Winter Break Wishes

Hi Parents,

I'm writing today to wish you a happy, healthy, joyful winter break, and to pass along wishes for the happiest of holidays.  I will send along a weekly update at the beginning of January with classroom information for the first week of the new year.  

I'd also like to offer my sincerest thanks for the treats and gift cards so many of you sent.  I am humbled by your kindness and generosity.  :)

Enjoy the time off!  May you rest, recharge, and relax.  May you connect with your family and loved ones.  May your pants with buttons fit in January.  :)

Many Blessings,

Weekly Update

Hi Parents, 
We made it to Friday! It's hard to believe we only have two weeks until the next break. Where is the time going??

Holiday Shop:

We previewed the items for sale at the Pinebrook Holiday Shop today. Students may purchase items next Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.  If your child is purchasing Holiday Shop items, please kindly use the envelope I sent home yesterday to send his/her list and money next Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Students who bring money may shop during our recess time.  Please remember there is no obligation to buy.  If you'd like to shop with your child, the Holiday Shop will be open Saturday morning (tomorrow!) from 9:00 - 11:30 am. The 5th Grade will be hosting its annual Pancake Breakfast fundraiser starting at 8:30 am too.

Scholastic Book Fair:

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held at school all next week. Students previewed the Book Fair today.  Students who bring money may shop at the Book Fair during recess next week (December 9th - 13th).  If your child plans to bring money for the Book Fair, please send the money in a sealed envelope marked with your child's name, my name, and "Book Fair" on the outside of the envelope. If you would like to attend the Book Fair to shop with your child, our Family Shopping Night will be Tuesday, December 10th from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm. Due to the Book Fair, students will not check books out of the library next week.  Please keep your child's current library books home until Friday, December 20th.

Gingerbread Week!
Next week, we will read various versions of the story The Gingerbread Man.  If your child has a version of this classic story at home, he/she is invited to bring it to school, and I will read it to the class.

Gingerbread House Supplies:

As a culminating activity to our unit on gingerbread stories, we will make gingerbread houses. Please see last week's Thursday folder for a note requesting supplies for this project.  I am asking each student to bring 2 items from our supply list, and I highlighted the items I am requesting from your child on the letter I sent.  Please send the supplies no later than Tuesday, December 10th.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Polar Express Movie Party:
During the week of December 16th-December 20th, we will read and explore the holiday classic The Polar Express.  As a special treat, Friday, December 20th will be a pajama and movie day!  Students are welcome to wear pajamas to school.  I will offer hot chocolate to drink too.  I will make the hot chocolate with water only, without marshmallows, and I will offer a candy cane on the side.  I sent home a gold Polar Express "movie ticket" in yesterday's Thursday folder.  This is your child's permission form so he/she may watch the movie and enjoy the hot chocolate.  Please kindly sign and return the ticket as soon as possible.

Interim Progress Reports:
Interim progress reports (commonly called "interims") will go home Wednesday, December 11th.  A friendly reminder that I do not send an interim home for every child.  If I send one for your student, you will receive it via email at the email address on file in your ParentVue account.  If you need assistance accessing your ParentVue account, please contact Mrs. Sciortino in our school office at 703-957-4325.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will read various gingerbread stories and compare and contrast the elements of each.
• Writing:  We will complete some gingerbread themed writing activities.  
• Math:  We will finish our graphing and data unit.  We will talk about tally charts, bar graphs, picture graphs, and object graphs.  We will analyze graphs and create our own graphs.
• Social Studies:  We will finish our Holidays Around the World rotations and begin to prepare for our World Market on December 17th.

There's a lot happening as we head toward Winter Break!  Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback about anything written here.

I hope you enjoy the weekend!  

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

We have a short week coming up, and then 5 wonderful days to spend with family and food! Here's what you need to know for next week's short week and the week after....

