Over the last two weeks, third graders have been working on creating the best reading lives for themselves by... -Choosing a good reading spot -Reading as if books are gold (Don't be a curmudgeon!) -Setting goals -Reading Just Right books -Finding and sharing great books -Talking about books with a partner How can you help at home? -Find out what a good reading spot is for your child and help them find one at home. This should be a place where your child can focus and do their best reading! -Reading books as if they're gold is all about attitude towards reading! If a person approaches something like it's the worst thing ever, then it will be the worst thing ever. If a person approaches something like it's great, then it will be great! Build excitement around reading! -Have your child read out loud to you. Talk about whether or not the book your child has seems Just Right, Too Easy, or Too Challenging. Just Right books vary from reader to reader. Characteristics of a Just Right book: -Read with fluency (scooping up 3-4 words in a breath) -Read with expression -The reader knows and understands most of the words -The reader understands who the characters are, what the setting is, and what the problem(s) is -If it's leveled, then it could be within your child's reading level Our reading unit has entered a new bend-- How Readers Comprehend A Story. Lessons have focused on... -Readers Check for Comprehension -Readers switch between Visualizing and Fact Collecting -Making Predictions Readers Check for Comprehension Good readers stop at the end of a chapter, or some times during a chapter, to do a comprehension check. Readers ask themselves,... 1. Who is in this part? 2. What happened? 3. Does this fit with already happened? Or is this new? Helping at home: You can use these questions at home with your child when you're reading together, or when you're checking in with your child's independent reading. Readers switch between Visualizing and Fact Collecting Authors write in ways that signal to readers whether they should be making a mental movie in their mind or collecting information. Readers ask, "What kind of mind-work is this part wanting me to do?" Recognizing which to do can be tricky, so I model it a lot when I'm doing read aloud. Here's an excerpt from our read aloud, Stone Fox: from page 14: Grandfather put his hand down on the bed with his palm facing upward. Little Willy looked at the hand for a long time and then asked, in a whisper, "Does this mean 'yes'?" Grandfather closed his hand slowly, and then opened it again. Little Willy rushed to the side of the bed. His eyes were wild with excitement. "What's the sign for 'no'?" Are you visualizing or fact collecting? Visualizing! Here the writer wants us to see what's happening, so he's using dialogue and actions and descriptions to bring this moment alive for his readers! from pages 16-17 There was a lot of work to be done. The underground shed-- where the potatoes would be stored until they could be sold-- had to be cleaned. The potato sacks had to be inspected, and mended if need be. The plow had to be sharpened. But most important, because Grandfather's old mare had died last winter, a horse to pull the plow had to be located and rented. Visualizing or fact collecting? Fact collecting! Instead of showing us this part, the author decided to summarize what Little Willy needs to do, so we are collecting information. When I'm reading out loud and come to a part that seems to be fact collecting, I hold up my hand and collect the facts across my fingers to signal to the students that I'm doing the mind-work of fact collecting! Helping at home: When you read together, notice parts that are filled with details of description, action, dialogue and talk about the mental movie in your mind! Most often, readers of fiction should have that mental movie going on in their mind! Making Predictions When readers are making predictions, they are inferring what will happen next using text details. In third grade, I stress the importance of using text details/evidence to support predictions. Here's what our class anchor chart looks like, which will be put in your child's Fiction Tools section of their Home/School Binder: Here are predictions students made in class this week about Stone Fox: I think Grandfather is sick in bed because he is worried that he doesn't have money. I think this because on the back blurb it said Willy has to save the farm from tax collectors, so Grandfather must not have money. I think the man is a tax collector. I think this because on the back blurb it said tax collectors would try to take the farm. Helping at home: As you read with your child, or when your child finishes reading independently, ask them to share a prediction they have. When they share it, they should say their prediction and then say why they think it using text evidence. Making predictions is a skill students will be assessed on at the end of this unit. I will provide more information about reading assessments on the Reading Parent Letter I will send home early this coming week. Please be on the lookout for it in your child's Home/School Communication folder.
0 Comments
Reader's Workshop has begun in third grade! Students learned the structure of reader's workshop, received their HES bags, completed or started a reading survey, and picked out books! Our first reading unit is called Building a Reading Life. The first lesson taught students that readers just don't read book; readers also build reading lives! To build a successful reading life, we thought about times when we felt happy while reading (for example, in a cozy spot, in a quiet room). And we thought about a time when we felt proud of our reading (for example, trying a different genre, pushing through a tricky word). Students decided a goal for themselves and wrote it on their personal anchor chart, which can be found in their Home/School binder! ROUTINES: What's the HES Bag for? Third graders have been given their very own HES Bag, which has their name written on it. This bag is for carrying around their reading books. Students can also put their library books in it. This bag should always come to school and always go home at the end of the day. How will the reading tabs in the Home/School binder be used? Third graders have 4 tabs in their Home/School Binder for reading: My Strategies, Fiction Tools, Nonfiction Tools, and Book List. My Strategies: This section will contain charts for students on what they are working on as readers. Fiction Tools: This section will contain anchor charts related to our units and other helpful fiction tools. Nonfiction Tools: This section will contain nonfiction related anchor charts. Book List: This section will have a book list for students to keep track of books they have read. Glimpse into 9/5 week: A lesson will focus on how our attitude towards reading can affect our reading success and another lesson will focus on choosing just right books! |
Our Current Read Aloud:
Read alouds are used to teach reading skills and strategies. Sometimes I read new parts of our read aloud during our lessons. Other times, I go back to previously read parts to teach a skill and strategy. I ask that students do not read the current read aloud until after we finish it. Archives
November 2018
Categories |