It’s the first week of August and it’s been quite a busy summer here at Miss Betsy's Place! The learning studio has just been hopping! I’ve had the pleasure of tutoring eight wonderful students ages 5-12. I carefully designed each individual child’s lessons and targeted their needs. They have learned their lessons well, and in such a short period of time!

For example, with my youngest student’s lessons, I used the Barton Reading System and focused on reviewing letter names, the sounds symbol relationship, and then blending letters together to decode (sound out) and encode (spell) three letter short vowel words.

Other older students reviewed or were taught the seven syllable types (closed, open, magic e, vowel teams, r-controlled, diphthong, and consonant –le.) I used curricula provided by both Project Read and the Barton Reading System depending on which worked best for that particular child. The students worked on syllabicating and decoding multisyllabic words, reading with purpose for comprehension and understanding, writing summaries and writing their own stories.

Over the summer, the children also worked diligently on honing their penmanship skills! I created individual cursive handwriting lettering sheets (both right-handed and left-handed) and with practice, the children’s skills improved. I purchased several Boaer fountain pens and six brightly colored inks so that the children would have more fun with writing! Also, I printed lines on different colored copy paper so that their writing assignments could actually become a “work of art!”

This summer all of my students enjoyed learning and improving their reading, writing and penmanship skills!

I’m looking forward to school beginning in September and to another great year here in Powhatan! I’m excited about working with my students’ parents, the awesome members of the Child Study Teams, the special education teachers, and the regular education teachers! It’s so important that we all share information and pull together in an effort to afford our students the best education possible.

~ Miss Betsy

http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit