All the Grade 1 to 4 students enjoyed their trip to see Fred Penner perform a dramatic retelling of the story of Peter and the Wolf. There were some great opportunities to sing-a-long as well as listen to a band create the sound effects to further dramatize the story. Mrs Kirk, our music teacher arranged this trip to enhance the work she does with our students when using music to create mood and effect.
We love Phoebe Gilman books!
In language, we are learning about the author and illustrator Phoebe Gilman who has written many well known stories. We learned that she was a Canadian author who lived in Toronto and that she came to Ms Fink's class when she was first teaching. Her books include the Jillian Jiggs series, The Balloon Tree, Something from Nothing, Blue Ben,Grandma and the Pirates and so many more. We are working on the goal of 'retelling' so will be learning how to identify parts of a narrative story (setting, characters, problem, solution) using sequencing as a way to work through this process. When you are reading with your child, please feel free to ask about the setting, characters or how a problem is solved as you go along. This will really reinforce what we are doing in class.
As well, we will also be examining fiction, non-fiction and info-fiction in the near future. Info-fiction would be a book that contains both true and made up aspects such as the Magic School Bus series which carries a fictional storyline (Ms Frizzle and the bus that flies) as well as the learning aspects which include real facts. So if your child identifies a book as 'info- fiction' you will now know what they mean!
Home Reading started this week!
As I stated in my September newsletter, I wanted to take some time to read with each student and check for both comprehension and decoding skills so I could truly understand your child's reading level and learning needs. Please encourage your child to exchange books as often as they like and make reading a daily part of your routine. If your child isn't enthused, you could try the trick my parents did with me (when I was little). Set your child's bedtime at the usual time but allow 10 minutes extra as 'reading time' each night. The opportunity to stay up just a few minutes longer just might do the trick!
No comments:
Post a Comment