Inferring

Last week we began a new reading unit: Inferring. "Reading between the lines" is one way to think abut inferring. It is filling in, in your head, what is  not written on the page. When readers to learn to infer while reading, they learn to look for clues in text, in pictures and in their own knowledge that will help them make sense of the text. This is a challenging reading strategy but I will be introducing it using simple texts and providing many opportunities for students to easily and successfully fill in parts of the story to practise their inferring skills.

Procedural Writing and Reading A-Z

Procedural Writing
The newest activity that we are working on in English is procedural writing. Earlier in the week we read a book about the steps involved when making a snowman and highlighted the transitional words such as "first", "then" "next" "finally" that were used. We then did a full group shared writing about how we would make snowmen using playdoh, raisins and mini carrot as the materials. We then created snowmen using these materials in small groups following the steps that we had written.This helped the kids see how important it is to add detail and to be clear when writing procedures while getting supported practice. 

Next we played a game using coloured foam blocks to orally give directions on how to recreate pictures of structures made with four or five of these blocks. Currently, students are now designing their own structures using the same blocks and writing their instructions on how to recreate it. The main things that I want students to get out of this writing activity is the use of transitional words and using adequate detail and clarity to write instructions that others can follow. 

Reading A-Z

I will soon be starting to bring my own personal copies of Reading A-Z books to class for students to borrow rather than waiting for individual accounts. I have recently acquired a filing box system that will make it easier for me to bring my books from my office to my classrooms that I visit. I plan on doing book exchanges once a week and letting students choose their own books. Students are not required to borrow books, but I did want to make the option available. I plan for Mondays to be the book exchange day. If your child will not be exchanging books and would like to use this time for independent reading, they are welcome to bring a book to class to read. Otherwise, I will have a short activity for them to do at this time. 

Media and Advertising

This week we have been learning about persuasive devices used in advertising (print ads and commercials). Students have been learning how to identify and think critically about techniques used that make a product more appealing such as: a slogan or jingle; using a famous person (star power); claims of being new, improved, or fast acting; bandwagon (everyone else is using it!, 2 out of 3 people prefer...!); and promoting a product's ability to make you happier or healthier. We have had a lot of really good discussions and it has been a fun week. 

Tomorrow I will be away at a workshop, but I will have my coverage teacher hand out the Word Wall Word Duotangs that I mentioned in last week's post. There is no expectation of when and how often your child will be completing these activities, and I will not be collecting any completed work. I do ask however that your child brings the duotang to school every Monday so that they can add the new weekly words to it. 

Next week we will begin a unit on procedural writing. More on that to come!
 

Similes and Descriptive Writing

This week we are finishing up our unit on Visualization. We are now focusing on adding descriptive detail to our writing to make our readers best be able to visualize what we are writing about. To do this, I have taught the students about similes (see our Shared Reading this week for a poem that is full of similes: comparisons of two things using the words 'like' or 'as'). After reading through this shared reading poem and identifying the similes, I presented the class with a large collection of Pet Shop Animal figurines. In small groups each student practiced describing a mystery figurine in enough detail to have the others in their group guess which animal they were describing. Now that they have had enough practice with their oral descriptions, they will choose one figurine to write three descriptive sentences or similes about to help me guess which figurine they are describing.

I am currently working on a duotang to send home with each child to help review their word wall words at home. In it, you will find a list of all the words we have already learned, as well as a collection of word wall games and activities we have used in class to practice spelling these words. There will also be a space for the new words to be added each week. Every so often, I will send home new games or activities that can be added to the collection to keep the learning fresh and interesting. I am sure that the students will love teaching you the games that we have played, and it will help to give you some ideas of how you can help your child review their words at home as needed. I hope to be able to send home these duotangs next week.

Visualization

The next few weeks we will be talking a lot about "Visualizing". When readers visualize, they are using the words they hear or read in a text to create visual images or movies in their mind. They are training their brains for when they read books that don't include pictures with the texts. We will discuss how every person's mental images will be different since they combine their own background knowledge with the words of the author. The more descriptive the author is, the clearer the visualization can be.  These mental images enhance their understanding and to bring what they read to life.

Letter Writing continued

We are continuing our letter writing activities this week. After reading the book "Dear Tooth Fairy", students have written their own letters to the Tooth Fairy. Some other students also chose to write friendly letters to a class friend, "Gus the Goose", who migrated to Florida and has been sending us letters and pictures of his travels. After writing a rough copy of their friendly letter, students highlighted the key components of a letter from a posted checklist to proofread their work. For example, they checked that they included a comma after the greeting and then highlighted it. Once their proofreading was complete, they started their good copies which they are finishing up now. 

There is no new shared reading or word wall words this week. I encourage students to keep up their practice of word wall words at home. We will also be using some class time this week to review them. 

Friendly Letters

The next couple of weeks we will be working on the components of a friendly letter. These include the heading (at this point this includes only the date and a few different ways of how to write it), the greeting, the body of the letter, the closing and the signature. At this point, I am focusing on having the students understand what these key components are and where they are written in a friendly letter layout. Our shared reading this week reviews many of these concepts. I expect the date to be written at the top and over on the right side of the page. The greeting should end with a comma, and the body should include at least one question. The closing is also written on the right side of the paper ending with a comma, and the signature is written directly below that. I am hoping that with lots of reinforcement activities, games and review in class, that this layout will be second nature to them when they move on to actually writing and editing their own friendly letters in a few days time. I know that the French teachers are also planning a letter writing unit in December which will build on and support their learning with me.