Oops!

I missed yesterday - sorry.

I am struggling, as you may be, with juggling all that is on our plates lately. Kids' practices, meetings, late work at school, planning, music programs, homework, oh, and there is the issue of keeping a clean house.

I wanted to share, however, the exciting things I am seeing with kids.

Today I worked with small groups in a nonfiction piece about Aesop...since we are studying fairy tales and traditional literature. It gave me the opportunity to review nonfiction text. It is so crucial to point out to them  all the specific things that help aid comprehension-graphs, pictures, maps, captions, etc.

We also talked about context clues and using sentences around vocabulary to make meaning. I asked them to look for "clues" - but with the caveat "words that help you get a guess about what it means" - I think that makes it clearer to them as to what they are looking for.

It's about getting them to think about what they are thinking - think about what your brain is doing as you are figuring things out. Think...think...think.

It's getting them to be active - not passive.

Which, by the way, is my kids these days - when we are reading together, they are hanging on my every word...a big difference from the beginning of the year. Also, they are discussing rather than just letting a few kids talk - that's fun.