Mrs Kalter's blog
Conferences and update
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Mon, 2008-04-07 07:18.It is hard to believe but Portfolio Night and conferences are almost here. I will be available both days from 3:00-8:00 if you would like to meet to discuss your child's progress. All the students are now piloting a new program called Horizons. It is a direct instruction program and I am seeing some good results. Please continue to have your child read every night. Repeated readings are great, they help improve fluency. If you ever have any questions or concerns please call me (847)745-3744 or email me at skalter@sd74.org.
New Groups
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Fri, 2008-02-22 10:47.The new intervention groups have begun meeting. Each group consists of a mixture of new and returning students. The children have acclimated well and already know classroom procedures and routines. Many of the first graders read a story this week about wheels. One group is working with a new program called Horizons. We are piloting it for next year. That group read about Gorman the goat. The second graders read The Tortoise and the Hare. They learned sometimes it is better to be slow and steady instead of racing ahead. Please continue to read at home with your child. Repeated reading of the same story will help your child become a more fluent reader.Â
Reading Picture Day
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Tue, 2008-01-29 09:39.January 16 was reading picture day at Todd Hall. A snapshot of each student’s progress in reading was taken using curriculum based measures (CBMs). The data is now being analyzed to determine which students are in need of reading intervention. Once this is decided, if there will be a change in a student’s reading instruction, parents will be notified.Â
Week Ending 12/21/07
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Fri, 2007-12-21 14:19.This week the first graders read When Grandpa Visits. They enjoyed telling about special visitors they have at their houses. The students also practiced sorting words with short vowels. The second graders enjoyed The Lady With the Alligator Purse. They especially liked the idea of ice cream fixing the problem of soap bubbles down the throat. The students worked on all 4 sounds the letter y makes and practiced reading words with y. This week all the children reviewed the word wall words. I hope all of you have a relaxing, fun filled holiday break and take some timeout to enjoy some good books. My best to all of you in 2008.
Week ending 12/14/07
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Fri, 2007-12-14 15:28.This week has been busy. The first graders read Teacher’s Pet. It was about a class that brought their pets to school. Please have your child read the story summary to you. The word wall words this week were: her, who, and joke. I chose joke because the boys and girls are starting to learn about magic e that tells the vowel to say its name.
This Week in Review
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Fri, 2007-12-07 14:33.This week the first graders read An Elephant's Trunk. They learned a lot of interesting information about the many uses of an elephant's trunk. The students have done a lot of repeated reading of the story. We did a making word activity with the word elephant. We wrote 1 sentence together about the story and a second sentence with the children completing the end of the sentence independently. The word wall words this week are: an, not and here. These are words the students should be able to read and are working on being able to write. Please be sure to have your child read the story summary to you over the weekend.
reading at home
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Fri, 2007-11-30 15:34.This week I began sending books with each 2nd grade student at his or her independent reading level.  First grade studnts are all ready getting leveled books sent home by their homeroom teacher. Please have your child read the books 3 times. Repeated reading helps the students become more confident as readers, improves their fluency and increases comprehension. Happy Reading.
If anyone is available to help put together books for the 2nd graders please contact me (skalter@sd74 or 847-745-3744). This can be done at school or home. Thanks!!
Sight Words
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Fri, 2007-11-16 15:52.All the boys and girls have been working on increasing their sight word banks. Sight words are words that people need to recognize automatically. The words generally do not follow a pattern and can not be sounded out. Once the students know a lot of sight words their reading is able to become more fluent. Each child has a ring of 6 sight words to practice in class. At least once a week I ask each child to read me their words. If they are able to read a word automatically they receive a sticker on their card. After getting 3 stickers the card gets moved to an envelope for later review and more words are added to the ring. We play Sight Word Bingo and Roll, Say, Keep to practice the words. Some of the boys and girls also choose to practice their words during the first 5 minutes of class when I am working with individual students and doing progress monitoring.
Reading Groups
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Fri, 2007-11-09 15:51.Our reading groups are in full swing. When the children enter the room they get a box of books to practice reading with fluency. While they are working on that I am able to progress monitor 1 or 2 children. After 5 minutes the students put away their books and we work on the book of the week. At the beginning of the week we do a picture walk and read the story together. Each day the students practice reading the story in a variety of ways. At the end of the week the students get a story summary which has many of the same words as the book of the week. After practicing the story summary the boys and girls bring it home to read to an adult. If they bring the story summary back signed by a parent they receive a smelly sticker. Next week on the blog I will explain how we practice sight words and some of the phonics activities we do. I enjoyed meeting so many of you at conferences and look forward to meeting the rest of you next week.
Reading Intervention Begins
Submitted by Mrs Kalter on Fri, 2007-10-12 14:34.At Todd Hall, we believe that reading is very important. For this reason, at the beginning of the year we assessed every student in the building to make sure that we are providing students with the instruction that we believe they require to be successful in school.
Based upon initial curriculum-based assessments some students will receive reading support in addition to the classroom reading. Reading support groups are small in size and students with similar instructional needs are grouped together. As part of this support, we will monitor the students’ progress in reading to ensure that they are successful. This intervention support will begin Monday, October 15.
Based upon initial curriculum-based assessments some students will receive reading support in addition to the classroom reading. Reading support groups are small in size and students with similar instructional needs are grouped together. As part of this support, we will monitor the students’ progress in reading to ensure that they are successful. This intervention support will begin Monday, October 15.
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