Guided Reading Book List & Exciting News

Can you believe it is November already? Time is already flying by! I hope you're staying safe & warm.
In honor of upcoming Running Records, I wanted to post a book list. I first talked about this here. I have made a list of several books at each level from i to v. Please feel free to make some book suggestions that you have enjoyed so I can add them to the list.



This brings me to my exciting news portion of this post!

I have been working on compiling some printable documents to add to the classroom web page. On the left hand side of our page, where you can find our spelling & vocabulary, etc, you will see a link for, "printables." From there, you can click on the picture of the documents that you want to print to be brought to my Google Documents page. Click "File," and "download original." Voila! Now you will have the document on your computer. Most documents will be in word format; however, some documents may require Adobe Reader.

Click the picture above to be taken to the "Guided Reading Book List" document.

*I have posted fact triangles (multiplication & division), a reading log, & a math fact practice log.*

School Cancelled

I just wanted to make sure to get the word out that Manchester has cancelled school for tomorrow 10/31.

I hope that everyone is safe & warm. See you Tuesday.

Reminders

Just a reminder that Thursday 10/27 is an early release day because of Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Also, Scholastic Book Orders are due Tuesday 10/25.

Have a great week!

Running Records

It's almost that time of year again! Running Records are an important tool for helping your student improve in reading.

At this point in the year, the benchmark level is a  Level P. This means fourth graders should be able to read & comprehend books such as:

Adventures of Captain Underpants
Encyclopedia Brown Series
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Frog Prince Continued
Horton Hatches the Egg
Jumanji
The Magic School Bus Series

No two students are the same and these books may be difficult for your reader. Please look for books at a variety of reading levels to be posted. These books can often be found in our classroom library and in our school library.


What is it?
A reading test used to assess  information about students' reading strategies, accuracy, self-corrections, and self-monitoring.

How can it be used?
-To check reading progress over time
-To match students to appropriate books


Read more here.

Million Word Challenge

What is the One Million Word Challenge?

This is a challenge for your student to read one million words this school year. In Fourth grade, that means your student will read 25 chapter books independently.

Children will record information about the books they read in their Reading Logs.

Each teacher uses a different Reading Log, but they all include a space for the book title, author, and possibly the genre or number of pages.

How can you help?

Be supportive! Your student's ability to read is the best way to ensure that s/he does well in school. Make reading an enjoyable exprience. Share books together. Have your student spot you reading {magazines & newspapers count, too!} and ensure your child is reading a book that is easy for them.


Why an easy book?

We want reading to be fun & enjoyable. If children read books that are too difficult, they will become frustrated and won't want to continue reading. Reading will become a chore.

What can you do?

√  Make your home a "reading home."

Provide 20-30 minutes of quiet, uninterrupted time for your student to read.

Find a comfortable spot for reading.

√  Read out loud to your student.

Read with expression & laugh together.

Discuss the book together.

√  Have your student read out loud to you every day.

Ask your student to read you & other family members a story.

Focus your conversation on the meaning of the story

Don't focus on mistakes!

Helpful Tips:

- Help your student think about what was just read.

- Ask your student to retell the story in his or her own words.

- Have your student make predictions.

- Compare & contrast what is happening in the book with what is happening in real life.

- Talk about the different characters.

- Share each other's favorite parts of the book.

Wish List

Thank you for visiting!

If you are interested in donating to our classroom, we are always in need of:

√ tissues

wet wipes

√ Clorox wipes

hand sanitizer

paper towels/napkins

Some additional items:

velcro

magnet buttons or magnetic tape strips

masking tape

plastic cups
pencils & erasers

Science Experiment Items

empty 2 liter bottles
eyedroppers
small, empty jars (baby food size)
tweezers

posters/puzzles of human body, Earth's layers,

Thank you so much to the families that have donated so far this year.

We have almost enough 2-liter bottles for our whole class to complete our pop bottle science experiments, we have enough tissues to get us through the cold month of January & hopefully February, and we are stocked up on Clorox wipes.

Meet Miss Schou

     I currently live in Manchester with my 2 {very silly, and often mischievous} adopted cats. I enjoy Zumba, reading, a variety of arts & crafts, Scrabble, scooping up goodies from Target's $1 section, baking cupcakes, and spending time with my nieces & nephew. I graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education. I am certified to teach K-8 and Highly Qualified K-6.

     During college and after, I worked with students in a variety of capacities from tutoring to long-term substitute teaching. I started working at McDonough in 2009 as a Title 1 Teacher. I worked with classrooms K-5, and the following year K-2. In the summer of 2010, I began teaching a summer Author Study program to incoming 2nd & 3rd grade students. Following my first year of teaching the summer program, I took a long-term substitute position at McDonough for a second grade teacher from August until December 2010. After the passing of one of our beloved teachers, I finished the year in a fourth grade classroom and  I continued my Author Study program this past summer. I was hired by the district as a full-time teacher toward the end of September 2010.

     I am the proud teacher of 24 wonderful students!