Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Introducing Daily Five

Welcome to a new school year! I hope you had a wonderful summer and enjoyed spending quality time with your child. I know that each year of your child’s schooling presents new expectations and routine for you and your child to become familiar with. I will be introducing classroom routines and structure in a way that removes all of the guesswork from the child and allows them to concentrate fully on learning. In reading, the classroom structure I use is called Daily 5. Soon your child will be talking about “the Daily 5” at home. The purpose of this letter is to explain to you what the Daily 5 is and what you should expect to see at home.

The Daily 5 is a literacy structure that teaches independence and gives children the skills needed to create a lifetime love of reading and writing. It consists of five tasks that are introduced individually. When introduced to each task, the children discuss what it looks like, and feels like to engage in the task independently. Then, the children work on building their stamina until they are successful at being independent while doing that task.
These are the five tasks:
  • Read to Self 
  • Work on Writing 
  • Read to Someone 
  • Listen to Reading 
  • Word Work

When all five tasks have been introduced and the children are fully engaged in reading and writing, I am able to work in small groups and confer with children one-on-one. This structure is effective, the results are amazing, and the children look forward to Daily 5 time.
One thing you may notice is a decrease in the number of worksheets your child brings home. Although worksheets keep students busy, they don’t result in the high level of learning we want for your child.
Ask your child about Daily 5 and see what they have to say. I anticipate your child will tell you about the class stamina and how we are working toward independence, and maybe you will even hear about some of the fantastic things your child has written, read, or listened to during our Daily 5 time. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Thank you for your continued support!

Helpful Information


We had a wonderful first two days! We've spent a lot of time getting to know each other, becoming acquainted with the building, and learning routines. Below you will find a few helpful items for the beginning of the year.

Unified Arts Schedule:

Monday: Library-please remember to send books back
Tuesday: Music
Wednesday: P.E-please remember sneakers and appropriate clothing
Thursday: Art
Friday: P.E-please remember sneakers and appropriate clothing


Contact Information:
Serena Dagostino
sdagostino@sau16.org
Phone: 603-775-8880

Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions and/or concerns. If I do not answer the phone, I will get back to you as soon as I can. Please make sure if you’re changing dismissal plans you do that on Pickup Patrol or call the main office at 775-8860.

I look forward to an exciting year with your son/daughter.



Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Summer

Congratulations on a great third grade year! I can't wait to see you grow in fourth grade. Please come back and visit. Have an adventure filled summer.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Cornfield Characters

Please remember that Cornfield Characters will be displayed on the front lawn on Friday, October 27, 2017.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

October Learning

We've been busy learning this week. Students are beginning a new science unit on life science. Topics include vertebrates and invertebrates, biomes, and food webs. The students were very excited to start this unit.

We've also continued to work on our PBL project exploring communities and continued learning about tools for our growth mindsets. We've been focusing on the stances of persistence and perseverance. If you have stories about using persistence and perseverance, please share them with your student.

Please remember to send in the permission slip for Cornfield Characters if your student wishes to participate. Cornfield characters will be displayed on the front lawn of LSS on October 27.


Friday, September 22, 2017

End of the Week

This week has flown by in third grade! Thank you for sending in headphones and/or earbuds for your student. We will use them for listening to reading and working in a math program called Dreambox. Please look for your student's google login card and typing pal login card. Keep them handy so your student can login from home.

This week we've been learning about Growth Mindset. Ask your student what having a growth mindset means. If you want to learn more you can access the classroom dojo series we watched.

Our classroom read aloud is the book Wonder. We've been discussing Mr. Brown's first precept. Ask your student what "When given the choice between being right and being kind. Choose Kind." means.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Open House

Please join me tomorrow night for LSS Open House. The open house begins at 6:00. Please bring any questions and/or concerns that you have. I hope to see you there.