Mrs. DeBrock

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****ATTENTION PARENTS****

Dear Parents and Guardians,
	Welcome to a new school year!  I hope you had a wonderful summer and 
enjoyed spending quality time with your children. This summer I have been 
deeply engrossed in discovering what research says most benefits students as 
they become readers, writers and lifelong learners.  As a result, the 
structure of my literacy block may look and sound a little different and I am 
EXCITED!  
	It won’t be long until you hear your child talking about “The Daily 
Five.”  The purpose of this letter is to fill you in on what The Daily Five 
is all about, so you don’t have to nod your head while wondering what in the 
world your child is referring to.  
	The Daily Five is a way of structuring the reading block so every 
student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. These research 
based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading and 
writing achievement, as well as help foster children who love to read and 
write. Students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given 
independent practice time to read and write independently while I provide 
focused, intense instruction to individuals and small groups of students.
	When it is up and running smoothly, students will be engaged in the 
Daily Five, which are comprised of:
•	Read to Self
•	Work on Writing
•	Read to Someone
•	Listen to Reading
•	Word Work
There are very specific behavior expectations that go with each Daily 5 
component.  We will spend our first weeks working intensely on building our 
reading and writing stamina, learning the behaviors of the Daily 5 and 
fostering our classroom community.  I will also spend time learning about 
your child’s strengths and greatest needs as a reader in order to best plan 
for each student’s instruction. Therefore I will be inviting parents into the 
classroom after we have accomplished this important work.  Thank you in 
advance for your patience and understanding.  
One thing you’ll notice that may be a change for you is a direct decrease in 
the number of worksheets your child brings home.  While worksheets keep 
students busy, they don’t really result in the high level of learning I want 
for your child.  Instead, your child will be taught to select “Good Fit 
Books” or books they can read, understand and are interested in, which they 
will read during Daily 5.  They will be spending most of their time actually 
reading, which research supports as the number one way to improve reading.  I 
anticipate the motivation and enjoyment of reading will skyrocket when this 
gift of choosing their own books is accompanied by extended practice and 
specific reading instruction for each individual child.  
As you can see, I am excited about giving your child the opportunity to be 
involved in a structure that will have a positive effect on their education.
Please think of our classroom as you visit garage sales or clean your own 
child’s bookcase.  It is my goal to make our classroom library as appealing 
as your favorite bookstore for browsing.

Sincerely,
Erin DeBrock

Week of August 8th

Cafe Menu Reading Strategies for the Week:  Check for Understanding
(comprehension), Cross-Check..Double Check(accuracy), Listen for Interesting 
words(expand vocabulary)

Writer's Workshop:

Math:  Review

Monday:  No School
Tuesday:  No School
Wednesday:  I can count days of the week 
Thursday:  I can count
Friday:  I can count

Read Aloud:

Spelling:  I can build, write, and read words with the short a.
Spelling Words for the week of 8/13:  zap, sat, fan, tab, ham and bag
Spelling Strategy: I can say the word slowly and write down what I hear.

Vocabulary words for the week of 8/13:

Handwriting:  Students will practice their handwriting skills every day.

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Mrs. DeBrock

This Week in Mrs. DeBrock's Classroom