END OF YEAR SURVEY:  https://forms.gle/jwSb76mWobwwkbWE7

 

TURN IN YOUR THINKMARK WITH YOUR SRC QUIZ GRADE AND DATE COMPLETED.

• TWO books are due in SEPTEMBER 
  
• TWO books are due inOCTOBER
• TWO books are due in NOVEMBER
• ONE book is due in DECEMBER
• TWO books are due in JANUARY
• TWO books are due in FEBRUARY:
• TWO books are due in MARCHh
• TWO books are due in APRIL
• TWO books are due in MAY
  

 

SRC BOOKS & QUIZES

Students are required to independently read every month.  Students should be completing a ThinkMark as the book is read.  The ThinkMark can be used when testing.  Books should be within 100 points of an individual Lexile level (i.e. 900 student Lexile level = 800 to 1000 level book).  Students are given SSR time in class & 20 minutes of SSR time during Study Skills.  They should read at home each evening for approximately 30 minutes.  Parents are encouraged to monitor their student's progress using the ThinkMark (students record dates, pages read, and short summary of section each day). 

WHAT IS A THINKMARK?

A ThinkMark is an a piece of regular 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper that is printed on both sides with boxes.   Students should use the boxes to complete their nightly reading assignments.  The ThinkMark is designed to encourage students to think about what they are reading.  It will help them comprehend and remember the text.  Each box has lines to fill in the pages read that day.  Students are given time to complete that box at the end of their SSR reading each day in class. 

This is a wonderful tool that parents and teachers can use to help students learn to manage their time and complete this long range project.  I encourage all my parents to routinely ask their students to see their ThinkMarks.  Talk to your kids about their book.  This will help them think more deeply about their reading and improve their comprehension. 

HOW AN I HELP MY STRUGGLING READER?

In Septemer I sent home a list of questions that parents and students can use to help them talk about their books.  Talk to your kids about their books!  I really does help their comprehension.  Make sure they have a quiet place and consistent time to read EVERY day.  Many students, especially struggling students, will tell you that they have already read their required number of minutes for the day.  That's okay.  They should read at home, with your supervision, for 30 minutes anyway.  Give them a minute or two at the end of their reading session to complete their ThinkMark.  When they have finished writing, ask them a question about their story!  Help them learn how to talk about their story.  Once they get in the groove, it will be easy and fun to talk about their books.  If you have misplaced the set of questions sent home in September, please do not hesitate to use the contact link to request a new one!  You were bombarded with papers that first week of school.   :-)

Look for fiction and nonfiction books that are near your student's Lexile level. You can access a free book matching site at Book Expert Online (www.scholastic.com/bookexpert) or access the free resources at Find-A-Book (www.lexile.com/fab). This website lets you know if your book selection is available at your local public library.  To find the lexile level of books you already have, or that your child may want to read, go to www.lexile.com.  Enter the title or author to find the lexile level.  Your child has his/her lexile level written inside the front cover of his/her class journal.  It is also recorded on the top of his/her ThinkMark.

Encourage your student's interests! If your student has deep knowledge on a certain topic, then he/she should be able to read books and articles on this topic at a higher reading level actively and with greater confidence. Your student's reading ability can be "stretched" with more complex texts on familiar topics.

Familiarize your student with informational texts. With your supervision, your student should look at the newspaper, informational websites, product manuals, assembly directions, how-to guides, and other materials that may contain technical words and formats. 

Struggling students need lots of practice to improve their speed, their accuracy, and their comprehension.  Improving ones reading level does not come naturally for all people!  It's just like working on a car or building a house.  Mechanical tasks are easy for some people.  They are difficult for others.  I am terrible!  Just ask Mr. Desmond!  Mechanical tasks are hard work for me!

"Words are not just words.  They are the nexus--the interface--between communication and thought.  When we read, it is through words that we build, refine, and modify our knowledge.  What makes vocabulary valuable and important is not the words themselves so much as the understandings they afford."  Marilyn Jager Adams (2009, p.180)