Mr. Blanc's Class

A big thanks to everyone who made it to Back to School Night! I really enjoy getting to know the families at West TV. Today we had our first day of Writing Workshop. The students learned that writers get ideas by paying attention to small moments in their lives. We learned that the author of our current read aloud book RJ Palacio, was inspired to write Wonder  when she and her children encountered a little girl with a facial deformity. Today each student picked a small moment from their lives and wrote the story of what happened. Next week we will continue to look for small moments that we can turn into stories. In addition, we will look at strategies to write strong leads that draw the reader in. Each student has a spelling packet and a weekly reading log due on Monday. They will also be taking a spelling test on the words that were featured in their spelling packet. A new spelling packet and reading log will be coming home that evening. The children were very excited t...

The first week of school was terrific! We accomplished my three main goals for the week, which were to (1) get to know each other, (2) make sure each student understands the classroom expectations, and (3) get some baseline data on student present levels in reading, writing, spelling, and math. I am hoping to finish collecting the baseline data next week as well as begin with some of the curriculum. The best way that I know how to improve student performance in reading is to have them read. In an effort to encourage students to read, they will be bringing home a Weekly Reading Log beginning this Monday. These will be sent home each Monday, and are due the following Monday. The current expectation is that students read at least 30 minutes on four separate days within a seven day span. After the students have completed their reading they will write a brief summary to demonstrate comprehension of what they read that day. This week in class we talked about how there are three different ...

Today was an outstanding start to the school year! I have three goals for our class this week (1) I want us to get to know each other, (2) I want to make sure that we know and understand the classroom rules and expectations, and (3) I want to get some baseline data on where students are at in reading, writing, and math. Today we made great progress towards the three first week goals. Today the students will be coming home with a First Day packet that was put together by the office. There are some items in the packet that need to be signed and sent back to school. I have an introduction letter and survey that I will be sending home after school tomorrow. I'm sending it tomorrow so hopefully, you won't feel too bombarded by paperwork. I'm really looking forward to working with the students in this class! If you ever have any questions, please, don't hesitate to send me an email.

Hello! The purpose of this blog is to communicate with families about the events in Mr. Blanc's class. Research shows that when students talk to their parents about school they perform better. When students are asked broad questions about school such as, "What did you learn today?" they often give one word answers like "Nothing." This blog can be a valuable tool to help families facilitate meaningful discussion with their child by giving them specific things to talk about. Please contact me anytime you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to getting to know the students and families at West TV!