Weekly News - Update

• All Dibels testing has been completed. Many students have done well in Reading this trimester. At this point in the year students should be reading 120 words per minute to be considered fluent readers. I need your help more than ever. Please have your child read out loud to you nightly. You can time their reading for one minute to see how many words they are able to read. We do this in class and keep a record to track improvement. We also set goals to decide how many words they want to read (For example: If the student is currently reading 75 words per minute and they should be reading 120, they may set their goal as 90 words.) We increase the amount of words as soon as they reach their goal. This is extremely important for your child. If they are already reading 120 or more words they can still practice because by the end of April they need to read 130 words per minute. If you have any questions please call me at school 439-1849 or email me mnolan@epschoolsri.com. On the Dibels math students showed more improvement. To help in this area students should practice their math facts as well as long division and multiplication of larger numbers. You can Google "math flash cards" and they can practice right on the computer.
• Reading - Students are thoroughly enjoying Where the Red Fern Grows. I hope they are telling you about the story when they come home from school. Today they read how grandpa showed Billy how to catch a raccoon (He needed a coonskin hide to train his pups.) using a brace and bit, four nails and a shiny can top. See if they are able to retell the story. This retelling skill is what is expected of them during Dibels testing. Thank you for your help as it is always appreciated. During our Literacy block we read a chapter a day and discuss the vocabulary words as well as the comprehension questions for the chapter. When our discussion is over students are given a focus question and they are to answer this question in their response journal. First they answer the question and then they add information from the text to support their answer. Both of these skills are tested in NECAPs.

Have a wonderful and restful weekend. Stay warm!