Communication Skills and Reading
Mrs. Watson
I want to express my enthusiasm about working with your child this year. Please rest assured that I will appreciate the uniqueness and joy that your child brings to our community of learners.
It is my goal to use research-based instructional strategies to teach reading and writing in order to maximize student achievement.The Arlington School District has adopted the Common Core State Standards, which are a reform of the K-12 curriculum intended to accelerate students' literacy development. I will use a balanced literacy approach to these standards in my classroom. The four basic parts of a balanced literacy program are word study, guided reading, independent reading, and writing.
Writing assignments are assessments of what students are able to do on their own without help. Because of this, most writing assignments (except for specific homework assignments) will be done in class.
Homework packets will be assigned on most Fridays and will be due the following Friday. In addition, students are required to read at least 50 pages per week in a chapter book (fiction or nonfiction) outside of class. Students are responsible for seeing me before school, during lunch, or after school to do a Book Talk to earn points for pages read.