Online Book Club with Walden Media and Ingrid Law

Your child has the wonderful opportunity to participate in an online book club with Walden Media right from home. Not only can your child participate in online activities and post their comments on the readings of the book, Savvy, to be released in May, he or she has the wonderful opportunity to write to the author and ask any questions! Your child is not old enough to register for an account alone. Please register your child at the link below.

http://www.walden.com/walden/mboard/index.php Your child will then be able to go to the FORUM following the directions on: http://radiantreaders.blogspot.com/ Thank you again for making your child's learning experience an unforgettable one!

See link to Online Learning!

Hello Parents,

Just reminding you and linking you to some wonderful online learning opportunities. Reading Plus is a district supported research-based program. This program guides the student during his or her reading development. Not only does it help with visual tracking speed and increased fluency, it helps in the development of vocabulary skills, spelling, reading comprehension and even writing! This is an excellent program free to your child. Students are knowledgeable about tracking their progress and accumulating rewards. Have them show you their progress and print out rewards! It is always wonderful to applaud effort and improvement at all levels! Raz-Kids is a fun program offering leveled reading from prekindergarden to fifth grade. Students have the choice to listen and follow along, or read at their own pace. Quizes are available for completion online, and practice worksheets are available for printing. Enjoy the wonderfully innovative way to promote literacy through technology!

Testing Success

Thank you for having your child go to bed early, eat a nutritious breakfast, and arrive to school on time!  They are very proud of themselves.  They have worked long and hard in anticipation of these next two weeks.  I have told them that they have entered through the doorway to maturity. They are quite pleased.  If you are able to contribute any snacks and/or juice boxes, the students would greatly appreciate it.  The next testing sessions are quite strenuous.  Mints and gum will be allowed during testing.  As always, your support is appreciated.   

AFRICAN AMERICAN PROJECT due Wednesday

Students have MANY links to their project on the kids' site.  We've viewed them as a class and they know that three resources are needed.  Your children have been very eager to learn and collaborate with each other!  Please see Radiantreaders.blogspot.com for links.  Students can also Google their person's name for specific information.  Thank you for all or your support in making this a fantastic learning experience for your child.

Checklist for African American Project:

• Reading log is completed correctly.
• A minimum of three resources were used.
• At least part of student's own illustration is included.
• Handwritten
• Student's own work
• One page: includes illustration and facts written in complete sentences from reading log

Lunar Eclipse!

Lunar eclipse from 8:43 - 12:08.  Total eclipse is from 10:01-10:50. Completion is 12:08.  Next total lunar eclipse is 2010!  Enjoy!

Viewing our friendly skies for the International Space Station!

Get ready to see ISS early!  Click on orbit tracking link for actual information!

February 28, 29, March 1 and 2 - See links &/or visit Radiant Readers.

President's Day Project

Students should be pretty well prepared for the project. They have a list of necessary information, a rubric (checklist with point values), and some factual information already researched. I placed a reminder on their blog: www.radiantreaders.blogspot.com and will place the same information here for you. Your child will hand-write the details on index cards as described (and as seen in class), they will include pictures on the back of each index card as well as a "portrait" on the face of the plate. This information will make their presidential report and museum experience more enjoyable. If you have any questions, feel free to post them.

Include: birthplace, birthdate, family history, a few facts about the family members, education and jobs held, accomplishments, and some fun, interesting, and/or funny details about his life. (Follow the Rubric-checklist.)

Remember to celebrate your president-Happy President's Day!

Candy + Math = Fun!

We will be using candy and/or other edible items for our fun mathematical activities. If you can contribute, the more-the better! Your support is appreciated.

Biscayne National Park -Celebrate Coral Reefs! :)

Make sure you visit Biscayne National Park for Family Fun Days on the SECOND Sunday of each month from 1:00-4:00.  It's FREE! Learn about our wonderful reefs-FREE! See the link on left. Here it is again: http://www.nps.gov/bisc/

    The international year of the coral reef is celebrated world-wide!  We are blessed to have such a wonderful opportunity to learn about our unique surroundings for FREE!  Children and families have the opportunity to meet and learn from rangers!  Your child can also have the awesome opportunity of becoming a JUNIOR RANGER!  Don't miss this wonderful learning opportunity.  See link on left for information and enjoy the experience.  

FAMILY DAYS:

• January
• February 10
• March 9
• April 13
• May 11

Welcome!

Welcome, Parents, to your blog.  This is where you can share information or ask questions to be answered by other parents and/or myself.  Enjoy the site and use it to your full advantage!  Be sure to visit the student blog, Radiant Readers, where child-friendly and educational links to sites and video clips are provided.