Welcome Back to School!!!

A note from Mrs. Larson...

It's hard to believe that we are back to school already, where did the summer go?!? Well, the days are shorter and the temperatures are changing so there is no doubt that the time has come.

Graettinger-Terril Community School District has a tremendous task ahead of them this school year and that is to motivate our students to become fluent readers that are well aware of what it is they have read when they close the book or complete an assignment. It is VERY important for our students to show growth on their ITBS reading scores this year but even more important than that, is that in the process we instill in them a love of reading that will last them a lifetime! Very few of our students go on to play professional football, basketball, or wrestling but EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US will spend the rest of our lives reading. So why not do it well?

This task can NOT be done by teachers alone! It is imperative that parents/guardians step up and model reading in front of their children at home! It is also imperative that you make reading accesible to your child, encourage your child to read, and talk to them about what they are reading. Reading does not have to mean they always have a book in hand! It may mean reading a newspaper or favorite magazine, get hooked on a series, or find a specific genre that interests you. We, the teachers, are committed to being good role models and helping our students make reading a priority but it can't stop at the front door of the school- we need YOU, the parents, to make that committment with us.

If you would like suggestions or help with finding material for your child to read, please do not hesitate to ask me, Mr. Richards, or any of the teachers for help. We are all in this process together! Let's make this a successful year! GO TEAM!!!

What we will be doing in class the first week of school...

In an effort to make our students better readers, we will be using a new reading program this year called Second Chance Reading or SCR. Second Chance Reading breaks down the reading process and teaches students how to think about what they're reading, make connections, and how to respond to what they've read.

We will spend the first week of class learning the ROUTINE of SCR. The program is very routine and we will spend a lot of time learning our expectations.

EACH STUDENT WILL BE REQUIRED TO HAVE A FREE READING BOOK WITH THEM AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS EACH DAY. THEY WILL ALSO BE REQUIRED TO READ OUTSIDE OF CLASS EACH DAY FOR 20 MINUTES AND HAVE THE SIGNATURE OF AN ADULT WHO WITNESSED THEM READING! I will explain this in greater detail to students during the first week of school.

Language Arts information...

We will be following the WriteSource2000 this year to guide us through language arts skills. To begin the year we will complete activities to help us become more familiar with the handbook. We will then begin talking about the writing process, the traits of effective writing, and sentence basics.

PLEASE NOTE: The computer will be a very useful tool in the Reading and Language Arts classroom but it will not replace the skill of writing with paper and pencil☺

Happy Reading from Mrs. Larson