Authors Discuss Their Struggles With Reading

Reading is so important! For some kids, especially those who struggle with reading, attention, or focus, it can be so challenging to find the motivation to read and it can be overwhelming for them. It is so important for parents and educators to encourage our children to read. Giving them a choice in what they read is a way to encourage them to read, even when it is difficult. If they are motivated to read, they will do the hard work it takes to get through difficult text. 

Here are some great videos of authors who share their struggle of learning to read despite their struggles with reading. It is interesting to hear how they have developed strategies to work through their struggles and find success as children's authors! They share books and ideas that can help students who struggle with reading. 

           Dav Pilkey, Captain Underpants

Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese         

             Jack Gantos, Rotten Ralph

Helping Your Child's Mind Stay Sharp Over the Summer

Ah, summer... a time to relax, rejuvenate, and enjoy time with your family, friends and kids. Summer is a very special time of the year for me as an educator. I look forward to extended camping trips with my family and pups, spending time in my garden, and catching up on reading, quilting and other projects I have little time for during the school year.

While I look forward to summer every year, I also know that summer can pose a challenge for struggling learners. Research shows us that students, especially those from low-income households fall an average of 2 months behind their peers during the summer. This loss continues summer after summer and can significantly impact students as they encounter more and more difficult learning challenges.

Please take a look at these great articles to help you parent through the summer slide this year:

• Colorado Summer Slide Research This is a great source for further reading on the causes, impact, and some solutions for dealing with the summer slide. 

• 7 Ways Parents Can Help Students Avoid the Summer Slide Here are some tips for keeping your young learners on track this summer in order to start next year off right.

It is also important to remember how far our struggling readers have come! Many of our students who were barely able to sound out words will leave for summer with a voracious appetite for reading. Others have less of an appetite to choose reading during leisure time, yet have learned skills to break unknown words into easier-to-read parts in order to read them. They have learned to analyze how characters interact, and what story elements contribute to a deeper understanding of the text. They can navigate the text- and graphic features in non-fiction text to locate information they need... and so much more! It is important to celebrate how far our students have come this year, while continuing to practice and use the skills and strategies they have learned so they are off and running in the fall!

If you would like more information or help finding fun, engaging ways to keep your kids learning this summer, please contact me at kpickrell@stanwood.wednet.edu.

Fun Find!

Hi Reading Friends!

I was reading the Reading Rockets newsletter from this week, and I came across this really interesting find that I thought would be fun for families and students. So I thought I'd share!

Book Riot's 15 Best Podcasts for Children's Literature

What a fun way to hear books read aloud while on long road trips this summer! Now you don't have to get carsick on that long drive, but can still inspire kids to enjoy books while you travel!

Parent Advisory Council Meeting

Hello families!

You received a letter from me last week inviting you to our March Parent Advisory Council Meeting to be held on March 27th at 2:30 PM in our library. At the meeting, you will learn about Title I and the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) and participate in helping us revise our Parent Policy. As the parent of a child who faces challenges in learning to read, your input is valuable to us to help us find ways to support families in motivating their children to read. We hope to see you there!

Read Across America Fun at Twin City!

Twin City Elementary is celebrating Dr. Suess' birthday and Read Across America this month! Your child will be bringing home a letter explaining how you and your family can join in the fun! 

As parents, you know that motivating a young learner to read, especially if reading is hard for them, can be challenging. Read Across America is a chance to make reading fun for the whole family. Below is a fun way to motivate your child to read at home. Please encourage, and support them as they read and cheer them on as they try to get 5 in-a-row or even a blackout!

We hope that you and your child take this opportunity to celebrate the joy of reading, the wonderful places books can take us, and that you and your child are inspired to make reading everyday a habit!

Happy 100th Day of School, Tigers!

Twin City Elementary Celebrates

Snuggle Up and Read This Winter Break!

Can your child's learning "freeze" over winter break? Not if you keep them reading! Taking the time to read good books with your children helps to improve their language and literacy skills, opens their minds to a wider world around them, and keeps their brains developing. Plus, what a nice way to settle down, snuggle up, and enjoy family time together! Here are a few books I like to enjoy with the kiddos in my life during the winter:

Great Resource!

Hi Families!

I'm always looking for great (FREE) tips and ideas that families can do to make reading fun and engaging for their kids. I found a great resource that can be used with children at any age. I encourage you to take a look at the tips for your child's age, but also look at those listed for those a little older or younger than your children, as kids enjoy trying out lots of different things to make reading fun at home. Hopefully some of these activities will make daily reading a little more fun and not feel like a chore for you and your young readers!

Check it out!
Fun Reading Activities for Kids of All Ages

Annual Parent Meeting

2018-2019 Title I/LAP Parent Informational Meeting

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is Title I & LAP?
A. Title I & LAP are federal and state funds provided to schools in order to support students who are below grade-level in reading. Our school provides this support to students in Kindergarten through 4th grade.

