October: Chocolate Fever, legends, fairy tales and books based on fairy tales.
November: Dexter the Tough, Stone Fox. December: A Cricket in Times Square.
A-3 Reading Program--2012 Class-based Reading Stories (including non-fiction selections) from the Houghton-Mifflin reading textbook are built into our weekly classroom-homework cycle. Students will take an AR “story test” for stories in the reading book, and we will complete various activities to support each story, including class discussion, thinking maps, and worksheets for specific skills. We will also have “literature circles” (small discussion groups) to discuss novels and non-fiction. We will practice the skills learned in the textbook on longer pieces of literature. We will do some books together as a class to start out with, but as the year progresses, students will have more choice and more variety in what they may read, write, and discuss in their small groups (groups will change from book to book.) Some discussion will be done through shared writing online. To cover all 4th grade standards, shorter works of poetry, drama, legends, biography, and other genre will also be read. Much emphasis throughout the school day will be on non-fiction reading in science and social studies, as research has shown that this is the area where students at this grade level need the most direct instruction. Home Reading Students are expected to read 30 minutes per day outside of class. Reading will be monitored through the Accelerated Reading (AR) program. Students may take AR quizzes any time that computers are available and that students aren’t missing direct instruction or group work in class (like during an individual work time or before/after school.) Individual goals will be set by the computer program based on AR placement tests. As part of class assignments and literature circles, students will read and take AR tests on the following tentative list: August: The Hundred Dresses, short thought-provoking books about the value of literacy, I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic September: books from Dan Gutman baseball series, books from Encyclopedia Brown mystery series, biography of choice October: Chocolate Fever, legends, fairy tales and books based on fairy tales November: Dexter the Tough, Stone Fox December: A Cricket in Times Square January: excerpts from Patty Reed’s Doll, By the Great Horn Spoon, short thoughtprovoking books related to civil rights
February: Sarah, Plain and Tall, mystery of choice March: author study books by Andrew Clements and Gordon Korman, student choice circles of other award-winning books April: Trumpet of a Swan, Love That Dog May: Lawn Boy, The Secret School, The Lemonade War A good share of the actual reading and reflecting on these books will need to occur as part of homework during the 30 minutes per day home reading. I will also read aloud several books to the class which directly support our curriculum or are prizewinning books, and students may take AR quizzes on these books. This means that your student will read or have read to them nearly twenty novels as part of class assignments, which will provide a big chunk of AR points. Students will choose their own books from the school library or our classroom library or the public library for additional books needed to reach 100% of the goal points for AR. As a former librarian, I am happy to work with your student to find appropriate books. All of the main genres of literature will be covered in our reading program. AR point totals will be monitored as the year progresses. AR points are often used as an important part of middle school grading, and students need the life-long habit of reading regularly for learning and for enjoyment. Remember, as the research shows, reading more = reading better! What Parents Can Do Some children are already voracious readers. These students need encouragement to read high quality literature and to broaden the genres they read. Some of them need to learn to slow down and read more thoughtfully. Some of them need encouragement to take AR tests, which is good practice for 5th grade or middle school requirements. Some children say that they do not enjoy reading. They need to be encouraged to put in the time to feel prepared for what we do in class, because that will increase their levels of both success and enjoyment. We can also discuss book choices to increase enjoyment. As their reading skills improve, they will be more confident and have more choices to motivate them. Experience and research show that this kind of reading program with choice and group work is motivational to reluctant readers if they give it an honest chance. Home support to make reading time a daily habit is a great help. Reading is a life-long skill crucial to academic achievement and career success. Enjoyment of reading provides lifelong enrichment to everyone’s lives.
