To wrap up 2017, we will be doing a multi-day project. I have been collecting picture books and poems that celebrate the beauties of winter and its holidays. Each student will choose a text that speaks to him/her, then practice reading aloud a portion of the text. All these portions will be shared with the class on the second day of the project.

Our work in Trimester 1 had us diving deeply into Personal Narrative writing. Students' published stories are ready to be shared. Tomorrow, they will bring home their writing binders for you to peruse. In the green folder inside the binder, you will find the class notes that guided our work and your child's reflections on that work. You will also see the story written as a pre-assessment and the final story of the trimester. Enjoy!

We read a non-fiction book called The Power of Red. While reading, students noticed and made notes about their thoughts. They then looked back over their notes to find an idea they wanted to think more about. They then wrote about that idea. Our discussion about the book focused on our inferences. We did some vocabulary work around the word status. Our current book is called Steelpan Music. As with past books, students engage in a process of reading and note-taking, then writing in response to their ideas. For this book, we tried setting a purpose for reading, based on what we read in the introduction and on the back of the book. This gave students something to keep in mind as they read. We did some fluency work, using pauses and stress to make our expression match the text.

We read a non-fiction book called Building Green Skyscrapers. While reading, students noticed and made notes about their thoughts. They then looked back over their notes to find an idea they wanted to think more about. They then wrote about that idea. Our discussion about the book focused on our reactions to the text, the text's various features, and the author's use of the phrases "in fact" and "actually." We did some vocabulary work around the word absorb, and some work on fluency, practicing reading at a reasonable pace. Our current book is called The Gift of Aloha. As with past books, students engage in a process of reading and note-taking, then writing in response to their ideas.

We read a science fiction book called Goldilocks III. While reading, students noticed and made notes about their thoughts. They then looked back over their notes to find an idea they wanted to think more about. They then wrote about that idea. Our discussion about the book focused on our inferences and the book's themes. We did some vocabulary work around the word odious, and some word work with long vowel sounds. Our current book is called Diving Deep Into the Earth. As with past books, students engage in a process of reading and note-taking, then writing in response to their ideas.

Our "academic/school" work has recently been focused on developing two habits. These are habits that strong readers do in in their minds when they read. They think a lot, in many different ways. And they notice when they are confused about what the author is saying. We worked on these two habits while reading a variety of current events magazine articles. We tallied the different kinds of thinking we saw ourselves doing, and students looked for patterns in their own work. We then talked about why noticing confusion may be the most important thing a reader does. This habit leads readers to always be conscious of whether or not they are understanding the author's words and message. We practiced noticing confusion, and then worked on what we do with that confusion. Students realized that there are a number of fix-up strategies one can do to clear up confusion.

Dear Parents and Students,

Since my last blog, here is what we have been working on:

We are deep into our work on writing personal narratives. Since my last blog post, we have worked on: