Dear Parent,
As we wind down the school year, I want
to make you are aware of a few activities our classroom will be engaging in for
the remainder of our time together. Hank has made many gains in literacy from
the beginning of the year, and I am very proud of all of the improvements he
has made. Currently, our classroom is working on our decoding skills which
means Hank has been using context clues to help him discover the meaning of a
word he is unfamiliar with. When reading, Hank has really been focusing on the
vocabulary, reading every word, and trying to understand the story. However,
when doing this Hank has not been reading with prosody, which is rhythm and
intonation. In the following weeks I am going to continue to work with Hank so
that he may begin to read more fluently and ultimately comprehends a passage. There
are a few more skills he will master in the classroom before the end of the
year, and I plan on outlining these skills in this letter.
Building a word wall is a strategy that
will help Hank develop a larger vocabulary that can be applied when reading and
writing. When reading books I will be encouraging him to find new words so they
can then be added to his word wall. By adding to the wall when Hank learns or encounters
new words will hopefully allow him to recognize them in his future readings and
also allow him to use these new words in his writing. Becoming familiar with
new words will help him read more fluently and may also impact his
comprehension. You can help Hank by building a word wall in your home and
gradually adding to this wall as his vocabulary increases or when encountering
new words around the house. It is important that Hank practices his reading
skills every night as practice will not only build a stronger vocabulary but
also help him read more fluently.
I plan on trying to enhance Hanks’ understanding of the stories given to him for
the remainder of the year by using guided or partner reading strategies
throughout classroom time. Partner or guided reading allows partners or small
groups of students to work together and read at various levels. Students,
who are at about the same reading level, will read with other students at
similar levels. This allows students to read at their desired pace and
learn from their other peers. I think Hank will really benefit from
learning from his peers, because he will be able to share ideas and experiences
with them. When working with Hank individually he spends a lot of time sounding
out words he cannot pronounce or has a tendency to skip over words he is
unfamiliar with. Spending time trying to figure out what a word means, sounding
out a word and even skipping a word interrupts fluency and may result in a lack
of comprehension. Therefore, I think this would be a great way for Hank to not
only work on comprehending the story, but also with his word fluency! He
will be reading out loud with his group, and answering discussion questions
along the way.
After reading a story, which incorporates partner or guided reading, I plan on
having Hank and his partner or group work on writing skills using interactive
writing activities. The writing activity will be completed within each
reading group and students will take turns answering questions and filling out
a chart related to the story. The questions will involve comprehensive
questions where the students may have to go back and reference the story.
Each student will have to fill out their own chart and recall knowledge from
the story they just read. Students will be allowed to work together and
create answers from each other’s thoughts. Hank will really benefit from
this activity, because he will not only work on his comprehending skills, but also
his writing. I think Hank will have a great time learning from his peers
and sharing knowledge as well.
Lastly, when wrapping up the year the students will be working on a readers theater projects in
which groups of students will perform a read aloud of a chosen book. This will
allow the students to work collaboratively, become engaged in a piece of
written text while practicing reading aloud with expression and prosody. Reader’s
theater will help Hank further develop his fluency skills with repeated
exposure to the same text, work towards improving his comprehension all while
integrating reading, writing, speaking, listening and performing in an
authentic context. Also, this project is designed to create self-confidence and
demonstrate that reading can be enjoyable.
As the intern of the classroom, I plan on working with Hanks’ group and will
help lead the group’s activities. I want to make sure students understand
what they need to complete in order to participate to their best of abilities.
I am excited to see what Hank and his group can accomplish as a team, and I
hope his skills improve as we move toward the end of the year. Again, I
note that Hank is doing great and that I am so proud of him and all of his accomplishments.
Sincerely,
Miss. Fisher
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