Unsent Memo

TO: Ms. Angle

FROM: Lauren Nouguier

DATE: February 17, 2012

SUBJECT: 1st Grade Vocabulary Lesson Observation- The Paper Bag Princess

Thank you for welcoming me to observe your 1st grade literacy lesson this week. It was obvious that your students were very engaged in the read aloud. Reading aloud to students is an excellent way to expose students to new vocabulary.

There were several aspects of you lesson that stood out to me. First, before you read the book aloud, you introduced students to schema in a very direct way. Now students know they have a schema that they can access when they learn about new concepts. With more practice, students will be able to transfer that skill to their own reading. You also did an excellent job of modeling how to access schema. Students were very engaged while sharing their schema about princesses with you as you recorded their background knowledge on an anchor chart.

I also noticed that, as you read, you addressed new or difficult words. Two specific occasions included the words “magnificent” and “fantastic.” When you came across the word “magnificent,” you helped students define it in context. When you read the word “fantastic,” you used their new schema of the word “magnificent” to define it. Learning new vocabulary in a meaningful context like this is so important for students.

Finally, once you finished reading the book, you revisited the students’ schema about princesses. This seemed to be a very useful exercise. Through this, students were able to recognize that schema can change as they learn new information. By recording their new learning about princesses, you modeled that that students have the ability add to and change their background knowledge.

Thank you again for having me in your classroom!

Hypothetical Letter to an Administrator

I interviewed some teachers at my school about our literacy program, then wrote a hypothetical letter to the principal. I'd like to present it to one of my administrators, but I'm wondering if it's too critical. Your thoughts?


February 3, 2012



Dear Administrator,

I am writing to voice a concern I have about the K-5 literacy program at our school. In the six months that I have taught at High Point Academy, I have observed a disconnect between reading and writing instruction that I am afraid may not be benefiting our students. Although classrooms across our elementary school have a set amount of time for reading each day, there is very little writing that is incorporated into the reading program. Further, very little writing instruction is set aside each week. With a few changes in teaching practices, and some changes in the school-wide schedule, students can benefit from complete reading and writing instruction, which is synergetic in nature (Nagin, 2006).

I propose that teachers be provided with continued professional development in the areas of reading and writing. This professional development could focus on the complementary nature of reading and writing. For example, both reading and writing encourage phonemic awareness and phonics skills in students. Further, teachers can help students make connections between what they write and what they read. Literature, from picture books to newspapers, to novels, can be read in class and viewed as writing that students can model after. As these synergies between reading and writing become more evident in the classroom, we will also see growth in students’ ability and eagerness to read and write.

Finally, the Leadership Team at High Point Academy should consider making some changes to the school day schedule in kindergarten through 5th grade. Currently, all classrooms in the elementary school participate in a one-hour long reading block in the morning every day. However, not every classroom has set the same standard for writing. Throughout these classrooms, there is very little consistency regarding when and how writing is taught. If a writing block could be scheduled into the school day, teachers would be able to teach writing skills with more consistency (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001). Also, students would start to feel that writing was a more routine part of their day, much like their reading block.

Thank you for hearing what I have to say. If you are interested in discussing any of these suggestions, please let me know. I would love to bring these concerns and solutions to the Leadership Team at this month’s meeting. 

Sincerely,



Lauren Haug
Learning Support Team
High Point Academy  

Reference List



Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers: Teaching comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.



Nagin, C. (2006). Because writing matters: Improving student writing in our schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.