Q. What does my child do during reading tutoring?
A. Our staff works with students in small groups to focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. We work on skills at your child’s instructional level, and our goal is to provide them with the tools they need to close the achievement gap in reading.

Q. Is my child missing core instruction to attend Title I & LAP?
A. The tutoring schedule has been designed so that during the time your child is with their reading tutor, the classroom teacher is meeting with other small groups of students. We strongly feel that reading well is vital for a student to be successful in school and to have a bright future.

Q. What can I do to help my child with reading?
A. Help foster a love of reading in your child. Read books; visit the library; ask her about her reading; help him set up a time each day to read; play reading games. Continue checking back to our blog and reading the newsletters sent out by our Title I/LAP team for more ideas.

Testing Time is Here!

Spring is in the air. The sun is shining, birds are singing and flowers are blooming! This is also the time of year when our students show what they have learned and are able to do on a variety of assessments. Below I've listed some brief information on the tests your child may be taking this spring. Please help your child do their personal best by ensuring they are well rested, have healthy meals, and have some time to wind down and have fun at home to reduce anxiety.  Here are some tips for test-taking:

Spring Testing information:

Kindergarten: Kindergarteners are assessed on letter names, letter sounds and their ability to read short nonsense words. We use both timed- and untimed assessments to determine how they perform on these reading tasks in relation to students across the nation.

1st grade: First graders are assessed on their ability read short nonsense words, as well as a first-grade leveled reading passage. These assessments are timed and allows us to see how they perform in relation to other first graders in the nation.

2nd grade: Second graders are assessed using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment for reading and math. This assessment is given on the computer and students are not timed. A variety of reading and math tasks are given and the test adjusts to how the student is performing, in order to give an accurate measure of their ability as compared to other second graders in the country. The are also given the MAZE assessment for reading comprehension and the Reading CBM assessment to measure fluency rate, accuracy, and phrasing. The information obtained from the Reading CBM is also used for the state fluency assessment that is required for all second graders.

3rd grade-5th grade: Our third, fourth and fifth grade students are assessed using the Reading CBM for oral reading fluency, MAZE assessment for reading comprehension and the Smarter Balanced Assessment for state testing.

Your child's teacher can provide you with more information and answer questions about specific assessments. 

Spring Reading Connections

Reading at home is so important, and keeping our young readers engaged and motivated to read through fun experiences is vital to helping them improve their skills. Please view the Reading Connection newsletters that were sent home with your child this spring to find fun, engaging ways to enjoy reading with your child.

For our beginning readers in Kindergarten through 2nd grade:
February Reading Connection Beginning Edition
March Reading Connection Beginning Edition
April Reading Connection Beginning Edition
May Reading Connection Beginning Edition

For our intermediate readers in 3rd through 5th grade:
Februrary Reading Connection Intermediate Edition
March Reading Connection Intermediate Edition
April Reading Connection Intermediate Edition
May Reading Connection Intermediate Edition

Winter Reading Fun

December Reading Connections

December Reading Connections
Please click the links below to find ideas to motivate your child to read at home.

Reading Connection K-2nd December 2017

Reading Connection 3rd-5th December 2017

November Reading Connections

November Reading Connections
Please click the following links for ideas to motivate your child to read at home.

Reading Connection K-2nd November 2017

Reading Connection 3rd-5th November 2017

October Reading Connections

October Reading Connections
Please click the following links to find ideas to help motivate your child to read at home.

Reading Connection K-2nd October 2017

Reading Connection 3rd-5th October 2017

Title I/LAP Fall News

Conferences are coming fast!

We really value our connections with the families of our students. We appreciate your time and dedication. Family involvement is vital to our students' success.

Our Title I/LAP Coordinator, Katie Pickrell, makes every effort to attend as many conferences as possible which have been scheduled with teachers. At the conference, you will be updated on your child's progress and reading assessment information, as well as challenges or successes we are seeing as we work with students in our reading support program. 

If you would like to schedule a separate conference with our Title I/LAP Coordinator, please call (360) 629-1270 or email Katie Pickrell at kpickrell@stanwood.wednet.edu.

We look forward to partnering with our amazing families to help our students achieve success in reading!

Annual Title I/LAP Parent Meeting

Hello families!

You are invited to join us at our Annual Title I/LAP Parent Meeting on Wednesday, October 25th in the Twin City Library from 9:15-10:00.

Come to enjoy some coffee, juice and treats and learn about the Title I/LAP program at Twin City and how we are helping your child achieve success in reading! There will be fun activities for the kids while the adults learn about the Reading Support Program at our school.

If you cannot attend, I'm happy to schedule a meeting with you at your convenience to provide information about our program and what you can do to support your child with reading at home.

We hope to see you there!