Week of September 21-25

We will begin using the basal reading series, Treasures, by reading the selection, First Day Jitters.  In this story students will analyze the story structure by identifying the characters, plot, and setting.  It is important that children specifically look for these elements as they first learn them. It is through exposure and practice that readers become good at using these elements to comprehend text. There are ways to help your child with this strategy while reading at home.  When reading a story with your child, discuss the character. Begin by asking your child who or what the story is about.  After determining the character, see if your child is able to tell you where and when the story occurs. Ask your child how they were able to determine the setting? Did he/she use pictures, words, or infer to establish the setting? Continue to read the selection and discuss with your child important events that occur in the story. Ask your child what the problem is in the story and how the problem was solved. Conclude the story by talking about the theme of the story. The theme is the underlying message, or meaning, of the story. Encourage your child to use what they know about the characters, setting, and plot to help determine the theme. 

On Monday, your child will have a list of spelling words in their Bath Bee folder.  Please make sure to provide time for them to practice daily.  This will help bring success and confidence for the spelling test, given each Friday, and help while writing.  They can also go to http://www.spellingcity.com/clwood/ (a link is on the blog) to find additional fun ways to practice spelling words.  This week’s words have short vowels and are found under Unit 1, Week 1 at spellingcity.com.

NWEA MAP Testing
Beginning Tuesday, your child will take tests called Measures of Academic Progress^® (MAP^®). We give students MAP tests to determine your child’s instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year in the areas of reading, math, and science. Your child will take the tests on a computer.

These computerized tests are adaptive and offered in Reading, Language Usage, Mathematics, and Science. When taking a MAP® test, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. In an optimal test, a student answers approximately half the items correctly and half incorrectly. The final score is an estimate of the student’s achievement level. 

MAP® assessments are used to measure your student’s progress or growth in school. You may have a chart in your home on which you mark your child’s height at certain times, such as on his or her birthday. This is a growth chart. It shows how much he or she has grown from one year to the next. MAP® assessments do the same sort of thing, except they measure your child’s growth in mathematics, reading, language usage, and science skills. The scale used to measure your child’s progress is called the RIT scale (Rasch unIT). The RIT scale is an equal-interval scale much like feet and inches on a yardstick. It is used to chart your child’s academic growth from year to year.

MAP tests are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing.  And with MAP tests, we can administer shorter tests and use less class time while still receiving detailed, accurate information about your child’s growth. Over the next few days, your child will spend a total of about three hours completing these tests. Following each testing period, you will receive a report showing your child’s growth. 

IMPORTANT DATES
Tuesday, September 22  Lifetouch School Pictures
Friday, September 25 Popcorn Day