Room 107 News January 16
Writing
We have launched a unit of study on realistic fiction. Our class explored what distinguishes realistic fiction as a genre, and students have started their own realistic fiction stories this week. Mr. Whitman, our librarian, will be working with our class on oral story telling as a planning and revision strategy in writing. We are lucky to be working with him because he is a professional story teller! He will be co-teaching the class in the coming weeks. Students will sharpen their speaking skills and creativity through oral story telling. Making connections between the spoken and written word is critical for language development.
Mr. Whitman's story telling website:
Our class was lucky today! We got a visit from professional story teller, Jeff Gere. Jeff lives in Hawaii and stopped in to pay ISB a quick visit. He told the class a hilarious story about his brother and a dog. Ask you child to share it with you.
Jeff Gere's website.
What to ask you child about their learning in writing:
What is realistic fiction?
What is a character?
What is a setting?
What's a problem and solution?
Tell me about the characters you made up at school this week.
What adventures or problems are your characters going to encounter in your stories?
What is realistic fiction?
Tell your story with five fingers.
What can realistic fiction stories be about? Some ideas...
Reading
This unit of study will help kids think about when to slow down and use a strategy when they run into trouble. This week, we reviewed decoding strategies that many of the students forgot about. These strategies are specific work attack skills that help students decode words. See them below and ask your children about them when reading.
Math and Social Studies
Math
Social Studies
We will study Rules, Roles, Responsibilities, and Respect for the next several weeks. More information will be given in the coming weeks.