The Skokie Home Scoop
February 7, 2022
Skokie Community,
At January's board meeting, members of the District 36 Early Literacy Task Force presented to the larger community. Their presentation focused on our recent efforts to shift our literacy instruction in K-2 in response to the most recent brain research around the science of reading.
Those foundational literacy practices are essential building blocks for the work we do with our students at The Skokie School. Our objective is to build upon those practices to ensure we are developing strong readers and writers. For example, in fifth grade, our vocabulary and spelling curriculum, Words Their Way, emphasizes the spelling-meaning connections in words. Students focus on word patterns that appear in our language and are transferable to making meaning from words, rather than simply memorizing a traditional “spelling list.” In sixth grade, we focus on vocabulary from classical Greek and Latin roots and stems. This approach teaches students that they can look at parts of unfamiliar words to decipher their meaning and incorporate more complex words into their writing.
In terms of reading comprehension, our fifth and sixth graders are becoming more independent and sophisticated readers. Our comprehension instruction focuses on literary and informational text structures and elements, inferential meaning, author’s craft, and text analysis. We teach explicit reading strategies, such as how to effectively summarize a text, identifying the main idea, or how to use text evidence to infer meaning. We also engage students in rich literary experiences, including read alouds and book clubs that continue to foster the love of reading.
Literacy expert, Nell Duke, states that there are 10 essential elements of “effective reading instruction that research suggests every teacher should engage in to foster and teach reading comprehension:
Build on disciplinary and world knowledge.
Provide exposure to a volume and range of texts.
Provide motivating texts and contexts for reading.
Teach strategies for comprehending.
Teach text structures.
Engage students in discussion.
Build vocabulary and language knowledge.
Integrate reading and writing.
Observe and assess.
Differentiate instruction” (Duke et al., 2011, p. 52).
Throughout the course of the year, students in our classrooms are exposed to these elements. For example, our fifth grade students are investigating text structures and building on vocabulary word knowledge as they learn about the American Revolution. In sixth grade, our students have participated in book clubs, which involve student-led discussions as well as thematic analysis. Book clubs also support reading motivation by putting it into a social context.
We are looking forward to discussing your child’s reading progress at our upcoming parent/teacher conferences. It is exciting to watch the students engage in this work! In the meantime, if you are interested in a resource to help your child stay motivated to read at home, this article provides some great ideas and strategies.
Take care,
Betty Weir, Skokie Principal
Larry Joynt, Skokie Assistant Principal
Elizabeth Marut, Skokie Literacy Facilitator
Duke, N. K., Pearson, P. D., Strachan, S. L., & Billman, A. K. (2011). Essential
elements of fostering and teaching reading comprehension. In S. J. Samuels
& A. E. Farstrup (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction
(4th ed., pp. 51-93). International Reading Association.
Lions of Leadership Service Projects
As shared in our newsletter last week, we started two service projects this week that will run until Tuesday, February 22nd. Links and details about both are below.
Connections for the Homeless is looking for the following donations:
Clothing:
Gym shoes/sneakers
New socks
New underwear
Hats and gloves
Food:
Canned meals (i.e. ravioli, beef stew, SpaghettiOs, chicken and sausage gumbo)
Soup in a cup
Canned fruit
Individually packaged snacks (bags of chips or cookies, cereal bars, fruit snacks)
Protein bars
For Project Linus, students can bring in fleece fabric that they have already cut at home or it can be cut at school. Also, students can make the tied “security blankets” completely at home or at school. Some donation guidelines are below.
They accept blankets that are square or rectangle with each size measuring 36" or longer. Larger blankets are always preferable. Fleece is the only fabric they accept for tied blankets.
They do not accept blankets made with “bunny ears”. This type of blanket involves cutting a slit on the top of each piece of fringe and threading the fringe through it.
They also accept donations of new skeins of yarn (no wool) or quilting cotton. We will collect these as well.
Designs should be child friendly. They do not accept blankets with holiday themes, skulls, or associated with diseases (i.e. ribbons for cancer).
For directions on how to make the blankets they accept, please click here.
