Latsch

Language Arts Parent’s Corner

August 31, 2012

Dear Parents,

This year in Language Arts your child is going to be working on comprehension strategies to improve their reading and writing skills. They are learning to think to help guide this process and talk about their reading. We will work on our critical thinking skills. The children will learn 7 keys to comprehension. We have created a Reader & Writer’s Notebook(RWN); that includes pages to keep track of our reading, books we would like to read, writing, genre studies and also it is for information that will be used to guide us in what we are doing in Language Arts. As we go through each comprehension strategy, the binder will grow with information and student work. The students have been learning about how to make good book choices. A choice should be made based on interests and ability levels. This differentiation allows your child to have a choice in their reading and meets their needs individually where they are at developmentally. Each day your child is given independent reading time and they are able to read their self- selected reading book for 20-30 minutes in class during the school day. Each night they are required to read between 20 and 30 minutes as well. Afterwards they are to jot downtheir thinking on their “Notes about My Reading”page to describe what was happening in their story for that night and what they were thinking about while they were reading. Every box will not be written in each night; however by the end of the week when it is due the notes page will be full on both sides. The students were given this sheet in lieu of post-it sticky notes. With this sheet they are leaving their “thinking tracks” on the page to share in class, during conferences and in their Reading Response letters that they will be writing soon.Coming soon, they will then use these notes to write a letter in their Reading Response Journal (RRJ) or composition book. The letter will be written in the friendly letter format. The letter should describe a summary about their reading for that week. It should contain a personal connection or explanation of how the book reminded them of their own life. A personal connection is when the story, or character’s actions or personality reminds us of ourselves. They should use their notes pages or “thinking tracks” to guide them in writing their letters to their LA teachers. The teachers will write back asking questions to guide reading. Students will then read the response letter from the teacher from the previous week and answer any questions or comments. This ongoing letter writing improves comprehension and understanding of what the children are reading as well as strengthen their critical thinking, writing and vocabulary.These letters are a terrific gauge for us to monitor comprehension.The children receive a grade from their “Notes about My Reading” page each week with a maximum of 10 points. The other part of their grade comes from the “Qualities of a Reading Response” rubric. The letters are worth 24 points and the break- down of the points is clearly stated on the rubric. The explanation of the points given can be found on the rubric and the response letter written back by the teacher. The children will be given a calendar schedule located in their RWN; it is also hanging inside the classroom. The weekly letters will be written in class the day before they are due. The students will then take them home that night for proofreading and editing, but the majority of the writing is completed in class and is the student’s own work. They will be proud to see the improvement in their writing and understanding. The RRJ is something special to keep and look back at their reading and writing from 4th grade.

As always, this is a learning and growing process so the children are building on what they know and are being challenged to think and talk about their reading. The journals are returned the next day with a response letter, the graded rubric and the graded notes page. They are then given a new Notes about My Reading page to continue the reading and writing for the next week. Teachers will then conference with students to review their score. Please feel free to review your child’s letters and rubrics for the grades. I would also encourage you to look through their RWN and go through their letters with them to discuss their reading. This is a great way to start a discussion with them about what they are reading and ask them about how the story relates to their life and why they chose these particular books. Also, be sure to talk to them about what you are reading and what you think about as you read. This is just one part of our Language Arts study and curriculum. We will be beginning a genre study soon as well as book clubs. We realize this may be new to some and we are encouraged by your support and involvement in your child’s growth as a reader. Please as always feel free to contact us with any questions and or comments about your child’s progress.

Most Sincerely,

Ms. Latsch

Language Arts