Students learned about a great reading framework developed by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst called BHH. When reading, students should be aware of what's in the book, what's in their head (thinking), and what's in their heart (how they are feeling). There is an anchor chart for this in my resource folder. Every book we read should move us in some way and possibly cause change (life lesson/theme). 
Beers and Probst also came up with 6 signposts readers should be aware of when they read. When we notice one of the sign posts, we should stop, and ask ourselves a specific question which requires deeper thinking about the text. These are concrete things students can notice and take note of in their notebooks in order to grow ideas about characters, conflicts, theme, and symbolism. Anchor charts for each of the sign posts are in my resource folder.
When your child reads at home he/she should be filling out his/her log nightly. Additionally, you can ask your child, "What's in your book, in your head, or in your heart." to get him/her talking about what he/she has read.  

Our nonfiction unit is coming to a close. Students have been busy researching a second extreme weather topic and comparing it to the first one. They will be presenting their information on Friday. They have been working on their written responses to questions in synthesizing text and identifying author's craft. They will be doing a jigsaw activity with the articles they recently read for homework. Each member of a four person team will be responsible for answering one of the four key questions from the unit. Students will have the opportunity to discuss their ideas and write responses that they will share with their team. They will be taking their final unit assessment on Thursday. 
Students recently wrote book reviews for our new bulletin board. Using their summarizing and opinion writing skills, Students chose favorite books to recommend to their peers. The bulletin board will serve as a resource for kids to use when they are looking for their next great book to read. 

    We have completed the first part of our informational reading unit. Students learned strategies readers of nonfiction need to have in order to understand the many complexities of nonfiction. They filled out a survey and chose extreme weather topics they were interested in, and their research groups were created. They are currently reading, taking notes, and becoming an expert on their topic. On Monday, November 7th they will teach another group all they have learned. Then groups will swap topics to become an expert on a second topic and do some comparing and contrasting work.
     Summarizing is not just one of our focus standards in this unit, it's an important strategy for increasing comprehension. Students have learned a technique involving three simple steps for summarizing nonfiction text. We practice orally using notes taken on a text, and then write. The anchor chart with an exemplar is available in my parent resource folder. Students are also synthesizing text, analyzing part to whole, and looking at author's craft in this unit.

STOP! Notice & Note!
     The first ten days of school students learned about close reading strategies called sign posts. They are 6 common signs that appear in almost any book. When you notice one, you stop and ask yourself an anchor question, and answer it in order to dig deeper into the text and grow ideas about characters, conflicts, and themes. Students have been actively using these strategies during our read aloud of The Tiger Rising,  and while reading in their book group books.
     In addition to the signposts, students have been learning strategies to help them identify the small moments; actions, dialogue, & character thoughts,  in text where we learn things about characters and can grow ideas about what kind of people they are. They are learning to use precise language; character traits. By identifying multiple traits students are beginning to understand how characters, like people, are complicated or more than one way. They are learning to also think about a character's motivations and the obstacles they encounter while trying to get what they want. How they deal with the obstacle or problem gives important information about what kind of person the character is as well. They record all of their thinking while they read on post-it notes or directly in their reading response notebooks. This helps them to hold onto their ideas, look for patterns of behavior, and grow ideas by gathering evidence from the text.
      Next we'll be looking at how characters change from the beginning to the end of a story, what they learn, and identifying the theme.
Writing About Reading!
     Being able to write about what you read helps to solidify your own understanding of the text. Additionally, students need to be able to respond to specific questions, cite examples from the text to support their ideas, and explain why their example is a good one. I introduced them to RACE. It's an acronym which will help them to remember to include all the parts of a well written response. Then they use the student rubrics from the learning progressions to rate one another and get feedback on their work.

HOMEWORK EXPECTATIONS!
     Students are expected to read for a minimum of 20 minutes every night. They should be reading in a "just right" book. Their book club books will be read in school unless they have make up reading to do. Their homework book can be a choice read. At this time we are requiring them to log what they read, when, and how many pages.