Mr. Nunziato’s 6th Grade Reading Class Welcome to our learning environment! Please note my contact information: Cell phone number: 512-410-9961 Email address: peter.nunziato@austinisd.org Feel free to contact me at any time.

Our Objectives Raise student achievement in all four components of Literacy: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking Advance the reading level of all scholars by strengthening decoding and comprehension skills Focus on higher-order thinking skills, e.g. inferring, concluding, evaluating, connecting, comparing, etc. Instill a desire to read for pleasure Vocabulary is key!!!

Read, Read, Read! Students who read less than 20 minutes per day are likely to drop out of high school. Students who read more than 2 hours per day are likely to graduate from college Students who graduate from college earn 84% more in their lifetime than people who drop out of high school Research from National Assessment Governing Board

Reading is FUN, not a chore! I need YOUR help and support. Your child is with me for only 46 minutes per day. Please make sure reading is done on a daily/nightly basis. The best way to become a better reader is by reading. For the vast majority of the year, your child will be able to choose the text they wish to read independently. Involve yourself in your child’s reading. Ask them questions about what they read. Whenever possible, read with your child so they have the behavior modeled for them.

Interactive Journals Interactive Journals Stored in the classroom Used for warm-ups, genre study, class notes, and reader’s responses Warm-ups are predominantly dedicated to vocabulary work. Students should be able to complete vocabulary work in class, but are expected to finish incomplete work at home

Online Resources We will be using both MyOn.com and Istation throughout the year to level students Istation will be done on a monthly basis and students will track their own levels all year long. Three of these will be reported to the district for student records. MyOn.com will also be used to establish a benchmark reading level in September. Students can use both these resources at home.

Literature Circles By November, we will begin our first set of Literature Circles. Students will be reading novels independently, then discussing the novels with group members. We will begin with groups in which students will be at the same reading levels, then expand to groups with a mix of reading levels. Students will always be able to choose the novel they wish to read from a set of 4 – 6 choices. More detailed information will be shared via my website later in the year.

Mr. Nunziato’s Website nunziato6thgradereading.weebly.com Easiest access to ALL teachers’ websites: baileybears.org Click on “Our School” Click on “Staff” Click on any teacher’s name to link to website Detail, detail, detail!!! You will always know what is going on in this classroom! Please check the website frequently (typically updated every Sunday for the following week’s activity

Supply Donations Composition books Pencils Loose leaf paper Tissues Paper Towels Anti-bacterial wipes Snacks If you can help, the classes will appreciate it!

Questions? Please e-mail with any question you have regarding Reading, 6th grade, or your student. I will return an answer as soon as possible. Need a conference throughout the year? Contact me via e-mail or a phone call. We will schedule to meet with parents as a teaching team to best address your students needs if necessary.