Now that we successfully have our routines in place, it is time to work on achieving our short term goals.
Reading Goals:
Our reading block is comprised of many areas. These include whole group read aloud, small guided reading groups, shared reading fluency passages, strategy lessons, and independent reading time just to name a few.
Our reading goals will begin to focus on 4 areas of CAFE reading:
Comprehension - I understand what I read and can talk about it.
Accuracy - I can read most of the words in a "just right" book and problem solve my ways through the new ones.
Fluency - I can read the words smoothly and with expression to help deliver that author's message.
Expanding my Knowledge - I am able to find information, organize it and use it to share my learning with others.
Your child will be working in groups with other students that are working towards the same goal. These groups will be fluent and change often.
Here are some examples of students working towards their goals:
K.G. and A. P. are sharing books with the class to showcase their fluency practice. Well done!
This group has been using multiple sources to gather information and is now organizing the information. They will be presenting their information to the class in a digital format.
G.P. is practicing several skills during her "read to self" time. She is working on comprehending a story she loves while focusing on accuracy and fluency to make it exciting and enjoyable.
Along with our Reading Goals, our goal of focusing on the 4 C's will dominate the tone of our year.
The 4 C's include:
Collaboration - I can work well and productively with a team.
Communication - I can deliver my idea clearly. I can listen to and understand the ideas of others.
Critical Thinking - I can decide which information is most needed and what is not as important.
Creativity - I can present and share my information in a way that is exciting and engaging for my audience.
We have been building to this point for the last 7 weeks. We have worked independently, as pairs and as teams. We have modeled ways to resolve conflict and share ideas. We have practiced combining ideas and knowing when someone else's idea is better than our own.
On Friday, the class talked about what they expected from a good teammate and what good team work looked like, in preparation for their first major project. They then selected their own teams based on what they thought would be best.
Once in their teams, they were tasked with creating "team norms". These norms are the rules and expectations that their team has agreed to follow for this project. It was really impressive to see all of the groups work so well together.
This week, the students will complete their first team challenge and you will hear about it directly from them.
Have a great week and thank you for checking in!
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