As summer vacation looms, I'm sure both you and your children are ready to be done with school, already!  (I admit, I am, too!  We all need a break.)  

But did you know that kids who don't read during the summer can slide backwards in their reading skills?  Research shows a definitive difference between students who read during the summer and students who don't.  (see image below)

Of course there are many places you can buy or borrow books, but did you know that there are many FREE summer reading programs where kids can actually earn prizes and more free books?  Here are some awesome ones:

Barnes & Noble Bookstore:  Earn a free book!

Here Is How:

Step 1:  Read any 8 books and record them in the Reading Journal 
(PDF).

Step 2:  Bring the completed Reading Journal to your local B&N store.

Step 3:  Choose a FREE BOOK from our selection on the Reading Journal list at the store... Enjoy reading!

Half Price Books:  Earn a $5 gift card!

1. Read for at least 15 minutes each day in the months of June and July. (Grown-ups may read aloud to kids who are still learning.)
2. Add up your minutes and have your parent or guardian initial each week.
3. Once you’ve read 300 minutes, turn in your completed log to earn HPB Bookworm Bucks for each month.
4. We’ll award one top reader per age group each month with a TOP READER prize - a $20 HPB Gift Card!*

Pizza Hut's Book-It! Summer Reading Challenge:  Earn free prizes!

Children must read 5 books to enter to win a prize.  You can submit the form online or download it and mail it in.

Pottery Barn Kids Summer Reading Challenge:  Earn a free book!

Read 8 books from their recommended reading list by July 31st and earn a free book!  Select Pottery Barn Kids stores also have story time on Tuesday mornings (see your local store for details).

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge:  earn prizes!

Log your reading minutes into your online dashboard.  Answer challenge questions and earn rewards!

(This free Scholastic program has a TON of free resources for parents, kids, and teachers!  I highly recommend you check it out.)

And of course, check your local library to see if they offer a summer reading program!  Our Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh has an awesome program where you can earn free books for reading throughout the summer.  (If you live in the area, make sure to stop by the main branch in Oakland on June 8th for their Summer Reading Extravaganza kick-off party!)

From July through August, our school will be closed on Fridays.

July 1-4:  School Closed (Independence Day)

August 26, 27:  Meet the Teacher Day (Virtual Classroom)

September 1:  School Closed (Labor Day)

September 2:  First Day of School

We will be changing from Gradebook to BrainHoney on June 22nd.  All grades will be saved, but the actual assignment pages will be deleted.  If you would like to save anything, you must either print out the assignments or save an electronic copy.

I simply cannot believe that it is already May!  In one short month, our little sweethearts will be ready for third grade.  They are growing up so quickly!

This month's Parents' Corner topic is Ideas for Incorporating Art & Music.  I am a firm believer that the arts are invaluable to cultural education and also improve math and reading learning abilities.  I hope you find some useful information in this month's links!

This website offers a list to many resources to help kids learn and retain musical elements.

KinderArt® has Free Art and Craft Lesson Plans and Activities for All Ages - We Make Teaching Art Easier. It has Art lessons by discipline, by age and grade, and special days and seasonal themes. 

Musical activities, tips, and resources will help you develop your child’s musical talents.

Important Dates:

May 26, 2014:  Memorial Day (School Closed)
June 6, 2014:  Last Day of School

We will be moving all of our online courses and gradebooks to BrainHoney at the end of June.  Please make sure you submit all assignments before then!  Also, if there is anything in your gradebook that you would like to save, you will have to either print it out or save it as an electronic document prior to the end of June.

With such a focus on math and reading, do you find yourself sometimes shoving science and social studies to the side?  I know it can be difficult to fit everything in, but kids LOVE science and social studies!  Here are a couple of websites you can use to let them explore topics from the curriculum or of their own choosing.

Interactive Sites for Education
This website is extremely useful for browsing games and resources in any subject.  It has sections for many subtopics in each subject with preview pictures and links so that you can find just what you are looking for.

