Sipley School Weekly Howl
Week of Monday, February 12, 2018
“See if you can catch yourself complaining, in either speech or thought, about a situation you find yourself in, what other people do or say, your surroundings, your life situation, even the weather. To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.”
Mentors
Lexia Research and Usage
Implementation of Lexia Reading Core5 in a low SES school district resulted in significant gains for both EL and non-EL kindergartners. Results indicate that Core5 can be effective in enhancing reading skills for all kindergartners, and that EL kindergartners caught up to their non-EL peers on several foundational reading skills.
First- and second-grade students using Core5 showed significantly greater pretest to posttest gains compared to the control group. Results indicate that Core5 can be effective in enhancing reading skills for students who are from a low SES background and EL students.
Students in grades K-3 who are on target should use Lexia for 20 minutes/week. Students at some risk should use it for 50 minutes/week. Students at high risk should use it for 60 minutes/week.
We have twins who are now in first grade. One of the twins used Lexia for about 30 minutes/day over the summer. The other twin did not. You guessed it...The twin who used it not only overcame low performance, but is now excelling as a reader! I purchased Lexia for my son to use at home when he was young and his reading took off! I am convinced that this is an effective program when used properly.
Please encourage use at home and provide log-in information to parents.
Lexia Reports
F&P Levels
Based on the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project here are projected gains (Lucy):
Kindergarten students should be reading at a B/C level in January and end the year at a D.
Grade 1 students are expected to grow 5 reading levels from where they started and they are expected to end the year at a level I/J/K.
Grade 2 students are expected to grow 4 reading levels from where they started, with the exception of the highest readers who are at a level L in the Fall and end the year at a level N. Students in grade 2 are expected to end the year at a level M.
Grade 3 students are expected to grow 3 reading levels from where they started. Students in grade 3 are expected to end the year at a level P.
Grade 4 students are expected to grow 3 reading levels from where they started. Students in grade 4 are expected to end the year at a level S/T.
Grade 5 students are expected to grow 3 reading levels from where they started. Students in grade 5 are expected to end the year at a level V.
Grade 6 students are expected to grow 3 reading levels if they start at a level S or below. Students in grade 6 are expected to end the year at a level X.
With this in mind, how did your students grow? If they aren't making that growth, what can we do? Are students reading text at their level? Are they reading a lot? How are students responding to text?
Questions such as, Talk about what the character is doing in the story, what happened at the end of the story, describe what happened in the story, tell what the character is like, how does the author show what the the character is like, why do you think..., how did the character feel when, explain the meaning of the title of the story, and how did the author tell you...Give an example from the story. These are F&P fiction type questions that students answer and they are good questions to think about when reading. I encourage everyone to embed good questions into discussion, tasks, or as a response in a Reader's Notebook. If we are intentional, our students will soar!
A Glance at the Week Ahead
We have an STP meeting on Thursday at 6:45.
Friday we have our School Improvement Day. I sent an agenda out to you.
All GCN videos need to be completed by Friday.
No school on Monday, February 19.