BOOKS & READING

 This is an example of our matchbook summaries.  Kids wrote a short summary of the chapter called The Cave.  They designed the cover too.  Amazing work.  

 The BFG has a difficult time with words.  Here are things we've been keeping track of as we read...words he doesn't quite get right.  

 Our thoughts, ideas, predictions, inferences, etc. as we read.  We take a lot of notes!  

 Reading group discussion!

CLOSE READING!

They are amazing.  We are doing a lot of reading in room 306.  One of my absolute favorite parts of my job is reading out loud to your children.  The looks on their faces, the gasps, the giggles and the groans when I have to stop reading…it’s all an amazing part of my day.  We are currently reading The BFG by Roald Dahl.  He’s a gifted writer and we do a lot of laughing while reading this book.  The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) is a bumbling and goofy character and everyone LOVES him from the moment we meet him.  He has taken Sophie, a nine year-old girl, from her village in the middle of the night.  Ask your kids what is happening in the book!  Ask for DETAILS.  Ask them to tell you about Sophie.  What is she like?  Have them tell you about the NINE other giants (they are twice the size of the BFG!) that live in giant country.  Talk to them about the books we read in class.  We write about these books, so it will help them to discuss the books with you at home too! 

In our reading groups, we are ALL reading nonfiction books.  We are starting something called CLOSE READING.  This strategy has you read a short book or passage THREE times.  The first time we read, we students should be able to find the main idea of the text and summarize what they’ve read.  The second time they read, they will be able to notice text structure, author’s purpose and word choice.  By the third time, they will be able to clearly inference and give key points about the text.  We are reading a RAZ book, so it was copied and allows them to write things directly on their books.  They can also highlight, use sticky notes and make marks in the margins.  We started with a few symbols that everyone will begin using this week.  UNDERLING a word means that it’s an important word.  CIRCLING a word means that it’s an unknown word.  Drawing a HEART near a word or sentence means it’s a favorite part.  These notations will also help them find things they will include in their paragraph in the Writing about Reading section of their Reader’s Notebook.  We also took a moment to talk about the responsibilities they have when it comes to reading groups.  They LOVE to meet (yay!) but kids were having a hard time remembering what to bring with them.  We worked on an anchor chart and they have done a great job remembering!  There’s a lot to bring and do in our reading groups.  Ask them about what we are doing in our reading group.  What are they learning?  What have we discussed?