Thanksgiving Travel:
If your child will be absent next week, and / or leaving early on Tuesday, please kindly notify both the office and me in advance.  For absences, you may use the online absence excuse found on the Pinebrook homepage, or by clicking HERE. For early dismissal, you may use the early dismissal form found on the Pinebrook homepage, or by clicking HERE.  

No Written Homework Next Week:
There will be no written homework next week due to our short week.  PLEASE READ!  Remember...reading isn't homework...reading is LIFE.  :)

Volunteers Needed:
In social studies, we are learning about economics and holiday traditions around the world.  In the next week, the 1st graders will spend time "visiting" other countries to learn about holiday traditions from many cultures.  As a culminating activity to this unit, our 1st grade classes will host a "World Market" on December 17th.  At the market, each class will "sell" an item representing a particular country or culture.  Students will shop for items from other classes using play money.  They will have to budget and save their dimes, and prioritize their purchases since they will not have enough money to buy everything.  At the market, we would like to showcase cultures and cultural artifacts from around the world.  Would you like to set up a table at the market to showcase your family's cultural heritage, and speak to students who may visit your table?  If so, please return the "Wanted: First Grade Parents" slip that I sent home in your child's Thursday folder.    

Focus Areas for the Coming Short Week (11/25-11/26) AND the Week of 12/2 - 12/6:

• Reading:  We will finish our Word Detectives unit by talking about unusual words, such as contractions.  We will practice reading and writing our 1st grade snap words.
• Writing:  We will complete a few fun Thanksgiving writing projects. 
• Math:  We will finish our fractions unit.  We will continue to explore the concepts of halves, thirds, and fourths, and talk about fractions of wholes and fractions of sets.
• Social Studies:  We will talk about Pilgrim life.  We will begin our Holidays Around the World rotations, whereby the first grade teachers rotate through each other's classrooms teaching the students about Holiday traditions from other countries and cultures.

As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and feedback.

Happy Thanksgiving!  As I count my blessings, your sweet kiddos, you, and the support you offer each day are surely at the top of the list.  

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

Happy Friday!  I hope it's been a good week!  After our first 5-day week in a while, we are ready for the weekend!

Quarter 1 Report Cards:
A friendly reminder that Quarter 1 report cards were issued Monday.  If you've not yet done so, please log into your ParentVue account to view your child's report card.

Thanksgiving Plate:
In last week's Thursday folder, I sent home a note about Thanksgiving, along with a "plate" for your child to decorate with things he/she is thankful for.  We will use the decorated plate for an in-class project.  Please help your child decorate his/her plate with pictures of things he/she is thankful for.  The plates will go through the laminator, so please use only flat decorations.  Please send the decorated plate back to school by this coming Monday, November 18th. If it is finished sooner, you may send it sooner.  Thank you!

School Picture Retakes:
School Picture Retakes will be Friday, November 22nd.  Picture retakes are for students who were absent on picture day, or students who paid for a picture package and would like to have the photos redone.  If you believe either of these apply to you, please send me a message and I will give you all the details about picture retakes.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will continue our Word Detectives unit.  We are learning ways to decode difficult words. Next week we will practice paying attention to word endings and vowel sounds.  We will find parts of words we know (for example, looking for a little work inside a big word), and pay attention to words that don't follow regular phonetic spelling patterns (like "have" or "of").  We will practice smoothing out our voices to read with fluency.
• Writing:  We will finish our How-to unit, in which we are teaching our readers how to do things.  We will start a few fun Thanksgiving writing activities. 
• Math:  We will begin our fractions unit.  We will talk about wholes and sets, and parts of wholes vs. parts of sets.  We will talk about the words numerator and denominator. We will practice identifying wholes, halves, thirds, and fourths.  We will practice writing fractions that represent fractions of sets and fractions of wholes. 
• Social Studies:  We will begin our economics unit.  We will explore the concepts of wants and needs (things we want to have versus things we need to stay healthy, safe, and alive), goods and services (goods are items people buy, and services are things we pay people to do), and consumers and producers (consumers are people who buy goods are services, producers are people who make goods or provide services) .

As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and feedback.

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

We celebrated our 50th day of school this week with so much fun!  I hope the kids taught you the Twist and the Hand Jive, and shared about our hula hoop and limbo fun.  This short week has been filled with fun!

We also spent time this week preparing for our Veteran's Day celebration, which will be held at school on Monday. Please help your child dress in red, white and blue Monday to add to our patriotic atmosphere. Veterans will come to be honored for their time in service, and we will celebrate them at a special assembly.  Both my parents were in the Air Force. My father, served for 20 years.  As a teacher and as the daughter of  veterans, I am so thankful to our Pinebrook community for honoring these veterans.  Please take a moment this weekend to be thankful for the veterans who keep our country the Land of the Free.  

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT REPORT CARDS:
Quarter 1 report cards will be issued Monday, November 11th.  Please note:  Paper report cards will NOT be issued. Your child's report card will be available for electronic viewing by logging into your ParentVue account.

If you do NOT have a ParentVue account, you MUST contact Mrs. Sciortino in our school office at 703-957-4325 to obtain an authorization key.  I apologize in advance, but I am NOT able to help you with obtaining or accessing your ParentVue account.  You must go through Mrs. Sciortino.

Pink Impact Aid Survey Forms:
In yesterday's Thursday folder, I sent home a Pink Impact Aid Survey form.  This form is used to determine Loudoun County's eligibility for federal funds when students have parents who work on federal property.  Please complete this form and send it back on Monday, if you did not send it back today.  Please note:  If you work on federal property, in addition to providing your work information, you must sign and date the form at the bottom.  If you do not work on federal property, you simply check "no" and send the form back.  Regardless, I must have the form back.  Many thanks!

Thanksgiving Plate:
In yesterday's Thursday folder, I sent home a note about Thanksgiving, along with a "plate" for your child to decorate with things he/she is thankful for.  We will use the decorated plate for an in-class project.  Please help your child decorate his/her plate with pictures of things he/she is thankful for.  The plates will go through the laminator, so please use only flat decorations.  Please send the decorated plate back to school by Monday, November 18th.  If it is finished sooner, you may send it sooner.  Thank you!

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will continue our Word Detectives unit.  We are learning ways to decode difficult words.  We will turn new words into snap words (words we know in a snap) by reading them, saying them, and spelling them.  We will practice reading in phrases to smooth out our voices.  We will break long words into smaller parts. We will pay attention to the beginnings of words. We will break the endings off of words.
• Writing:  We will finish our unit on How-to writing.  How-to writing is procedural writing, in which we teach our reader "how to" do something, such as make pizza, brush teeth, make a bed, draw a rainbow, or be a friend.  We list the steps in the process using transition words like "first, next, then," and "last", number the steps, and illustrate them too.  
• Math:  We will finish our geometry unit.  We will begin our fractions unit.  We will talk about wholes and sets, and parts of wholes vs. parts of sets.  We will talk about the words numerator and denominator. We will practice identifying wholes, halves, thirds, and fourths.  We will practice writing fractions that represent fractions of sets and fractions of wholes. 
• Social Studies:  We will learn about our beautiful state of Virginia, and talk about the symbols that represent our state, such as the state flower, state bird, state flag, and state insect.

Our second quarter has begun!  Thank you for all you've done to help your child adjust to 1st grade.  I am blessed by their sweet presence each day.  Please remember...your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated.  

Stay warm!

