This Week in CC-3!

We've had a great, busy four day week here in CC-3!  Students have been working on writing short opinion pieces about "assets" they think should exist in East Montpelier Village.  Please ask your child to tell you about his/her asset.  These ideas will be shared at next Thursday's Open House.  We also continue to work on narrative writing and reading skills.

In reading this week, we continued to focus on envisioning and predicting as well as reading fluency. When it comes to reading fluency, we're concentrating on reading accurately with expression that demonstrates an understanding of what is being read.  Fluency is a critical skill to be developed and practiced as students continue to grow as readers.  In class we concentrate on reading in a voice that sounds like a conversation, rather than reading like a robot! Here are a few of the big ideas we're working on:

• When I'm reading, I sound like a storyteller.
• I read with expression, like how it sounds when adults read to me.
• I read at a comfortable pace, one that matches the text I am reading.
• When I read it sounds smooth, like talking.
• I pay attention to punctuation and pause at commas, dashes, and end punctuation.
• I work on changing my voice a bit when a different character is speaking.
• I scoop up words in phrases, smoothing out parts when my reading gets bumpy.
• I go back and reread tricky parts to get it just right.
• I sweep my eyes ahead of the word that I am reading now. I try to scoop up as many words as I can, in a phrase or sentence, using just one breath.

When reading with your child at home, all of the above are great things to encourage and practice!

Sharing

We're seeing a few struggles when it comes to students being prepared for their share day.  Some students do not come ready to present on his/her assigned day.  This causes a backup on the subsequent days. When we have a long list of presenters, it effects our schedule, as well as the quality of sharing.  It is expected and important that your child come ready to share on his or her assigned day.  You can access the sharing calendar to see this information and the week's topic using this link: Sharing Calendar.

It is also important to remember that a component of our listening and speaking skills, is coming prepared (as a presenter) to speak with well thought out pieces of information.  Many children find it helpful to have their 2-3 pieces of information (about their share) written down on a sticky note(s), or on an index card.  In the case of this week, children found it helpful to have bookmarks or notes that marked the dialogue they were going to share with the class.  We hope helping your son or daughter prepare for his or her sharing is a fun activity for your family.  It should not take more than 10 minutes. Your child can even prepare early and bring his or her notes and/or items to school for safe keeping until his or her share day.

If you or your child are unclear about the sharing focus for the week, or need more support for this expectation, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We would be happy to clarify and help.

Next week

• Wednesday-Trip to the Barre Opera House!  Please make sure your child makes it to school on time as we need to start loading the bus at 9:00 a.m.!
• Thursday-EMES Open House 6:00 p.m. All students and families are welcome!  We hope to see you then!
• Reminder that the grass is often wet in the morning now, and the cool air is settling in.  Please remember to send in a second pair of shoes for outside PE and recess so students can have a nice, warm, dry pair of shoes ready for the rest of the day.  It is also that time of year to remember layers, like fall jackets.

Have a great weekend!