it easier to find later so that we can double-check the correct spelling.

2. Start a writing notebook with your child at home. Be sure to provide your child with

pencils and a notebook, as well as a special place to keep these materials where s/he can easily access them. Your child then has all the supplies s/he needs to write stories or draw pictures that represent a story. You can also work on putting the story in sequential order, depending on your child’s ability level.

3. Create fun places in your home to write. It may be on the floor or even under a table. Let

your child discover the place where s/he feels the most comfortable and then add a blanket, bean bag chair, a small rug, or anything else that allows him/her to have a cozy spot in which to write. Provide a clipboard so your child has a hard surface to write on.

4. Help your child choose what to write about. Together, brainstorm a list of things to write about. These ideas should focus on personal and relatable experiences such as going to the park, playing outside, a birthday party, etc.

The class will begin Work on Writing and be involved in writing stories based on personal experiences. Throughout the year, the students will also learn different styles of writing such as opinion writing, narratives, biographies, and “how to” stories.

We hope that you and your child enjoy practicing the wonderful world of writing.

Dear Families,

This week we are introducing the third component of the Daily 5 — Read to Someone. Students have been learning how to read with a partner. To begin, the students work together to determine who gets to read first, how the reading will be done, and what to do when an unfamiliar word is encountered. The students continue to build stamina as they read with their partners. Like before, stamina refers to the amount of time students are able to sit with their partners and engage in reading together without disruption. The ultimate goal of Read to Someone is for students to be given several opportunities to practice their reading fluency as they continue to read aloud for longer periods of time.

The following are some suggestions of what you can do to help your child at home with this task.

1. When you read with your child, suggest that s/he sits EEKK (elbow to elbow, knee to knee). Instruct him/her to take turns reading each page of a book with you. This acronym is used daily to teach students how to properly sit so that partner reading can be the most effective. Be sure to also make sure that your child is holding his/her book correctly. For example, you can hold one side while your child holds the other side. While reading aloud with your child, be sure to encourage a discussion revolving around how your child reads with his/her reading partners during the Daily 5. The “proper” way consists of reading with a tone of voice that can be heard by his/her partner (but not anyone else). This means that your child’s partner should be able to plainly hear what is being read out loud, but his/her voice should not be so loud as to be able to be heard on the opposite side of the room. In addition, students have been taught that there are three main types of ways to read well. These include I read, you read (where you read a page out loud and then your child reads a page on his/her own). This pattern continues until the book or passage is finished. The second way of reading is called choral reading. This happens when both you and your child read the same words at the same time. When it is time to read from different books, I recommend the I read, you read strategy.

This week, we are introducing the fourth and fifth components of the Daily 5 — Word Work and Listen to Reading. Students have already begun learning new language arts skills that involve phonemic awareness and phonics through hands-on activities that are completed independently or with a partner. Word Work lets students experiment with spelling patterns, practice high frequency words, and play with word patterns. Students have also been listening to stories on different media (EPIC and Raz-Kids), which provide them with several excellent sources of pronunciation, expression, and fluency.

We have now introduced and practiced all five components of the Daily 5. Please continue discussions with your child at home and continue to work on the suggestions that I have sent you these past three weeks. We will continue to review and learn new topics and ideas that correlate with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts as we incorporate them into our Daily 5 classroom routine.

The following are some suggestions of what you can do to help your child at home with Word Work and Listen to Reading.

1. Provide opportunities for your child to practice spelling and high frequency words. There are many ways to accomplish this, including the following ideas.

• Write them in rainbow colors.

• Write them on a marker board.

• Write them on the sidewalk with chalk.

• Play a memory game with the words.

• Type them on a computer.

2. Be on the lookout for a Word Work ziploc bag with each week's list of words. Practice the list of words together in a variety of ways!

3. Keep reading with your child! Find some time each night to read to your child. Providing opportunities to hear you read out loud ultimately helps him/her with his/her fluency and intonation.

We are proud of your child for mastering the Daily 5! We look forward to many more meaningful lessons as we now get the chance to practice all five components of the Daily 5 during our literacy block.