Thank You

Literacy Knight was fun for all who attended!

Thank you to all of the families who made wonderful donations.  You really helped make this event special for our little friends!  If anyone has any pictures of Literacy Knight you would like to share, please email them to me.

October 18, 5:00-6:30

This week, I sent Literacy Knight flyers home with K-5 students.  

The first 50 students to return their RSVP (the bottom portion of the flyer), and actually attend Literacy Knight, will receive one child’s admission ticket to the Texas Renaissance Festival near Plantersville, TX and their names will be put in a drawing for a gift certificate to the Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie, TX that is redeemable for two adult admission tickets and two child admission tickets!!  

Students must be present to win. 

The Stinky Cheese Man

Well, we finished The Stinky Cheese Man in Book/Reading Club today.  I think the kids really enjoyed it.  

"The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales is a postmodern children's book by Jon Scieszka. Published in 1992 by Viking, it is a collection of twisted, humorous parodies of famous children's stories and fairy tales, such as "Little Red Riding Hood", "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Gingerbread Man". Illustrated in a unique style by Lane Smith, the book won the New York Times Best Illustrated Book award, was a Caldecott Honor book, and has won numerous other awards in various countries.

The book has proved to be popular with children and adults, as its lighthearted approach creates interest while educating young readers about some of the features of books (such as title and contents) by poking fun at those conventions.

The book was re-released in a tenth anniversary edition in 2002, and included a new story."  From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stinky_Cheese_Man_and_Other_Fairly_Stupid_Tales

Reading Practice

Hello!

Things are going swimmingly well here at the Reading Reef!  I've been working out some kinks in my schedule and visiting with some amazing kiddos.  I will be visiting each K-2 Reading class at least once a week.  If you still have paper work for me, please send it back as soon as you can.  I won't give up!  If I have invited your child to work with me outside of class, it is very important to his/her reading success that I am able to work with him/her in a small group setting without distractions from classmates.    

I have recently been made aware of this site   http://www.fcrr.org/Curriculum/studentCenterActivities.shtm
Please visit it for reading practice ideas!  You will find wonderful activities that are outlined, described, and explained in great detail.  If you ignore the grade levels and look for tasks and topics you know your child needs a little extra help with, it is a great resource.

Have a great week!!

Literacy Knight Donations

On September 5th I sent a letter home requesting parent donations for Literacy Knight.  

I have already received some wonderful donations!  Thank you so much!  We really appreciate your kindness and generosity!  I thought I would give an update, in case you would like to donate, but are wondering what we still need.  If we still need 100 of something, please don't feel obligated or discouraged.  If we need 100 and you can only bring one, we will be grateful!  

Things we need:

100 paper bags (Lunch bags would be fine, I just need something that will stand on its own and can be stapled closed.  Plastic goody bags have a tendency to spill.)

15 bags of kettle corn (At Target they have bags of kettle corn that look kind of like bags of chips.  I am sure they have it at other stores as well.)

50 juice boxes (5 more packs of 10)

party favors that are related to princesses, dragons, knights etc.

lots of craft jewels (They have these at Dollar Tree.  They are plastic and flat on one side. The kids will be gluing them to the plastic cups.)

50 grey or silver plastic party cups

38 clear party cups with stems

5 copies of the book Good Night, Good Knight

Thanks again!!!

Guided Reading

Hello Everyone!  If they haven't already, our wonderful Reading teachers will begin guided reading in their classrooms very soon.  Much of what I do as a Reading Interventionist involves partnering with each of our K-5 teachers to insure the reading success of all of our students through implementing guided reading.  This process begins after the first three weeks each school year because, before teachers begin coordinating this essential element of our holistic reading approach, they conduct several assessments in order to group students with similar instructional needs.  We meet each student at whatever reading level they have mastered and bring them to the next.  This process is a cycle that continues throughout the year.  Typically, while the teacher works with one small group of students, the rest of the class works at literacy centers or stations.  In third trough fifth grade classrooms, students will likely be introduced to literature circles.  I will support teachers and students in any way necessary  throughout the entire process.  This is the link to an article about effective reading intervention.  I thought it might give you some insight about how all of our wonderful reading resources are utilized.  http://www.ehow.com/about_5426892_effective-reading-intervention-programs.html

Have a great week!

