Newsletter: February 7

Dear Families,

From book clubs to writing fiction stories to exploring repeated addition to our inquiry into the idea of "normal," there's a lot going on in the classroom right now. Next week we'll share with you some of the work the kids have been doing as writers. We think you'll be blown away by their creativity as well as their ability to craft a really good story. We sure have been. They are working now to finish up their final edits and revisions as they move closer and closer to a published piece to share out with the class. They will also be sharing these pieces with you next week during their Student-Led Conference. If you've not already signed up for this conference please do so as soon as possible. You received an email from me last week with a link to the online sign-up. I'll send this out again just in case you missed it the first time around.


From Mrs. Goerlich...
We started book clubs this week!  The students are reading the following books:  Clementine, Gloria Rising, George Brown, Class Clown Eww! What’s on My Shoe?, Andy Shane and the Pumpkin Trick, The Case of the Kidnapped Candy and Henry and Mudge.  Each day the kids decide the pages  their group will read in class.  They begin reading silently for about 30 minutes.  Then they come back together in their book club groups to have a discussion about their books.  The book clubs give students the opportunity to share their love of books while encouraging them to read more and explore new titles.  The students gain wider vocabulary and practice higher order thinking skills, such as synthesizing, making predictions, analyzing and evaluating their stories in class discussions.  Finally, students are learning to be good listeners, be respectful despite disagreements and have fun.  Mr. Hass has been videoing the book club discussion groups and we view them as a class.  In doing so, it helps the students identify how they can continually improve their group discussions through identifying qualities of a successful book club chat .    

From Dr. Hass...
We also had an author visit this week. Everyone was excited to welcome Jerry Pallotta to CFI. He provided an hour-long presentation to each loop that included photos depicting his home (Boston) and his family to help the kids see how his daily experiences have inspired his more than 100 books. Many of the kids know Jerry Pallotta's work well from the ever-popular Who Would Win series as well as a wide variety of really cool ABC books. It was a special treat to hear him talk about his writing process and the pure joy he takes from sharing information through highly engaging texts. Be sure to ask your child about it!