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I believe that enjoying reading and becoming a strong independent reader are vital to a child's success in school and in life. In our classroom we will be reading every day. It is my hope that through his/her experiences in our classroom your child will become a life long reader and learner. In our classroom your child will have the opprotunity to read books on his/her independent level every day. They will create their own books and share them with their classmates during buddy reading and share time. We will also be reading as a whole class each day. Through this time we will learn different skills that are important in helping us become good readers such as predicting, finding the author's message, and identifying narrative elements (characters, setting, problem and solution). In addition your child will have the opportunity to read in a small group with me two to three times a week. This is a time when I can target his/her specific needs as a reader, and as such small group time is very important. Your child will be bringing home a reading folder each day. The books inside are books your child has seen or read in class, and they are coming home for you and your child to practice each night. As you read with your child at home you will get to see his/her progress first hand! Reading with your child and to your child at home also helps to encourage their love of reading, and helps them see that you value reading as well. Trips to the library and storytime before bed can be fun ways to spend time reading with your child, and to encourage reading in your home.

I believe that writing is closely connected with reading and just as vital to the success of students. As a writer myself I know how rewarding a love of writing can be and it is this love I hope to pass on to my students. In our classroom we will be writing everyday. We will explore many different forms of writing such as personal narrative, fiction, non-fiction, lists, and letters. Through a daily writing demonstration I will model the various forms and the steps of the writing process; planning, drafting, revising, proofreading/editing, and finally publishing. Throughout the year I will be meeting with your child in small group and individual writing conferences as well in order to focus on their individual needs as writers.

In our classroom your child will keep a draft book in which he/she will practice these skills as he/she writes daily. Each piece will be taken through the steps of the writing process from planning all the way through publishing. These published books and stories will be kept in your child's book box at school so that he/she may practice reading. Writing has a purpose, we write for a reason, and to help students understand this they will also have opportunites to share their published work with others during buddy reading and special share times each week. These published pieces will come home on Fridays. Please read them with your child and encourage them to talk about their stories. Ask them questions too. They love to tell you about their books!