Meet The Teacher, Book/Reading Club K-1, and Literacy Knight

I hope to see everyone at our Meet the Teacher night this Thursday.  Meet the Teacher is from 5:30-6:30, and the PTO meeting begins at 6:30 to be immediately followed by an Ice Cream Social.  Unfortunately, The Reading Reef is “under construction” until I am able to get all of our excellent reading resources organized, so I won’t be showing anyone around.  However, I have decorated my door.  You won’t be able to miss it!  I will be in the hall near my door during meet the teacher if you would like to stop by and say hi.  I will have a home visit sign-up sheet.  If you would like me to join your child’s teacher when they visit your home I would love to.

      

This school year is off to a wonderful start!  This has been a busy week here at The Reading Reef.  I have  spent some time with kindergarten, first, and second Grades.  I have had fun seeing “old” friends and getting to know new ones.  I have only visited briefly with my third, fourth, and fifth grade friends.  Hopefully I will be able to spend a little more time with them before the week is over.

 

On Monday, I met with my Book Reading Club K-1 for the first time.  They are great kids, and I look forward to reading many good books with them.  We began by putting our heads together to come up with a theme for our club.  We talked about the kinds of books they enjoy, and they are equally interested in reading books about princesses and funny books more than anything else.  I have given this some thought and decided to combine the ideas.  We will be reading funny stories about not only princesses but knights, dragons, and other medieval characters.  We will call the members of our club "Reading Royalty."  Partially because I enjoy the alliterative aspect of it and partially because we will be able to stretch the word royalty a little to include whichever medieval character each child identifies with.  I believe this will be fun for everyone! 

If your child happens to be in my Book Reading Club K-1, please take a few moments to remind him/her before each meeting how important it is to follow directions and school rules (even during after school clubs) in order for everyone to be safe and enjoy a positive experience.     

In my quest to find stories for my newly named friends, I came across a wonderful idea and have been inspired for our school wide October literacy night.  You guessed it!  It will be Literacy Knight!  I am so excited about the whole idea.  If you would like to make any donations we would really appreciate anything pertaining to castles, kings, queens, princesses, princes, knights, dragons, and any other (appropriate) medieval themed thing you can think of.  

Meet Ms. Blangger

My pride and joy

Charlie wearing the scarf and leg warmers Mrs. Meck gave her

About Ms. Blangger

Hello!  My name is Mechelle Blangger.  I love teaching, reading, and helping my little friends learn to read!!  I have four nieces and one nephew.  The oldest is 21, and the youngest is 8.  I taught my two oldest nieces to read very well, long before they started school.  They are both in college, but I love parenting them now just as much as I did when they were tiny babies.  We have so many good times together.  They are my pride and joy!  I also have a little brown dog named Charlie.  She is a papichi (or chion), because she is a papillon/chihuahua mix.  She loves to play with her toys and wear clothes!

Teaching Experience

I am currently the Reading Interventionist at Harmony School of Innovation- Dallas.  I attended Stephen F. Austin State University where I earned degrees in Elementary Education, English, and Early Childhood Education.  My teaching certifications include English, Language Arts, and Reading grades 4-8, Generalist EC-4, and ESL.  I have been a teacher in some capacity for the past twelve years.  Most recently I have taught Kindergarten (2009-2010) and First Grade (2010-2012) here at HSI.  I am looking forward to new "adventures" as I work to create the reading resource room that I have lovingly dubbed the "The Reading Reef."  I truly hope and am confident that, with the patience and support of all, it will eventually become an invaluable resource for teachers and students as well as parents.


Hobbies

I love to read and write.  When I was a little girl I read almost everything I could get my hands on constantly, and I still do (when I have time ; )!  I write when I feel passionately about something.  Sometimes my subjects are of very little consequence, but I am suddenly overcome with joy or some other emotion and the words quickly fall into place in my mind.  I just have to find a scrap of paper and write them down!

I collect turtles- the more unique the better. Some of my turtles are made of glass, crystal, porcelain, paper... I have magnets, pens, cups... I even have a turtle-shaped, tabletop nightlight.

I also love visiting the Texas Renaissance Festival.  I never know what adventures it will bring.  The only thing I love better is going to the beach to swim in the ocean.  There is nothing like being immersed in the sight of the horizon, waves crashing on the shore, salty air with every breath, and sand beneath my feet to bring clear perspective rushing back to engulf me.  This summer, Evan (the three year old I babysit on the weekends) and I saw a dolphin swimming about six feet from us.  It was amazing!