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

Today marks the end of our first quarter.  The school year is passing quickly!  We had such a fun week with Halloween and Room on the Broom.    Have I told you I think your kids are the BEST?  😊 

50th Day Celebration:
We will celebrate the 50th day of school next Thursday, November 7th with some fun, 1950's themed activities.  (I sent a note home with all the details.) Students are invited to dress in 1950's-style attire that day.  We will learn fun dances, complete some crafts, and have root beer floats.  (Please note:  root beer is soda; there is NO alcohol in it!)  If you do NOT want your child to have a root beer float (made with root beer and vanilla ice cream), please let me know as soon as possible, and before next Thursday, November 7th.  

No Homework Next Week:
There will be no homework or new words of the week next week due to our short week. 

Turkey of the Year:
Turkey of the Year voting began today, and will go on for the next few Fridays! Your child must read to vote for the staff member he/she would like to see come to school dressed in a turkey suit.  One hour of reading equals one vote. Each Friday, please sign and return that week's voting slip.  If you lost the voting slips, please write a note to indicate how many hours your child read during the previous week, sign it, and send it to school on Friday. 

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will continue our Word Detectives unit, in which we learn strategies for solving tricky words.
• Writing:  We will continue our  "How to" writing unit.  This is writing in which we teach our readers how to do something.
• Math:  We will finish our Geometry unit.  We will count sides and vertices in polygons, identify right angles, and complete some fun Geometry projects. 
• Social Studies:  We will learn about the significance of Veteran's Day and prepare for our Pinebrook Veteran's Day celebration. 

It's been a delight to visit with so many of you at conferences.  Thank you for taking time to talk with me about your child's progress!  Thank you for being vested in your child's social, emotional, and educational development.

Don't forget...the kids don't have school Monday or Tuesday due to Teacher Work Days.  Enjoy the long weekend!

Weekly Update

Hi Parents,

We had a fantastic day today!  Lieutenant Mettinger from Loudoun County Fire and Rescue came to talk with us about fire safety.  This afternoon, we conducted our pumpkin investigations.  We rotated through each 1st grade classroom, conducting experiments and observations along the way.  Please ask your child about our day!

It's the time of year when the calendar begins to fill up quickly, both at home and at school!  I have many things to tell you about.  

Important Information About School Pictures:
Fall pictures will be taken Tuesday, October 29th.  I sent home information about pictures in the Thursday folders.  This will be a day for individual pictures only; a whole-class picture will be taken in the Spring.  Following are some guidelines to help facilitate your picture order / purchase:

• If possible, please order your child's pictures online.  It's the fastest, easiest, and most convenient way to order your child's pictures.  If you order online, you do not need to send anything to school with your child on Picture Day!
• If you are not ordering online, please fill out the payment envelope, enclose your payment, and send it to school on picture day.  Your payment envelope must include your child's name, my name, your "look" (or background) selection, your package selection, and your payment.
• Picture purchase is optional.

Fall Party:
I hope to see many of you at our Fall Party on Thursday.  It begins at 12:15 pm in our classroom, and ends at 1:15ish so we are still able to go to our specials that day. The food at the party will be cupcakes, Pirate's Booty, grapes and water. If your child will be unable to eat any of that please let me know by Wednesday, October 30th.   Since no costumes are allowed that day, please help your child contribute to our festive atmosphere by dressing in something orange or Halloween themed (a Halloween shirt, hair ribbon, etc.).

Turkey of the Year:
Turkey of the Year voting begins next week, and will continue for the next few Fridays! Your child must read to vote for the staff member he/she would like to see come to school dressed in a turkey suit.  One hour of reading equals one vote. Each Friday, please sign and return that week's voting slip, which came home in yesterday's Thursday folder.  If you lost the voting slips, please write a note to indicate how many hours your child read during the previous week, sign it, and send it to school on Friday. 

Parent Teacher Conferences:
Conferences have begun!  If your conference is in the morning before school, I will meet you at the front door of the school to let you in since our office staff may not yet be here.  You will not need to sign in.  If your conference is after school, please ring the school visitor bell, be prepared to show your photo id to our office staff, and sign in at the office.  You may walk to our classroom after you sign in.  

