Mrs. Burns' Kindergarten
Weekly Wrap-Up
Happy Valentines Day!
Reading Strategies for Home
The oral reading strategy this week is "Think Alouds”. Research has revealed that students who have difficulty comprehending, often have trouble seeing that the purpose of reading is to understand a message. Even advanced readers struggle with this. It is not enough to be able to "word call". Understanding is the key. “Think Alouds” are one of the best ways to help children see that reading is comprehending and that there are
strategies that help with this.
During a “Think Aloud”, you speak your thoughts while reading aloud, which is what experienced readers do. As adults we do this all the time and probably don’t even realize it. However, when you do this you are interacting with the text which helps you to understand it. In order to become more fluent readers, children need to be able to do the following:
• Predict
• Be able to form mental images about what they are reading
• Use their prior knowledge (what they already know about a topic)
• Monitor how well they are understanding what they are reading
• Fix problems as they happen in their reading
• All of the above can be done with the “Think Aloud” strategy. TALK,
TALK, TALK, TALK! That is the key! Remember, you don’t do all the
talking. Encourage your child to do some talking too. Attached you will
find a few question to help you with this strategy.
To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. ~ Edmund Burke
Ash Wednesday
Lent is a time of preparation for Easter. We think of the forty days of Lent as an opportunity to change our daily lives and become as close to God as possible. Explaining this concept to your child, however, can be challenging, as children may be confused by changes to their normal routines and the ideas of sacrifice and self-denial. As we learn about Lent in our classroom, you can talk about it with your children at home by...
-Teaching them about the unconditional love of Jesus
-Talk about the meaning of Easter (Jesus' death and resurrection)
-Explain the traditions of Lent (Ash Wednesday, the significance of the forty days, explain fasting...)
-Emphasize the importance of maintaining a close relationship with God
-Honor the Holy Week together
-Make spirituality a family affair
Math: Grouping Concepts
Being able to group numbers and shapes makes them easier to understand. You can help your child by practicing grouping concepts at home. Here is an example of an activity you can do with your child:
When cleaning up from play, have your child sort the objects before putting them away. Talk about the differences in size, shape and color and help your child place the items in groups based on these attributes. For example, blocks or legos can sorted by size or color.