Literacy
READING AND WRITING TOGETHER IN OUR CLASS
Reading
Reading focus in primary grades:
An important part of our Social Studies unit this year is about understanding the ways that families are the same and the ways they are different. Here are some of the stories we'll be reading to help us understand that:
- learning the origins of words and spelling conventions
- how to ask questions while we read
- making connections to our experiences and other books
- retelling what we've read
An important part of our Social Studies unit this year is about understanding the ways that families are the same and the ways they are different. Here are some of the stories we'll be reading to help us understand that:
- Bee-bim Bop is the story of a little girl helping her mother gather the ingredients and cook the family dinner of bee-bim bop.
- Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji is the story a young boy's grandfather who tells stories about his amazing feats of strength when he was young. The secret to his powers was his mother's roti so the young boy decides to make him some roti to give his Dada-ji his powers again.
- Rashad's Ramadan explain the traditions around the Muslim observance of Ramadan.
- Happy Belly, Happy Smile is about a young boy who visits his grandfathers restaurant. he describes the foods and people he meets there.
- Mali Under the Night Sky is based on the true story of a young girl from Laos whose family had to escape during war.
- Filipino Friends introduces readers to the sights, sounds, and traditions of the Philippines.
a few of Mr. G's favorite books: |
My parents used to read Oh say can you Say? and The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear to me when I was little. There were my favorites and they taught me to love books. The Mouse and the Motorcycle was one of the first chapter books I remember reading when I was in school. I loved imagining the miniature world that Ralph lived in. I had a hard time in at school in the 3rd grade and didn't think I was very smart or a very good reader. But the following summer I saw Jurassic Park. I was confident that it was the best movie I had ever seen. I simply had to read the book. It took me all summer but I finally finished it. Reading that book gave me the confidence to be a good reader. I read several more Michael Crichton novels over the next few years. I owe a lot to him. Like any fan of fantasy novels, I love The Lord of the Rings. In college I even studied Old English so that I could better understand J. R. R. Tolkien's stories even better. Boneshaker is the fist book in the Clockwork Century series by Cherie Priest, my favorite steampunk author. It takes place in a fictional version of Seattle in the 1870s where people have to live underground to escape the toxic gas that turns people into zombies! |
writing
This year our writing is going to focus on:
- spelling
- using adjectives
- writing in complete sentences
- writing letters to peers and people of authority
- learning to use the basic elements of storytelling: setting, characters, plot, beginning, middle, end, etc.
- comparing and contrasting
- writing reports