Can I skip my 20 minutes of reading tonight?

Can I Skip My Twenty Minutes of Reading Tonight?
Student A reads 20 minutes every night.
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night. . . or not at all!
Multiply minutes a night X 5 times a week.
Student A 20 minutes X 5 = 100 minutes.
Student B 4 minutes X 5 = 20 minutes.
Multiply minutes a week X 4 weeks a month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.
Multiply minutes a month X 9 months.
Student A reads 3600 minutes in a school year.
Student B reads 728 minutes in a school year.
Student A reads the equivalent of ten whole school days a year.
Student B reads the equivalent of only two whole school days a year.
By the end of 6th grade Student A and Student B maintain these same reading habits . . . .
Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days and Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days. One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened considerably so, undoubtedly, will school performance.

How do you think Student B will feel about him/herself as a student?
Which student read better?
Which student would know more?
Which student would write better?
Which student would have a better vocabulary?
Which student would be more successful in school and life?

How does your child learn?

Multiple Intelligence Survey


Linguistic Intelligence

Does your child:

Enjoy listening to other people talking?

Get annoyed with people who use improper English?

For example, He don’t know the answer.

Like to learn new words?

Give good directions to others so they understand.

Like to tell stories?

Enjoy reading books?

Have a good memory of names, dates, and trivia?

If this sounds familiar, then your child might someday write a bestseller or become fluent in several languages.


Logical- Mathematical Intelligence


Does your child:

Enjoy math class?

Likes to work with computers or calculators?

Easily ads numbers in his head?

Enjoys doing science experiments?

Asks a lot of questions about how things work?

Enjoys chess, checkers, or strategy games?

If so, perhaps your child could one day design sky-scrapers or program computers.

Spatial Intelligence

Does your child:

Prefer to draw pictures rather than tell stories?

Find his/her way around a place easily?

Like to take things apart and then try to figure out how to put them back together?

Read maps, charts, or diagrams more easily than text?

Daydream more than peers?

Build interesting three-dimensional constructions (like LEGO buildings)?

Doodle a lot on notebooks?

If this is your child, then he/she could grow up to paint a masterpiece.

Body-Kinesthetic Intelligence

Does your child:

Find activities like riding a bicycle, skating, or walking on a balance beam easy?

Use a lot of hand gestures and body movement when talking to friends?

Run, swim, and exercise without getting tired?

Learn to play new sports easily and quickly?

Like to touch something she has just seen?

Report different physical sensations while thinking or working?

Cleverly mimic other people’s gestures or mannerisms?

Move, tap, or fidget while seated for a long time in one spot?

If yes, then your child could develop into an expert skier or someone who amuses her friends with hilarious impersonations.


Musical Intelligence

Does your child:

Enjoy playing a musical instrument?

Listen to music a lot?

Hum or sing a lot?

Cheer herself/himself up with songs when she/he is sad?

Tell you when music sounds off-key?

Have a good singing voice?

Remember the melodies of songs?

If this is your child, then she/he may one conduct a symphony.

Interpersonal Intelligence

Does your child:

Like to play with other kids?

Understand how friends are feeling by looking at their faces?

Have two or more close friends?

Give advice to friends who have problems?

Have a good sense of empathy or concern for others?

Seem to be street smart?

Seem to be a natural leader on teams?

If you answered yes to most of these, your child might become someone’s favorite teacher or the CEO of a big company.

Intrapersonal Intelligence


Does your child:

Often need a quiet place to work or just be alone?

Like to make collections of things that have special meaning to her/him?

Remember their dreams?

Display a sense of independence or strong will?

Have a realistic sense of their strengths and weaknesses?

Have an interest or hobby that she doesn’t talk much about?

Accurately express how she is feeling?

Sound familiar? Then your child could someday write great poetry or resist negative peer pressure and do the right thing for him or herself.
Naturalist


Does your child:

Enjoy collecting bugs, flowers, or rocks?

Like to closely examine what she finds in nature?

Keep detailed records of her observations of nature?

Like to watch natural phenomena like the moon?

Becomes fascinated with one particular thing from nature and wants to learn about it thoroughly?

Want to become a geologist, biologist, or some other type of scientist?

If your answer is yes, then your child could become an expert on paleontology or discover new ways to save the whales.

6 Traits of Writing

Writing is a huge part of our curriculum because as the old saying goes...

"Good readers are good writers, and good writers are good readers."

My goal this year is to familiarize our students with the terms and concepts of these traits in an attempt to help our students become better writers.

The traits are listed below with a description of each trait.


Ideas
Ideas make up the content of the piece.

When the ideas are strong, the overall message is clear.

The main points or storyline are

* awareness of details

* knowing what's important or interesting
* clarity, focus, sense of purpose
Organization
Organization is the internal structure of the piece, the thread of central meaning, the pattern of logic.

The internal structure of piece has:
* a clear beginning, middle and ending
* the ability to organize and group
* a good sense of sequence
A satisfying conclusion wraps it all up, yet leaves the reader with something to wonder about.
Voice
As important as voice is to creating a good piece of writing, it is hard to define.

It is how the reader knows it is really you speaking.

Voice is how the writing draws the reader in and creates a bond between the reader and the writer.

It is the style, tone, and flavor of the writing piece.
It evokes an emotional response, tailoring communication to an audience
Word Choice
Word choice is about the use of rich, colorful language that communicates not just in a functional way, but also enlightens the reader.

In good descriptive writing, strong word choice clarifies and expands ideas.

In the readers mind it creates images so real, you feel like you are part of the story itself.
* awareness of language
* understanding that there are different ways to say things
Sentence Fluency
Sentence fluency is the auditory trait.

Fluent writing is graceful and varied.

Sentences are easy to read, well built, and seem to flow.

Strong fluency is marked by creative phrasing, alliteration, and word order that makes reading feel natural.

Fluent reading is free of awkward word patterns.
* a variety of sentence lengths
* uses more complex sentences
Conventions
Conventions deal with the editing of spelling, punctuation, grammar and usage, capitalization, and paragraphing.

Original writer/presenter: http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/