SUMMER 2019
NEW MILFORD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS
Kindergarten
Dear Parents/Guardians: Summer is a time that should find us looking forward to reading and remembering a good book can be fun as well as informative. Berkley Street and B.F. Gibbs Elementary School faculty members encourage all students and their families to engage in reading together this summer by exploring literature of all kinds. Research has shown that students who read during the summer months retain more learning, enhance literacy skills developed throughout the school year, and move into the new school year more prepared than students who do not engage in reading. Creating a habit of lifelong reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children. Establishing this habit early and nurturing it throughout their school years is critical to their success.
We encourage students to build time during the day to read independently. By encouraging students to read independently, we support the goal of creating lifelong readers. Our district mission is for all students to engage in reading for enjoyment for a minimum of 20 minutes each day this summer.
We want students to pursue reading for enjoyment and encourage it through a wide selection of quality books. For this reason, we have developed a suggested summer reading list of faculty recommendations that provides something for every interest. The list is comprised of award-winning titles, various genres, timeless classics and popular brand-new titles. Each grade level provides an opportunity to support comprehension through writing in response to reading in a Reader’s Response log. We ask that each student (or parent for incoming K-1) maintain a brag sheet of all the books he or she reads during the summer and submit it to the classroom teacher in September. Students are encouraged to read all different genres and forms of written expression including newspapers, magazines, fiction, historical fiction, biographies, non-fiction and poetry. There is no limit to how much a student can read this summer- just read!
Your support in promoting literacy skills at home is especially critical during the elementary years. We hope your family has a wonderful time enjoying many great books this summer!
Mrs. Chrisomalis Ms. Caputo Mr. Davies Principal – Berkley Director of Elementary Education Principal - Gibbs
SUMMER READING Suggested Book List for
Students Entering Kindergarten
The following includes teacher-recommended books for Kindergarten students (students are encouraged to read as much as they can, with minimal support from adults):
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
Elephant and Piggie (series) by Mo Willems
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (series) by Eileen Christelow
If You Take a Mouse to School (series) by Laura Numeroff
Clifford the Big Red Dog (series) by Norman Bridwell
Curious George (series) by H.A. Rey
Biscuit (series) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Pete the Cat (series) by Eric Litwin and James Dean
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
Kindergarten ROCKS! by Katie Davis
Corduroy (series) by Don Freeman
Fancy Nancy (series) by Jane O’ Conner
Little Golden Books by various authors
The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing
The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Skippyjon Jones (series) by Judy Schachner
Click, Clack (series) by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready For Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
Recommended Reader’s Response
Responding to reading is an integral part of understanding ideas in literature. Through drawing and/or writing, students can respond to stories and characters, make connections to their own lives, and make meaning for themselves.
All students are encouraged to complete a Reader’s Response log. At least 4 times this summer, students should select a prompt below and record an original response. These responses may be from different books.
Prompts
1. Draw a picture of your favorite character.
2. Draw a picture of the setting (where the story takes place).
3. Draw a picture of what you think would happen next (what would happen if the story kept going).
4. Draw a picture of a character from a book that you would like to be friends with.
5. Draw a picture of your favorite part of the story.
6. Draw a picture of a story that made you happy or sad.
7. Draw a picture of the ending of the story.
8. Draw a picture of an alternate ending to the story.
9. Draw a new cover for the book.
10. Draw about a connection you made with the story.
Reader’sReader’s ResponseResponse LogLog
Date: Prompt #: Date: Prompt #:
Title/Author: Title/Author:
Response: Response:
Date: Prompt #: Date: Prompt #:
Title/Author: Title/Author:
Response: Response:
Reader’sReader’s ResponseResponse LogLog
Date: Prompt #: Date: Prompt #:
Title/Author: Title/Author:
Response: Response:
Date: Prompt #: Date: Prompt #:
Title/Author: Title/Author:
Response: Response:
Reader’s Brag Sheet Date Title Date
SUMMER 2019 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7
Read a book What shape is Find a small jar Practice using What is the Set the table Look at pictures with someone. this paper? Your of pennies, scissors as you weather today? for dinner. in a book before Draw a picture table? An egg? buttons, etc. cut pictures Is it hot or Count the someone reads about something The Sun? Count them as from a magazine cold? Is it plates, forks to you. What do that happened you put them or coupons. summer or and spoons. you think the in the story. back. How many winter? story will be did you count? about?
