Students in 5A are starting an inquiry project about the Arctic Region. Please ask your child about the letter that was sent home today. Here is what we have done so far:
1- brainstormed questions to ask students in Kugluktuk - no restrictions, just that it had to be school appropriate 2- talked about our criteria for "important" and talked about what is important 3- categorized our questions into the categories of importance 4- grouped into areas of interest based on the categories of importance 5- started a google doc with all of the questions in our interest based groups.
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PLEASE ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT THIS!
It was a proud teacher moment when I posted the groupings for our book clubs on Tuesday. The cheers and excitement from the students was as if they had won the Stanley Cup...I am not kidding!!! As a class, we read the back and first few pages of about 10 different books. Students listened, took notes and ranked the books using stars. Once finished, students wrote a justification to their top 3 choices, and outlined why they wanted to read those particular books. From there, I collected the writing journals and started crunching the data. Students, for the most part, got to read their top choice of books. They were grouped into groups of 3 or 4 (with a couple groups of 2). We created some class rules for the book clubs: no arguing, include everyone, stay on topic, keep materials neat and tidy, don't interrupt and don't skip ahead in the reading. When we have our book club days, it is broken into 3 sections. 1 - read: either individually, designated reader or "popcorn" 2 - say something: literally just that, say something. We talked about how when adults go to book clubs they don't sit quietly and individually complete written answers to questions in a work booklet, so why should we ask students to do the same! The power of conversation and dialogue (with prompts of course as needed) helps students truly engage in their reading. As I circulated yesterday I heard "I wonder about..." or "I am confused why..." all of which are natural conversations that can happen when reading. Working together in small groups, and through conversations, students help each other build understanding of what they are reading. 3 - word work, drawing or written responses: based on a variety of choices During each book club, I sit with one group of student sand engage in the 3 steps with them. As a teacher this is my way to check in on their reading, comprehension and overall fluency. Be sure to ask your child about the book they are reading in their book club! |
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