A Story of... A Love of Reading
In the Fall's After School program at Kolb Elementary, 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Stacy Alvarez, is knee deep in teaching one of her greatest passions to students - the joy of reading. Alvarez who has been teaching for 10 years now, is the mother of two young boys and enjoys running said, “I love teaching all different grade levels and enjoy helping students tap into and discovering their love of learning. With two young boys at home, I don’t have much free time in my life these days, but if and when I do, I love to read as much as I can.” Ms. Alvarez's class in the Fall After School program is called “Chapter Chats: Readers Book Club.”
Ms Stacy Alvarez, Kolb Elementary Teacher
“Reading can be a lot of fun,” said Ms. Alvarez. “It’s fun to get engrossed in a book, to discover the qualities of each character in a story and to lose yourself in those characters, travel with and enjoy adventures without having to ever step outside your door. You can feel like you are a part of the story. One of the books we are reading at the moment is The Tale of Despereaux, which is a story about three characters who are about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. A journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle and ultimately, into each other’s lives.”
As much as you seem to enjoy teaching your reading class we know you are excited about teaching a new class in the winter session entitled, “Effective Learning Strategies for 3rd, 4th & 5th Graders.” Why are you so excited about teaching this new course?
I’m looking forward to helping students develop their study skills and learning how to stay organized, study more efficiently and be more engaged in their classwork. These are skills that kids need not only to be successful in upper elementary grades, but those skills will become even more important as they head off to middle school.
In the Learning Strategies class, students will engage in collaborative reading and writing projects, will practice public speaking and communication skills as well as learn to use technology to create projects. I’m really going to work with students on developing proper note taking habits and then to use those notes in preparing an assignment. I want students to understand there are different techniques they can use in studying for math, science and social studies exams. Additionally, we will practice taking assessments online to help them prepare for the SBAC exams (Smarter Based Assessment Consortium).
At the end of your learning strategies class this winter, what are you hoping the kids will take with them that they can use in their future?
I’m hoping that with the skills the kids learn in the Learning Strategies class that all the kids will leave with the self confidence to tackle the rest of the school year and to experience success. And with success, I feel they can improve their skills which will prepare them for the demands of middle school when they leave Kolb Elementary. It is so much fun to see the power of self discovery as students learn what they are capable of achieving.
To find out more details about Ms Alvarez's Learning Strategies class - click here.