Fluency Lesson

Today my students each put together two small booklets about school. They highlighted all of the end punctuation (. ! ?) and the commas. We later had a lesson on reading with fluency, which means reading "smooth and straight" with no "bumps and lumps."
One very important thing a reader does to accomplish reading a text fluently is to pay attention to the end punctuation and the commas. The author puts them there for the reader. I modeled reading part of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, without any attention to punctuation. The students quickly noticed that without any punctuation the reader couldn't breathe correctly, it was very fast, and hard to understand. I then modeled reading with too much punctuation at incorrect points. They noticed the choppiness of the text and, again, the increased difficulty in understanding.
To emphasize the end punctuation and commas I set up a "snapping beat" system. Any end punctuation gets two snaps/beats and a comma gets only one snap/beat.
Following the pattern of modeling and then group practicing, we read half of Carle's book and also the two little booklets they created inputting the snapping beats as the text required.
Students are expected to learn to read the two little books fluently, with attention to punctuation, by Friday. This means that they should be doing repeated readings of these short texts at home. Students can also use this strategy while reading their regular books.

The First Day!!

Today was a fantastic day in Second Grade! We saw a magic show, jumped in the bounce house, read some of Miss Young's favorite books, ate a wonderful treat made by Katelynn and her mom, got to know more about our classmates, made a second grade wish and even did some math with Miss Russell!
Miss Russell and I have already decided that this group of students is probably the BEST class we have ever had! We are so pleased with all our new friends!
Math diagnostics will begin tomorrow and Miss Young will do a short lesson on reading with fluency by paying attention to punctuation. We also plan to set up our folders for each of our subjects, including homework. Small homework assignments will be sent home the rest of this week. More "regular" assignments will begin next week.
Please help your studnet, even on this first night, to begin reading the planner carefully with you and completing the tasks inside it. Today the children each picked 5 books and put them in a big bag. Their homework tonight is to read those books. If they finish them, then they should read them again! and again! and again!!

Tomorrow's the BIG Day!!

Well, Friday's orientation was fabulous. I was so excited to meet all our new students and their parents. I can already tell we have the most excellent group ever! (Oh, and they are sooooo much smaller than the 3rd and 4th graders we are used to! :) )I can't wait to see what BIG things we will achieve together.
So, school starts tomorrow and although I will miss the summer break, we are ready for our students to return. Tomorrow there will be two surprises for the students from Fairygodmother Phillips. We are sure to have a blast!
Parents make sure that beginning tomorrow you start checking/signing the planner nightly and teach your child to use the planner responibly as a checklist and communication tool. Please do not forget to use the website as a valuable tool and this blog as well. The Tuesday Take-Home Folder will be sent home tomorrow with papers to read inside. You should expect to see this important communication tool every week as well.
Remember this is the year to start stepping away from the plate and begin taking on more of a coaching role in your child's school life. Miss Russell and I expect each child to "put his/her best foot forward" at all times. We WON'T settle for ANYthing less than his/her best!
Dream Big to Achieve Big!