Newsletter: Week Four

Friday, September 9, 2011

“Human communities depend on a diversity of talent, not a singular conception of ability.”
- Ken Robinson

Dear Families,

I love that quote. It’s so short yet says so much. I think of it each and every time I’m called on to administer the PASS test in the spring. It hurts me to see everything the kids know and understand boiled down to a numerical value or label. No matter how hard the powers that be try, they will never be able to assess who our kids are with a test booklet and scantron.

Still, assessments are important. Extremely important. They help me find the direction my teaching needs to take in the coming moments, days, weeks, and beyond. I assess in the classroom every single day. From anecdotal notes to miscue analysis of reading to math journals, the kids share themselves with me as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, and community members. What I learn helps me do so much more than assign alphabetic grades or group kids into learning groups.

One really important assessment I use each Monday is the weekly reading log the kids bring back in from home. It helps me see who is committed to reading nightly, who makes good book choices, who reads too quickly or too slowly, who finishes books, and who abandons them. While I’m not a big fan of having kids fill out reading logs each night (frankly, when do adults ever do this?), the amount of information I can glean from these artifacts is priceless. Please help to make sure your child is completing this log accurately. I ask that the kids read five nights each week for a minimum of twenty minutes.

A bit ago I asked the kids what great books their families were reading to them at home. Only a small handful of kids raised their hands. Okay, I said, Then tell me a really great book your parents read to you over the summer. Not a single person raised their hand. I think I started to hyperventilate. The importance of reading with, to, and beside our children cannot possibly be overstated. We need to make certain that we’re carving out time each night for reading. However, I knew, too, that kids are not always the best transmitters of accurate and timely information. Later in the day I sent an e-mail asking you the same question. Fortunately, I received a good deal more feedback. Eleven families shared some books that their kids are really enjoying, or have enjoyed, at home. These titles include:

Magic Treehouse, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Cat in the Hat, Phantom of the Opera, Gooseberry Park, Franny K Stein, Frog and Toad, Anything by Shel Silverstein, Green Eggs and Ham, If You Give a Mouse a Pancake, Little House on the Prairie, Children’s Encyclopedia of World History, Flat Stanley, Invention of Hugo Cabret, and Uncle Wiggily and Alice in Wonderland.

What a great, diverse list. If you’re feeling a bit unsure what direction your reading at home should take next you might want to access this list of high interest books. In any case, make sure reading is a part of each and every night.

Have a great weekend,
Chris