50th Day Celebration:
We will celebrate the 50th day of school on Thursday, November 7th with some fun, 1950's themed activities.  (I sent a note home with all the details.) Students are invited to dress in 1950's-style attire that day.  We will learn fun dances, complete some crafts, and have root beer floats.  (Please note:  root beer is soda; there is NO alcohol in it!)  If you do NOT want your child to have a root beer float (made with root beer and vanilla ice cream), please let me know as soon as possible, and before November 7th.  

Veteran's Day:
Please read the following message from our school office regarding Veteran's Day:

"Pinebrook Elementary students and staff would like to honor our Veterans during our annual Veterans Day Celebration that is being held on Monday, November 11, 2019. If you, a family member or neighbor are a Veteran please join us for this special celebration. All are welcome to attend!  This year, Veterans will not be asked to speak to a classroom of students. We invite you to come, relax, and allow us to honor you.
Schedule:
8:00-8:30 Breakfast in the library
8:30-9:15 Celebration in the gymnasium."

Please RSVP for our Veteran's Day celebration by clicking here.

PAWS for Knowing Your Student ID!
As we continue through the school year, the students will use their student id numbers (often called "lunch numbers") more often.  I have started giving 3 paws to any student who can memorize his/her id number for signing onto the computers and buying items in the cafeteria.  :)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will learn how word detectives use snap words to read.
• Writing:  We will continue our How-to unit, in which we teach our readers "how-to" do something in our writing. 
• Math:  We will begin our geometry unit.  We will identify shapes in the environment, talk about the numbers of sides and vertices in circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles, and define a right angle. 
• Science:  We will finish our pumpkin investigations.  We will paint our pumpkins so they are festive and ready for Halloween! 

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.  Don't forget - no school on Monday due to Teacher Workday.  

 We will carve our pumpkins, have a movie night with friends and watch the last of my boy's baseball season.  I love baseball!!! I'm sad to see it come to an end!

Meantime, I hope you have a fun weekend making final preparations for Halloween!  I couldn't resist this meme because I may just kinda be this parent...although I usually hide in the pantry to eat their candy....

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

It's been a busy week!  We spent time learning about repeating and growing patterns, playing in the Fall sunshine, making "BFF Words", and crafting Otis the tractor.  #ourbusyfirstgradelife

Pumpkins:
We will complete an in-class pumpkin investigation.  Each child will need his/her own small pumpkin.  I sent a note home about this in yesterday's Thursday folder. Please send your child's small pumpkin to school by Wednesday, October 23rd.  Please write your child's name on the bottom of his/her pumpkin.  (Black permanent marker works best for this.)

Fall Party:
Please mark your calendar for our Fall party on Thursday, October 31st.  The final time is yet to be determined, but the party will start sometime around noon and last until 1:15 pm. All families are welcome to attend!  (NO costumes, please.)  I will send a food permission slip home before the party. Our awesome Room Mom, Mrs. Hunt, and I thank you for your donations. Your funds will be put to good use as she plans for our class celebrations.  If you signed up to help with our Fall Party, Mrs. Hunt may contact you with further details.

Water Bottles:
If you're not already doing so, please be sure to send a water bottle to school each day with your child.  We do NOT have an in-class water fountain.  The kids get tired and thirsty over the course of our day, and water goes a long way toward helping them stay energetic and attentive.  

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will finish our first reading unit as we summarize the good reader habits we have learned, and the good partner habits we have learned.  
• Writing:  We will study published authors' work, and try applying some craft moves from mentor authors to our own writing. 
• Math:  We will finish our patterns unit.  We will predict what comes next in a pattern, solve pattern word problems, and review growing and repeating patterns.
• Social Studies:  We will finish talking about Famous Virginians and their contributions to our country.  We are learning about Christopher Newport, Powhatan, Pocahontas, Thomas Jefferson, Maggie Walker, and Arthur Ashe.

I sincerely hope you are beginning to feel settled in the year.  Reach out anytime with questions, comments, and feedback!

I am so excited for the long and sunny weekend!  I hope we have perfect Fall weather this weekend! We are going to spend Saturday on the ball field with the boys. They both have games. Sunday, my street is having a block party. We just moved in in June, so my children are excited to get to meet the other children on our block. 

Hope you have fun plans as well! Enjoy! 

Weekly Update

Happy Friday!

Yesterday's Puma Olympics were a huge success!  Earlier this week, we hosted another first grade class to share our writing.  I sent several pictures of these activities over Remind.  If you haven't yet signed up for my Remind text messaging service, please do so.  You can download the Remind App and join my class by texting @krivera-3 to 81010.

Just a few quick items for you...

Please Sign Up for a Conference!

Parent / Teacher conferences will be held at the end of the first quarter.  I am using Sign Up Genius to schedule conferences.  You can sign up for a conference time by clicking HERE.  If you are unable to attend a conference on one of the dates / times listed, please send me an email to make alternate arrangements.  I am excited to meet with each of you to discuss your child's progress!

Scholastic News and Science Spin Money:
Please kindly remember to send Scholastic News and Science Spin money if you have not yet done so.  

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will learn how reading partners support each other.
• Writing:  We will continue writing small moment stories, and talk about how writers edit their writing.
• Math:  We will continue our patterns and sorting unit.  We will identify and create growing and repeating patterns, pattern units, and patterns in our world. 
• Social Studies:  We will begin talking about Famous Virginians and their contributions to our country.  We will learn about Christopher Newport, Powhatan, Pocahontas, Thomas Jefferson, Maggie Walker, and Arthur Ashe.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.  

Weekly Update

Happy Friday!

We had a delightful week in Room 11, and we ended it on a high-note with a Den Rally!  Donuts with Dads was a success, and tomorrow is the Fall Festival!  It's a great time to be a Pinebrook Puma!

Just a few quick items for you...

Please Sign Up for a Conference!

Parent / Teacher conferences will be held at the end of the first quarter.  I am using Sign Up Genius to schedule conferences.  I sent the Sign Up Genius over Remind yesterday. You can also sign up for a conference time by clicking HERE.  If you are unable to attend a conference on one of the dates / times listed, please send me an email to make alternate arrangements. 

Scholastic News and Science Spin Money:
Please kindly remember to send Scholastic News and Science Spin money if you have not yet done so.  It was due today!

1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports:
1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports ("interims") will be issued Wednesday, October 2nd.  If your child receives an interim, it will be emailed to you on Wednesday, October 2nd using the email address on file in your ParentVue account.  You can update and/or verify your email address by logging into your ParentVue account.  If you are unable to access your ParentVue account, please contact our school office.  (I'm sorry; I'm not able to help you with this - you must contact the office.)

Puma Olympics:
Our Puma Olympics will be held next Thursday afternoon.  Students will spend time outside participating in a variety of team-building and cooperative games. Please be sure your child comes to school dressed in comfortable clothes and athletic shoes / sneakers.


Let's Count Down to the Puma Promenade at the Puma Olympics by Wearing Something Special Each Day This Week! 
Monday, September 30: Inside Out Day – Wear your clothes inside out

Tuesday, October 1: Hat Day – Wear your favorite hat

Wednesday, October 2: Pajama Day – Wear your pajamas to school 

Thursday, October 3: Puma Day for K through 2 - Wear your Pinebrook shirts to the Puma Olympics (Grades 3 – 5 can wear mismatched socks) 

Friday, October 4: Puma Day for Grades 3 through 5 - Wear your Pinebrook shirts to the Puma Olympics (K – 2 can wear mismatched socks for fun!)


Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will learn good habits for solving hard words. 
• Writing:  We will continue writing small moment stories.
• Math:  We will begin our patterns and sorting unit.  We will identify and create growing and repeating patterns, pattern units, and patterns in our world. 
• Social Studies:  We will talk about Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.  