Science Olympiad: Club Registration Opening Today
Semester 2 Dates Thursdays: FEB 24 - MAY 12 - 7:30 - 8:15 am NO SESSION: MAR 31 Meets in the Maker Space Open to 5th and 6th Grade
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Ninorta Gabriel (ninortagabriel@winnetka36.org) or Ms. Elaine Shull (elaineshull@winnetka36.org)
Exploring Skokie: Drama, Music, and Art
Drama
In this second trimester of drama, the 5th grade students have just finished sharing their classroom productions of "The Day of The Crayons." Well done all! Look for a video to be shared later this trimester. The next project is a group play that each class will choose and produce over the next few weeks. Keep up the good work.
In 6th grade drama we've just about completed our sharing of our folktales and other stories. 6th graders will now choose a scripted play and work through the production as our final project. Stay tuned!
5th Grade Music: Over the past weeks 5th graders explored music, art, and mood through two project based units. First they created visual "roadmaps" illustrating their interpretation of the sounds of famous classical pieces. This past week they worked as filmmakers and musicians with the goal of showing how music can change our interpretation of what we see.
6th Grade Music: Since Winter Break 6th grade students have been hard at work in our piano unit. They learned about melody and harmony, performed duets, composed their own pieces, and will perform their Beatles song projects next week.
Chorus: Chorus is excited to welcome families to Skokie on February 24 for their first full concert of the year!
Art: Currently in Art, students are learning how to create paintings with depth and dimension. Students got to choose their subject matter to demonstrate an understanding of texture, relief, and contrast.
Summer Camp Opportunity: One Camp
Upcoming Dates
- Friday, Feb. 11: Classroom Valentine's Day Celebrations 2:30-3:30 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 17 and Friday, Feb 18th: Conference Days, no student attendance
- Monday, Feb. 21: No School - Presidents’ Day
District News
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) Clarification
Following the January 25 School Board Meeting, questions have emerged regarding whether the receipt of grant funding under the American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund is contingent upon requiring mask wearing in our schools.
The ESSER grant has three cycles. The District applied for and received ESSER 1 and 2 funding. The implementation of a universal masking requirement was not a prerequisite to receiving these funds.
The ESSER 3 grant is yet to be submitted by the District. An official from Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) confirmed that the ESSER 3 funds require confirmation of assurances prior to submission of the grant, none of which refer to universal masking.
Consistent with the District’s understanding and earlier communications, there is both legal opinion and ISBE confirmation that ESSER funding is not contingent upon universal masking.
February 2022 Conferences (Grades 1 - 8)
In Partnership with The Alliance for Early Childhood: Community Screening of Chasing Childhood, February 24- March 3
Virtual Screening- Attendees will receive a link to the film via email
The post-film discussion will be held on March 3rd over Zoom.
Chasing Childhood is a feature length documentary that explores a phenomenon affecting kids from a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Free play and independence have all but disappeared, supplanted by relentless perfectionism and record high anxiety and depression. What’s lost goes well beyond our idyllic conceptions of childhood past. When kids don’t play unsupervised by adults, they don’t gain critical life skills: grit, independence, and resourcefulness. Though they may appear more accomplished on paper, by the time they get to college they are often falling apart, lacking the emotional tools to navigate young adulthood.
The film explores how we got here and how we might empower our kids. Potential solutions are offered by the leaders of this movement, including former Stanford Dean and author of How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims, Biological Psychologist Peter Gray and others. Learn more about the documentary at: https://www.chasingchildhooddoc.com
Parent Education Sessions from District Partner Family Action Network (FAN):
Virtual Trolley Tour on the Winnetka History Express!
February 17th 7-8:15 pm
Join Winnetka Historical Society on a virtual trolley adventure that will take you through time and space, from the Native American settlement at Indian Hill Club, through Winnetka’s historic business district, to the scenic Skokie Lagoons, and lastly to sites along Sheridan Road. Play trivia to try and win a set of Winnetka notecards or a Winnetka coloring book!
Register through the link below ($10)
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=frubp7abb&oeidk=a07eizvhoof2aaa0395
Sponsored by North Shore Community Bank and Trust (Winnetka)