Reading Tips from the 'Experts'

Research indicates math and reading skills can regress over the summer if children are not encouraged to read and practice math facts.  To provide Sweetsir parents with helpful information, our Title One teachers hosted a presentation at the Merrimac Public Library on  June 5th.  Ms. Toni Sabella and Ms. Emily Marsh gave an overview of the strategies we use in the classroom to help students learn to read.  Ms. Grimes showed parents the Every Day Math site they can access from home and provided tips on helping children master their math facts.  

Below are videos the Title One Teachers created for the presentation.  They feature the real 'experts'- some of our grade one and two super stars.  (To view videos of students explaining how to master math facts, follow the math label listed on the right).   

Reading Strategies 

First graders share tips with animal helpers.

Non-Fiction Text Features

Second graders share posters they created with text conventions.

Dr. Seuss's Birthday

  More photos of 'Book Character Day' on March 2nd...

Kindergartners had tons of fun making Seuss hats.

Many were inspired by the best known author of childrens' books.

We adore Thing One & Thing Two!

Title One Teachers are characters!

Fairy Books are a favorite among gr. 2 girls.

Book Characters

Many interesting book characters greeted students on Dr. Seuss's birthday. Among them were Viola Swamp (Ms. Caproni), Teacher from the Black Lagoon, Thing One (Ms. Vienneau) from The Cat and the Hat and the Conductor (Ms. LeGrow) from The Polar Express. This special day was earned by our first and second graders amazing efforts to master math facts.  On Thursday, March 8th, we will also be celebrating with a school-wide "Pajama Day".


I had a blast seeing students react to my costume from  Have You Filled A Bucket today?.  Many responded with giggles and surprised looks upon recognizing the character from the book our school-wide theme is based upon.

Why are webkins on the wall?

Reminders to use 'Lips the Fish', 'Eagle Eye', and 'Chunky Monkey' are often heard as our first and second graders read.  These phrases are associated with common strategies often used by good readers.  Children love the animal associations and find them helpful in remembering things to try whenever they are stuck on a word.

Strategies frequently used by First Graders:

Lips the Fish- Get your mouth ready.  Sound out the first letter of the word.
Eagle Eye- Look at the picture for clues.
Chunky Monkey- Look for chunks you know in the word.
Flippy Dolphin- Try changing the vowel sound; flip long and short sounds.
Stretchy the Snake- Slowly sound out the different letters then blend.
Tryin' Lion- Try a different word.  Try re-reading.
Skippy the Frog- Skip the word and read to the end of the sentence.  Hop back and reread to figure out the word.

Many of our classrooms feature bulletin boards with posters describing the reading strategies and associated animals as visual aides.  Animal strategies are so popular at Sweetsir, our Special Educators and Reading Teachers have found using this same terminology across settings is very beneficial.  Since a few more animals are needed to complete the bulletin board in the Title One Reading room, we would welcome new or used donations of the following animals in webkin sizes:

eagles   dolphin   snakes   spiders   owls   parrots   iguanas

The animal reading strategies can be found on so many school websites and blogs we were unable to determine who initially created them.  This is an example of how teachers across the globe share great ideas to benefit children everywhere.

Loved this video!