Mrs. Belkin’s Reading Site

                                                                                                    

 

Biography: I have been teaching for eight years.  I earned my bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Elmira College in New York. I began my teaching career in Lowell, MA where I taught elementary school for four years. I then traveled to England and taught elementary school abroad for one year. I earned my Master’s degree in Language and Literacy at Simmons College in Boston. I am certified in Wilson Reading, Visualization and Verbalization, and the Orton Gillingham Reading Program.  I have been the Reading Specialist at Overlook for three years. I live in Fitchburg, MA with my husband and my new baby girl.     

Hobbies and Interests: I have many interests and hobbies. I love photography, camping and of course reading. I have read many books throughout my life that have inspired my love for reading. Here are some of my favorite books from childhood to adulthood. Click on a book to read the summary and then read it for yourself or aloud to someone special.

               

              

Description of class:

1.      Word Attack Skills:  To be a successful reader your child must be able to decode real and nonsense words by breaking them into known syllable components.  The 12 step Wilson Reading System

2.      (Wilson Language Training) directly and systematically teaches how to fluently and accurately decode words.  The instruction is interactive and multi-sensory, teaching total word construction.  This includes sounds, reading, spelling and comprehension in each lesson. 

 

3.      Fluency:  When a child is able to read quickly and accurately, comprehension increases.  The Read Naturally program (Read Naturally - About Read Naturally) combines passages at your child’s comfortable reading level, comprehension questions, graphic organizers and written summaries.  Passages are read orally and timed (1-2 minutes) for speed and accuracy.

 

4.      Comprehension Strategies:  Making inferences, predictions, locating important details and identifying the main idea are all important components of a successful reader.  Reading for Understanding allows your child to interact with the text and use frequent practice to construct meaning.  Through this program your child will think critically about what they read and comprehend the significance of printed materials.  We will also be using strategies from the Visualization and Verbalization series (Visualizing and Verbalizing®) as well as the Project Read series (Project Read) These programs will assist your child in understanding and applying information to narrative and expository texts.

 

5.      Vocabulary: A greater emphasis will be placed on vocabulary instruction.  Students will be exposed to explicit instruction in word knowledge.  Students will use a wide variety of vocabulary words through definitions, synonyms, antonyms, pictures and syllables.  In addition to written work, students will use vocabulary in discussion, literature context, creation of sentences and multiple meanings

 

 

Expectations of class:

1. Homework: All written work is done in class.  If a student does not finish written work for the week, unfinished work will be sent home for the weekend.  This work will be due the next school day.  If an assignment is not turned in on the following school day, the student will have an additional day to turn it in for half credit.  If it is not turned in at all, the student will receive a zero for that assignment.  Due to the limited amount of time the student has in this class a zero will severely hurt his or her grade.

 

2.  Records: I will be keeping two forms of records for each student.  The first will be an academic record which will include each student’s grades for the cycle he or she is attending this class.  This will aid in progress reports as well as report cards.  The other record will be based discipline.  This will be kept tracked in the following way:

 

A=absent from class                             T=tardy with no pass

H=no homework turned in                    B=spoken to more than twice for behavior

P=not prepared for class (pencil)

 

If you receive three of the same letter you will have a detention with me.

Favorite websites for student use:  Dictionary.com        RhymeZone    Children's Literature Web Guide                

                                                                        Reading Planet for Kids               FactMonster.com

Rubrics: I use two rubrics to determine an appropriate grade for vocabulary work and Read Naturally written work.  Both rubrics will be available for viewing on this site soon.

After school help available: I am available M-Th until 2:45

The best way to contact me is: Email: kbelkin@awrsd.org    Office phone: 978-827-1425     Prep time is 1:20-2:05 M-Th

Last updated:  10/01/2008