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Dear Families and Friends,
This Tuesday, the PTA heard a
presentation from our Reading Specialist, Mrs. Carper, 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Coles, and 6th grade teacher, Mr. Witchell, about how we do word study at Cunningham
Park. Together, the teachers shared that
research teaches us spelling is a developmental process. If we have students working outside of their
developmental level, they might be able to memorize words for a weekly test,
but they wouldn’t internalize the way that the words were spelled.
Here at
Cunningham Park, we are not teaching lists of words, rather we are teaching the
spelling concepts and how words work.
This is called word study, it is a hands-on approach to the teaching of
phonics, spelling, and vocabulary. Students are all initially assessed in order
to determine their developmental spelling stage. They then work with word and pattern sorts
that support their level of spelling development, gradually getting more and
more intricate until all of the concepts for that stage have been
mastered. Students do have regular
assessments, however they are not on a list of words, but rather on the
concepts being taught. Spelling levels are regularly assessed as well, to
ensure that all students are working within their developmental spelling level.
Moving into the upper grades, students
begin dissecting words, focusing on stems, root words, prefixes, and so on, and
investigate how they go together to form new meanings. With this process, students begin to
construct knowledge based on word origins.
As students learn more stems, they can decipher unfamiliar words by
breaking them down to determine the meaning of their parts, then putting them
back together to understand the whole word.
For example, if a student knows the stem “ante” means “before,” and the
stem “bell” means “war,” the student can determine the word “antebellum” means “before
war.”
Feel free to contact your child's teacher to learn more about word study at Cunningham Park.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Katie Le, Principal and Kat Ngo,
Assistant Principal
Kindergarten Registration and Orientation
Registration is now open for kindergarten students who will be 5 years old on
or before September 30th. Parents are asked to call the school office at (703)
255-5600 to schedule an appointment. Registration packets are available for
pickup during regular office hours.
Kindergarten Orientation will be held April 19th at 4:00-5:00pm. Spread the word to friends who have young ones entering kindergarten next year.
Dates to Remember
Thursday, April 6, Madison Pyramid Art Show, 6:30-8:00pm at Madison High School
April 9-14, Spring Break: NO SCHOOL
Monday, April 17, Teacher Workday: NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, April 19, Kindergarten Orientation, 4:00-5:00pm
Friday,
April 21,
The Jungle Book play, 6:00pm
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