Ways to Support Your Student
Daily homework (Monday- Thursday) is for students to read for at least 30 minutes and to record their thinking with an entry in their Reader’s Notebooks.
Provide time and space for your student to complete their daily reading. This time should be free from distractions such as televisions and phones.
Every Reader’s Notebook entry should be dated and include book title and start and stop page numbers.
Entries should reflect what the student was thinking while they were reading. Questions? Connections? Predictions?
What were their most important thoughts? The focus and the work should be in the actual reading, NOT writing the entry. Entries should only take a few minutes to record, however they should show evidence of their thinking from the text.
Students will be shown several different methods to capture their thinking over the course of the year. Writing does not always need to be in the form of sentences and paragraphs. They can use charts, timelines, diagrams, etc as creative ways to record their thought processes.
Over time, students will be expected to show evidence of practicing the skills and strategies they are taught in class. For example, as we begin the school year we will be discussing characterization. Students will be asked to write entries about character traits and provide evidence for them. As the year progresses, students will also reflect on conflict, plot, setting, theme. Entries should be an authentic representation of their independent practice of what they are taught in class.
Students will be presented with a “40 Book Challenge” during their sixth grade year. Ask your students about the books they are reading. Discuss the benefits of trying new genres, authors and series. Ask them what they are discovering about themselves as readers, their likes and dislikes. CELEBRATE their growth!
Check Genesis along with your student often. Google Classroom will NOT be a reflection of all assignments and work. Please start by checking Genesis for any missing assignments.