BrainPop
BrainPop and BrainPop Jr. are fantastic websites for learning about multiple subjects.  Each skill has an engaging video explaining the concept, accompanied by games, activities, quizzes, jokes, and even lesson plans.

**You cannot log into BrainPop directly.  You must access it via NetTrekker, our educational search engine.  Here are the directions:

1. Go to http://school.nettrekker.com.
2. Enter your PA Cyber username and password.
3. Click on the "Featured" Tab.
4. Choose BrainPop Jr. (for lower elementary grades).
5. A list of BrainPop links will come up.  You can refine your search using the topics in the left-hand column.
6. Once you click on a BrainPop link and are in BrainPop, you can navigate or search anywhere within BrainPop.  (You do not have to keep going back to NetTrekker for every search.)

April 18 - 21:  SCHOOL CLOSED for Spring Break

This month, we are looking at some fun ways to practice reading skills.  This is especially appropriate given that March 3rd is Read Across America Day!  (You may know that this day is always on Dr. Seuss's birthday, but since that falls on a Sunday this year, most schools are celebrating on Monday.)

Mrs. Bainbridge's Class Website has a fantastic list of fun reading games!  They are categorized by phonemic awareness, alphabetic principles, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

One of my absolute favorite reading websites, Reading Rockets, has a list of 103 fun things to do before/during/after reading.  It includes things like drawing a map of the book's setting and imagining how the story would be different if the main character had been the opposite gender.

If you are looking for activities for Read Across America Day, the National Educator Association's website has a plethora of free resources.  (I particularly like the 2014 Resource Calendar.)

We only have two RAMP sessions left for the year!  Both are at our usual 3pm time on Mondays.

Monday, March 3:  multiplication

Monday, March 10:  poetry

Click HERE to join my RAMP session.

March 17-19:  Math and Reading PSSA testing for all students in grades 3-8

March 31:  Writing PSSA testing for all students in grades 5 and 8

March 31:  End of the 3rd Quarter (You should be finishing up your Spring Box by now)

If you're like me, you might recall math class with horror.  All of that mindless memorization, skill-and-drill, timed tests....  Yikes!  Luckily, today's kids have it so much better off.  Here are a couple of fun ways they can practice their math skills:

First In Math
You're probably tired of hearing about this program by now, but it really is a great way for students to practice their math facts and other math skills.  They love earning those virtual stickers!  Just let me or your Instructional Supervisor know if you would like to enroll your student in First In Math.

Math Playground
This free website has a wide variety of math games that are sure to appeal to your student.  Math Man, Meteor Multiplication-- there are games for every level of student, all the way through algebra.

IXL
This is another free website that has a plethora of resources organized by grade level and skill.  If your student is struggling with a specific concept, it is easy peasy to find an activity here to help him/her.

We have been having fun in RAMP!  The kids have been very engaged and are eager to earn their PA Cyber Prize Packs.  (I am giving out a piece of a sentence during every RAMP session; students have to collect them all to earn the prize.) 

Here are our upcoming RAMP sessions for the month of February:

Monday, February 3rd, 3:00 pm:  money
Monday, February 10th, 3:00 pm:  synonyms/antonyms
Wednesday*, February 19th, 3:00 pm:  compound words and contractions
Monday, February 24th, 3:00 pm:  writing sentences

*rescheduled due to the in-service day on February 17th

I hope you all had a relaxing winter break!  What a way to welcome us back to school-- hopefully the snow did not hit you too hard.  

This month's topic is Reading Comprehension Strategies.  In second grade, students are still learning how to read, but third grade is generally the pivotal year when students start to read to learn.  Here are some links and an article with tips for aiding your student in reading comprehension:

Seven Strategies to Teach Students Text Comprehension (on the Reading Rockets website)
I LOVE the Reading Rockets website.  It offers very useful, easy-to-understand advice.  This particular article suggests study skills such as graphic organizers and summarizing to boost comprehension.

