Category Archives: Literacy
Education = Job Choice!
The more education you receive the more choice you have about your future job, and how much money you will make! The jobs that our class gets the most excited about, like being veterinarians, working with computers, or being a teacher, all require 4 years in college or more! Some people, who finish school, even get to make up their own jobs. Peter Rork, is one of these people! Read about his cool job here!
Can you fill in the blank?
Cloze reading activities challenge you to think deeply as a reader. By picking the correct word to fit into the sentence, you are showing that you understand how to construct and read sentences.
The Sheep are Making a Comeback!
As we continue studying current events this week we are going to look deeper into the text features that help us understand what we’re reading. Like we’ve learned before, text features are anything other than the main paragraphs of the text, that help us better understand the author’s intended message. Today, we are going to read a Newsela.com article on the Bighorn sheep in California. These sheep had almost become extinct and only 105 were left. Now there are 500 sheep! Read the article to discover how scientists helped save the Bighorn sheep!
The article comes with a great map to help you understand where these sheep are located. Study the map and see what you notice. Is there a key or legend to help you out? Do the different colors and shadings mean anything? Is it important to read the text on the map as well?
Today, as you read from a Scholastic News magazine of your choice, notice how the text features help you better understand the text!
Current Events!
We have gone current events crazy in room B11! This week we have read several news articles on topics currently happening around the world. There is so much going on out there! Here are two more articles for you to read.
Check out these headlines about children around the world:
Cheating on Big Tests in India to get the best Scores
No Grades in this Classroom!
As always, you can check out more about what is going on in the world at Newsela.com!
Thank you notes show appreciation!
Dear Richard,
Thank you very much for my new blue frisbee! I absolutely love it! I like to put it in my bed and push it around the house. I accidentally pushed it under the bookcase and my mom had to get it back out for me. It was very thoughtful of you to think of me!
Sincerely,
Pablo Cinco Felter
What if you couldn’t go to school?
On my favorite nonfiction reading for kids website, Newsela.com, there is an interesting article on children in Afghanistan who can’t afford to go to school. Read the article and let me know what you think. Can you imagine not being able to go to school? How would that change your life?
Shukriya, 8, sells toilet paper in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan. Although child labor is illegal in the country, it is still around today, due to a lack of enforcement and the need of many families to have as many members earning income as possible.
iPads & Literacy
Today, we focused on our improving our literacy skills by reading a fabulous article on The Original Rosie the Riveter on our iPads! This article, on Newsela.com, had some complicated vocabulary. Good readers understand that they don’t have to know every word in a story or article to understand the big picture, or main idea. When you don’t know all of the words, use the clues around the word to help you!
For example, here is an excerpt from the article: “She was trying to escape being poor. Monroe was determined to find work at the Willow Run airplane plant in Ypsilanti, Mich. She wanted to fly a plane. But with two children, she wasn’t allowed.”
I have never heard of the words “Ypsilanti, Mich” before, but using the clues around the word I can see that it is where the airplane plant was located. So, using these clues I bet that Ypsilanti, Mich is a place (ok, ok, since I’m an adult reader I can tell you that Ypsilanti, Mich is a city in Michigan, but I wanted to model how to use clues!)
Keep reading and hunting for clues to unknown words!
Rosie the Riveter Returns!
I noticed something interesting on my favorite nonfiction reading site for kids. Newsela.com is a great website that contains many current news articles written for students. When you click on the left of the site you can change the Lexile level of the article. A lower Lexile level will be easier to read and a higher level will be more difficult, probably on a middle school level. On Newsela I found this great article, The Original Rosie the Riveter had the Right Name for the Job! The article discusses the same Rosie we learned about in Andrea Beaty’s book, Rosie Revere Engineer! Take a few minutes to read and enjoy this article. Adjust the Lexile level on the left if the text seems too difficult or simple!
Here’s one of our favorite pages from Rosie Revere Engineer! (If you want to learn about powerful, smart women then check out this book!)
Idioms all Around Us!
On our walk today, Pablo reminded me of another idiom!
After a long cold winter, we should take time to remember the good and beautiful things in life. That’s why Pablo always remembers to stop and smell the roses. Can you determine what, “Stop and smell the roses means?”
