1. 28/ 2/ 2016 Dear EC Parents, Al salam Alaykom, Once again, we are delighted to announce that we will be hosting our annual LITERACY MONTH during the month of March. Throughout the month, our students will be enjoying a variety of activities to encourage reading and develop a passion for books. It gives us great pleasure to invite parents to be a part of this wonderful event at home, as well as at school, by doing the following: - Read books at home with your child. Write the title of the book you’ve read in the home connection copybook. The teacher will add the title to the classroom Book Worm. It will be a competition where everybody is a winner. -You can find online free books on Kizclub.com/stories. On this website you can find story props that you can print and use to retell or act out stories. Please encourage your child to practice retelling a story and they can share it with their friends in class. -You may also encourage your child to draw their favorite story scene and write a few sentences about it. Teachers will display students’ contributions in the hallways. - Be a Surprise Reader! You may come to school and read to your child’s class, but please keep it as a surprise and don’t tell your child that you are coming. Nothing can top the excitement and joy on your child’s face when you walk unexpectedly into the class. - To become a Surprise Reader, send a note in the home connection along with several times that you are available. Your child’s teacher will choose from the times and confirm in the home connection. You can bring a favorite book or select one from the classroom library (in English or Arabic). Please do not bring sweets or prizes for the students. This is a “reading only” activity.

2. - Practice reading storybooks with your child as we will have a reading competition at the end of the month. (See reading rubric attached). - Encourage your child to save one pound (1 L.E) everyday throughout the month and when you save 25 pounds take him/ her to buy books to be donated to an orphanage. We will collect those books at the end of the month for donation. We will also have many school activities such as: Students will make class/ individual books and learn about book making. Buddy Reading: where older and younger students pair up to read together. The Reading Camp!! “D.E.A.R. the Deer” reading time ( Drop Everything And Read). Appropriate age level books will be on display to encourage students to read stories to their classmates. A storyteller will come to bring a storybook to life using puppets! We will arrange a visit to a public library. At the end of the month, inshaa Allah, we will have a Reading Celebration, (for students only), in which students may wear a costume of their favorite book character. Discuss with your child his/her favorite book and favorite character. To foster your child’s creativity, you may wish to design the costume together. Please, no Disney characters or super heroes, only authentic book characters. Teachers will perform some plays from books they have read to the children throughout the month and we will have many other surprises on that day. The best book to read is the Holy Quraan. Please make sure to read with your child for at least 10 minutes everyday. Thank you and happy reading! Bedayia EC Department

3. 321 Clarity I used a clear strong voice so that all audience members could hear. My voice was mostly clear. Most of the audience could hear. My voice was too low. Audience members had trouble hearing. Expression I changed my voice to show feeling or to sound like different characters. I remembered to change my voice some of the time. I read like a robot; I forgot to change the sound of my voice. Pace I read at a steady rate that was not too fast and not too slow. I read a little too fast or a little too slow. I read much too fast or very, very slowly. Accuracy I read every word correctly without help and I didn’t hesitate. I read most of the words correctly, but a couple of times I hesitated or needed help. I read some words correctly, but needed lots of help. Phrasing I paid attention to punctuation and grouped words so they made sense. I read a couple of words at a time. I read word by word. 321 Clarity I used a clear strong voice so that all audience members could hear. My voice was mostly clear. Most of the audience could hear. My voice was too low. Audience members had trouble hearing. Expression I changed my voice to show feeling or to sound like different characters. I remembered to change my voice some of the time. I read like a robot; I forgot to change the sound of my voice. Pace I read at a steady rate that was not too fast and not too slow. I read a little too fast or a little too slow. I read much too fast or very, very slowly. Accuracy I read every word correctly without help and I didn’t hesitate. I read most of the words correctly, but a couple of times I hesitated or needed help. I read some words correctly, but needed lots of help. Phrasing I paid attention to punctuation and grouped words so they made sense. I read a couple of words at a time. I read word by word.