We have a busy weekend planned with our kids! We are headed to the John Champe Football game to watch Isabelle and Darius sing the National Anthem. Then tomorrow will bring a full day of baseball and the Fall Fest! I hope to see many of you there! 

All About the DRA

Hi Everyone,

I've had many questions about reading, reading levels, and testing.  I touched on the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) at Back to School Night, but following is some information for you to reference regarding this assessment, which we administer to help determine your child's independent reading level.

We administer the DRA to all students in September and May, and to certain students in January.  The test is given to measure a student's independent reading level.  Our goal in September is for the students to come to us reading at a DRA Level 3.  Our goal in January is a Level 10.  Our goal in May is a DRA Level 16 or higher. DRA levels go up by 1's from 1-4, and then by 2's from 4-20, and then by 4's from 20 on.  So, the levels are:  1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 28, 32, etc.  I don't know why the levels skip count in this way, but they do!  

The DRA tests primarily for 3 things:  decoding, comprehension, and fluency. Decoding refers to whether the student accurately reads the words that are printed on the page, as opposed to saying words that aren't there. For example, if the word is "come" and the child reads it that way, he/she has correctly decoded the word because he/she said the word that is printed.  If he/she says "came", then he/she did not correctly decode the word.  Of course, the first step to reading is knowing the words on the page, therefore decoding is an essential skill assessed.

Next, the DRA tests comprehension...does the student understand what the story is about, as demonstrated by the ability to make predictions about the text and orally retell the story without looking back at the book?  We look for the student to retell the story with little to (ideally) no prompting by naming the major story events in sequence using characters' names, and by providing as much detail as possible.  Many people think that if their child correctly decodes the words in a book, the child can "read" the book, but of course we know that reading is not only decoding, but understanding what is read too! 

The DRA tests whether a child can make connections to the text.  Does the story remind the student of something that's happened in his/her life, something he/she has seen in the world, or of another book he/she has read?  Can the student identify the author's message or purpose for writing the story?

Finally, the DRA tests the child's fluency...his/her ability to orally read the story with appropriate phrasing and expression, and attention to punctuation.

If you would like to know the DRA level of a particular book, you can go to the following website:

http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/

This Scholastic Book Wizard will tell you the DRA level of almost any book out there.  Just be sure to click the circle next to "DRA" above the white box in which you type the title of the book, otherwise you will get the reading level for other leveling systems.  Scholastic has an app you can download that does this same thing.

Please know that none of this information is meant to overwhelm you; instead, I believe we can work together more effectively when we all know this information.  The skills we assess using the DRA are ALL the skills we already practice (or will be practicing) in school, and are the same skills you will practice (or may already be practicing) at home.  The DRA language in this e-mail is simply a more formal presentation of all the skills the students are already (or will be) practicing!  

So....how can you help?  READ, READ, READ,!!!!  READ EVERYDAY, NOT JUST ON SCHOOL DAYS!!!!!  Read to your child, read with your child, have your child read independently!  If you are in a time crunch and must choose between our paper homework and reading, PLEASE ALWAYS CHOOSE READING!!!  Have your child read out loud to you to practice fluency, and have your child retell the book to you using the characters' names and as many details as possible.  Talk about favorite parts, making connections, the author's message, and what would happen if the story extended beyond the last page.  I can not overstate the importance of this, and you will most likely get plain old "sick and tired" of hearing me say it!  

Barring changes to LCPS policy, your child will take the DRA all the way through 5th grade.  Please keep this e-mail for future reference, and please let me know if you have any questions!  I have read and reread it, and hope it makes sense, but it's early and my coffee cup is empty!  

Finally, and most importantly, please know that your kids are amazing, smart, wonderful 1st graders.  Thank you for all you do to support their individual learning, and our classroom as a whole!