Book A Night

Book A Night is a program to help your child's reading increase with speed and fluency. Please work with your child for ten minutes a night. If your child is reading a chapter book, sign a chapter a night until the book is done. If it is a smaller book have your child read the book that night and send back the next day for another one. I work on the honor system. The children check out one of my books and bring them back. If they loose one of my books, I ask that they replace it.

Math Sharks

• I wrote and received a grant last year and was able to purchased 6 math sharks for our classroom.
• Using Math Sharks is a way to build skills through math practice. It is timed drills, non-stop feedback with lights and sounds!

Children Builds Math Skills Fast! It is a portable electronic game and a full-function calculator that really makes math easy and fun! Students play against MathShark's clock with random or sequential drills. Math Skills include: Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Fractions, Decimals, and Percents. MathShark's progressive levels build and sharpen mental math skills from basic math facts to pre-algebra practice. Students can improve at their own pace with a timed, no-fail game format. Lights and tones make math exciting and learning effective!

Listening to Reading

As teachers we are dealing with a generation that is totally wired. Students who grew up in a techno-drenched atmosphere that has trained them to absorb and process information in fundamentally different ways than we ever did. This generation of students are armed with cell phones, laptops, and iPods, instead of spiral notebooks and No. 2 pencils.

We compete with social technologies --such as blogs, wikis, mys space, facebook and other media-syndications. This media allows anyone to shift from consuming to being a media creator. This technology gives students a powerful media-authoring tool. As teachers, student centered learning means relinquishing a degree of control, but doing so also makes it possible to help them learn in more effective ways than ever before.

We have six ipods that we are using in our classroom for listening to reading as well as educational podcasts. The children are using the ipods for comprehension, fluency, and interests in science and social studies. We hope to get more ipods for our classroom through donations and grants.

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Welcome Class 2009-2010

It is so exciting to start a new year with such a wonderful group of students. I am looking so forward to working with your children and truly want to thank you for trusting them in my care. Our future is in their hand and great leadership and leaders will come from them.

Computers

We will start using our computer lab for Waterford next week. Everyday children around the globe ask the same question: "When will it be my turn?" Children burst with excitement at the changce to use Waterford programs. They sing along to familiar melodies, trace letters on the computer screen, and read colorful books. Not only is it an engaging, entertaining form of education -it's effective. Inspired by the idea that every child should receive the best education possible, Waterford delivers innovative, explicit instruction that adapts to each child’s needs

Summer Is Here

I hope all of my students are reading, reading, reading! What great readers you have become. Please practice reading aloud to someone. Read a second time for fluency. I hope you have a great summer and hope to see you in the fall. What a great year of learning.

Mrs. J's Class News