Practice saying Count your Practice writing Say your first Show the Draw a rainbow Go for a walk the alphabet. steps as you numbers from 0 and last name. numbers 1 to 10 with red, with a grownup. Can you name walk from your to 10. Erase and Write your first using popcorn, orange, yellow, Discuss what you the letters in bedroom to the fix any numbers name with a pennies, buttons, green, blue and saw, heard, your name? kitchen. you wrote capital letter at etc. purple stripes. smelled and felt. backwards. the beginning.
Say the days of Visit the library Name two things Practice Have someone Practice saying Help someone the week. Can to borrow a smaller than counting out read or tell you the alphabet. cook tonight. you say the book to read at you. Name two loud. Can you a nursery rhyme. How many Practice some months of the home with things bigger count to 15? letters are in mixing and year? someone special. than you. your name? measuring.
Practice saying Draw a picture Read a book What color is Practice saying Read a book Make your face your address using a circle, a with someone. the shirt you your name, with someone look happy, sad, and telephone square, a Can you find the are wearing? address and you love today. scared, angry number. triangle, and a front of the What color are phone number. Tell who was in and excited. Can rectangle. book? Back? your pants? the story and you draw one of Point to where What color is what it was these faces? the story begins. the sky? about.
Put your hand Ask someone to What number do Draw and color Ask someone to Play the game I Write about above, behind, tell you the you call in case a picture of you tell you the Spy with shapes. what you did and under a story of of an or your family. story of the Can you I Spy this summer! chair. Say each Goldilocks and emergency? Three Little things shaped word as you do the Three Bears. Discuss with Pigs. What did like a square, a it. Who was in the someone what the wolf always circle, a story? Where could be say to the pigs? rectangle or a did it take place? considered an Draw or write triangle? Why did emergency and what happens in Goldilocks run what could not. the story. away at the end?
Summer Skills Sharpeners
We are delighted to inform you about online learning opportunities that will provide your child with access to powerful, skill-specific practice designed to help reverse summer learning loss. Dreambox Learning is a K-8 digital math program that studies have found to raise student achievement and better prepare children for future success. Students have already been using Dreambox Learning in school this year. Our students can access Dreambox Learning from any computer, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week over the summer too. Students can access their account through their 2018-2019 homeroom teachers’ class name, student name, and then their picture password for grades k-2 or passwords for grades 3-5. Use the following links to access Dreambox Learning for your home school. For GIBBS: https://play.dreambox.com/login/nn7g/6sd6 For BERKLEY: https://play.dreambox.com/login/nn7g/yd52
Summer of Reading!! Check out all the great e-services available to you from the New Milford Public Library. Students must have their free New Milford Public Library Card to access these services. Need a library card?? Click here to APPLY FOR A CARD ONLINE! Once you have your library card you can access OverDrive, which provides you access to 20,000+ eBook and eAudiobook collections on any computer. OverDrive also offers a reading app - Libby. Libby is the new easy-to-use app for downloading OverDrive eBooks and eAudiobooks. OverDrive and Libby are available through the App Store, Google Play, & Microsoft — including Kindles! Visit this link for more information: OverDrive eBooks and eAudiobooks
Camp Wonderopolis is a free online summer-learning destination that’s full of fun, interactive STEM and literacy-building topics boosted by Maker experiments! Keeping kids and their families learning together throughout the summer and out-of-school time, Camp Wonderopolis can help build vocabulary, background knowledge in science, reading comprehension, critical thinking, and other literacy skills along the way. Check out https://camp.wonderopolis.org/ to find out more!