Comprehension Strategies (from the Busy Teachers Cafe website)
This website offers a list of six strategies along with MANY links to other resources for each strategy.  There is a ton of helpful information here, but it may take a while to explore it all.

Reading Strategies article
This article details critical reading strategies, as well as offers instructional strategies you can use in teaching your lessons.  Click the link below to download it.

This month's tips are focused on math strategies.  

The website www.mathwire.com has some helpful instructional strategies for teaching math.  (Actually, these could be used for other subjects, too.)  I know that in my live Cyber++ class, the students especially like being allowed to use the whiteboards.  

Here is a strategy tool list that breaks down math strategies with visuals.  You can download it here:

Of course, it's been a long time since we were in elementary school, and the way math is taught now is probably different than what we remember!  You can download a glossary here:

Because of the vacations and Keystone testing, our RAMP schedule looks a little different for December.  We will only have 2 sessions this month.

Wednesday, December 4th, 3:00-- Fractions (Math)


**NO RAMP WEEK OF DECEMBER 9TH DUE TO KEYSTONE TESTING**

Monday, December 16th, 3:00-- Time Order/Sequence of Events (Reading)

If you haven't come to RAMP before, I hope you will start!  These hour-long sessions are a great time for the kids to interact with me and each other while practicing important skills.  I try to make them as fun as possible!  :)

**Please note that all RAMP sessions are recorded.  I'm happy to answer general questions that you may have at the end of our sessions, but private questions/concerns are better addressed in an email.**

Please note that our school and offices will be closed on the following dates:

Thursday, November 28-Monday, December 2 (Fall Break)

Tuesday, December 24-Wednesday, January 1 (Winter Break)

Enjoy your time off!

If you're enrolled in PA Cyber, chances are that you already know that not all students learn in the same way or at the same rate.  At our school, we have the luxury of being able to tweak the lessons to meet each student's individual needs.  Here are some links to better help you understand differentiated instruction:

What Is Differentiated Instruction?
This article provides an easy-to-understand definition and also breaks down the concept into 4 main areas in which instruction can be tweaked.

Differentiated Instruction Strategies
This wiki provides some concrete strategies to help you differentiate instruction.

4 Proven Strategies for Differentiating Instruction
This Scholastic article suggests additional ways to differentiate instruction, including the use of technology.

Differentiated Instruction Resources
This website also offers many differentiation strategies, including tic-tac-toe choices, literature circles, and mentoring.

Don't forget, students have no school on the following dates:

November 11th:  Veteran's Day In-Service**
November 28th-December 2nd:  Fall Break (Offices closed)

Of course, you may choose to continue completing curriculum on these days if you like, but your teachers will be unavailable.

**Please note that my usual RAMP session will be rescheduled for Wednesday, November 13th due to the In-Service day.**

Wow, I can't believe it is already October!  I hope your students are off to a good start this school year.  This month's Parents' Corner topic is Writing Tips & Strategies.  Let's face it, most kids dislike writing.  I've even heard whisperings that Mrs. Walden is their least favorite Little Lincoln teacher.  While writing might not always be the most exciting subject (we can't all be as fun as Dr. Algae!), it is very important.  Here are some links to websites with strategies to improve your student's writing.

This month's Parents' Corner topic is all about study skills.  The websites you will find here have tips for all age levels.  You might even find that some are relevant for yourself!

Study Skill Tips

http://www.how-to-study.com/  A wide variety of helpful study tips

http://www.teachersandfamilies.com/member/parent/homework1.cfm provides 4 basic principles to enhance study skills.

The following file also has a list of study tips, organized by the helpful acronym ASPIRE.

Relieving Test Anxiety

http://www.testtakingtips.com/anxiety/ Tips to reduce anxiety

http://www.how-to-study.com/study-skills/en/test-anxiety.asp  Reducing Test Anxiety