Post date: Jul 11, 2009 1:35:27 AM
We finished reading 8 more chapters of The Trouble with Tuck, The Cloud Ride (poem), Sing a Song of Subways (poem), Letters to the Editor (opinion writing), and Lamar Saves the Day (play). The children have also been reading their book of choice from a selection of 200 Scholastic books. At the end of the summer, I will send home your child's Reading Log. This is a list of the books that your child has read either by him/herself or with the class. Celebrate this achievement by looking at the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading reward (a free book!) that I posted previously. This week, we have also discussed rhyme patterns in poems, learned and created our own Limerick, reviewed syllables, sorted words be beginning blends (sp-, st-), and worked on spelling strategies. Continue to review the following strategies to help your child read at home.
1. Look at the picture for clues.
2. Sound out the word.
3. Look for chunks in the word to help you read it. (intense)
4. Read the sentence (Make a "U-turn" if you make a mistake).
5. Skip over the word and finish reading the sentence. Can you guess what word would make sense?
6. Connect to another word (Sport looks a lot like the word fort--they must sound the same then).
7. Did the word that you said make sense? If it didn't, go back and try reading it again and use a strategy above to help you figure the word out.
8. Connect to the topic (If you know that the story is about dogs, a word that is long and begins with vet______ might be veterinarian).
Thank you for the snacks and drinks for our "Faux Friday." The students really enjoyed their reward for the hard work they've been doing for the past 2 weeks.
Weekly Behavior Charts and weekly work has been sent home in your child's folder. Please review and sign the chart after viewing your child's paperwork. I suggest reading over the paperwork together with your child and discussing the comments and progress that your child is making. What a great way to support your student's learning!
Keep using www.tickettoread.com at home. Your children have access to this wonderful reading comprehension tool during the summer. They can earn tickets and play reading games as they increase their reading comprehension skills. UserID and passwords are located in your child's folder.
Catch-up on our weekly story: Since the last post, Tuck's condition has been getting progressively worse. He was hit by a car in the street in front of his house and had to have surgery to close the wound. This incident really made Helen and her parents worry. They tried fencing him into the backyard, but he climbed the fence. They tried putting him on a leash, but he ate through the leash. Lastly, they installed a steel chain, and Tuck has not found a way to defeat the chain. His spirits are low, and he has given up and taken to lying down, waiting for Helen's return from school. Because Helen cannot bear to see Tuck so unhappy and because she overhears her parents talking about taking Tuck to see Dr. Tobin again, Helen decides to run away with Tuck. After a few hours, Helen calls home and returns. The next day, Helen gets a phone call from the Canine Companion Institute and is told to come in as soon as possible. Helen and her family drive to the institute to find that recently a canine companion, named Lady Daisy, has become available. Does this mean that Lady Daisy will be coming home with Helen and her family to help guide the blind family dog, Tuck? We'll see next week!