Lesson Learned

One of the comprehension skills that we focus on at the elementary school is identifying the theme of the story.  It is a skill that several of the grade levels are currently working on. Theme is the message or moral of the story.



One of the best strategies that we have found for instructing students on this skill is teaching students to identify the "small picture" vs. the "big world idea". 

Here's an example of "small picture" vs. "big world idea".

In the story "The Ugly Duckling", the duckling was not happy because he was called ugly.  He didn't look like the others, and he ended up being a swan in the end.  That's the small picture because it only applies to that particular story.  The "big world idea", which is the theme, may be "We are all special in our own way" or "Don't judge someone based on how they look".  These are big world ideas because that advice can apply to everyone.  Our small picture SUPPORTS the big world idea.

If asked what the theme of this story is, an exemplar answer would be:

The theme of this story is don't judge someone based on what they look like.  I know this because everyone called the duckling ugly because he looked different, but he ended up being a swan.  Just because they criticized how he looked doesn't mean he was bad or weird, he was just a swan.

Provided below is a link to a PowerPoint.  This PowerPoint explains some simple ways to reinforce theme for your student.  It includes some sample stories that you can read with your student and discuss with them.


https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dTMTAabBS4e1zYtU3VDnuqSs2zlf-huvMdHkBebEY9o/edit#slide=id.p13


Happy reading!

Have Them Explain Their Thinking

One of the critical components of math involves students being able to explain their thinking.  Finding the solution and computing correctly are obviously important, but being able to share their thoughts is essential.  Why are we asking students to explain their thought process?

1.  Talking about math requires students to think more deeply about the mathematics.  Students need to clarify their thinking.  Writing or talking about a new math idea often ensures understanding or leads to new understandings.  
2.  Explaining encourages reflection and self-monitoring.  Students must revisit their ideas, confirm their strategies and double-check answers.  Students often recognize confusions when they talk or write about math. 
3. It builds responsibility in students for making sense of the mathematics.
4. It provides students with a way to get feedback on their problem-solving process or their understanding of a concept.  When feedback, either from parents or teachers, is only focused on the correctness of an answer, the student’s thinking about a problem stops. 
5. It exposes children to multiple strategies -- often strategies that they may not have considered but can use later with new problems.  
6. It involves students in developing and using mathematical vocabulary to express ideas.    


The next time you are checking in on homework, consider asking one of the following questions:

Can you re-state the problem in your own words?

How did you solve this problem?

What strategy did you use to solve this problem?

Is there another way to solve this problem?

Can we use a different strategy to solve this problem?

Spending a few minutes a week discussing their approach, solutions and thoughts about math can help greatly.

 

 

 

Visualizing

Visualizing is a great way to help your students understand what they are reading.  Children are encouraged to paint pictures in their mind of what an author is telling them.  This creates a "movie in their mind".



Sometimes it can be difficult to motivate children to read at home, but for students who love to draw and color, visualizing is a perfect activity outside of school.  Read for a few minutes with your child and then have them draw a picture about what they read in the story.  Have a discussion with them about their artwork when they are done. You may be able to learn a lot about what your child thinks about the characters, setting, and events of the story.

Visualizing can be a fun comprehension strategy to practice at home, and it helps your student to deeply understand what is happening in a text.

Making Predictions

The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension.  In other words, it is important to make sure your child truly understands what he or she is reading at home.  One comprehension strategy that you can use to improve your child's comprehension is the strategy of making predictions.

A prediction is a guess that one makes using clues from the text or pictures.  The best predictions are supported by evidence.  "I think ______ because _________" is a basic way that students can respond in a clear way.

Before reading, take a picture walk.  Look through the pictures and think about the title.  Then, have your child predict what he/she will read about.

During reading, stop and think every few pages and have your child predict what will happen next.  It is very common for students to stop and adjust their prediction along the way as they learn new information in the story.

After reading, always make sure you reflect on the prediction with your child.  See if your child was right in his or her prediction and talk about it!

If you find that your child is having trouble making predictions while they read, try out the skill while watching their favorite TV show.  Predict what may happen, and then adjust the predictions during commercial breaks.  Then, when the show is done you can have a conversation with your child about how their prediction changed throughout the show.  After your child has made predictions with TV shows, it may be easier to generalize the skill into their reading.

Here's a link to a list of several great books used often by teachers to teach how to make predictions: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/good-to-teach-prediction

Happy reading :) As always, we are here to help so contact us with any questions you have!

Helping with Math At Home: January Update

Happy 2014!  We hope your  year is off to a good start!  We are beginning the second half of the school year and are excited about all the student progress.  Many parents ask how they can help at home.  Ensuring your child is in a smooth routine with homework is the first step. 

We found this great graphic that shows other ways to help your student reinforce math skills at home.

In order for you to be aware of which specific math content is being taught this month, I have broken it down by each grade level.

Kindergarten:  Numbers 11-20...students will need to compare numbers, tell the number that comes before/after/between and show understanding of quantity.

Grade 1:  Addition and Subtraction within 20...students will need to solve word problems, show different ways to represent a given number, balance equations, and find a missing number in an equation.

Grade 2:  Addition and Subtraction within 100, then 1,000...students will need to understand how to regroup or borrow when computing and will need to solve and write story problems.

Grade 3:  Time...students will be learning to tell time to the minute as well as solve problems using elapsed time and schedules.

Grade 4:  Comparing Fractions and Understanding Decimals...students can use pictures, drawings, models or number lines to compare fractions as well as understand decimals to the tenths.

You can help at home.  Cooking and measuring for a project helps students learn about fractions.  Time is an everyday life skill.  Having your child keep or use a schedule can help them make sense of elapsed time.  Numbers, addition and subtraction are all around us.

Thank you for the continued support!

November Update: Math

As we are approaching the Thanksgiving holiday and beginning a long weekend, I wanted to share an update on math.  Many grades are beginning new units in December.  Being aware of the concepts and topics to be taught can help you at home!

Kindergarten:

Students are moving on to concepts involving measurement.


Grade 1:

Students are working on finishing a unit on shapes and their attributes.  They will soon be returning to addition and subtraction within 20.  They will need to show understanding of the values of numbers 1-20 as well how to solve word problems.


Grade 2:

Students are learning addition and subtraction with 100.  They will have to solve problems with and without regrouping.  Students also need to solve word problems by deciding if they are putting together, taking apart or comparing.


Grade 3:

It is all about fluency with math facts.  Students will also learn how multiplication and division are related so they can easily acquire facts. 


Grade 4:

Students in grade 4 are applying what they learned about multiplication and division to be able to compute using larger numbers.  They will learn long division.  Students will also be expected to solve word problems using multiplication and division.


It is important to have your children continue to work on memorizing facts.  Having that fluency will help them be able to save brain energy to solve more complex problems.  Talking to them about real life concepts like putting together or taking away as well as how to solve problems in groups can help them make sense of problem solving.  For example, if you are eating a pizza.  You can ask questions involving addition and subtracting such as, "How many pieces did _______ eat?  How many pieces are left?"  You can also multiply by asking, "If we have 4 family members and each one gets 3 pieces of pizza, how many pieces will be needed?"

As always, feel free to contact us if you are looking for more information!

Oral Reading Opportunities

Oral reading, or reading aloud, is a critical component to increasing your child's fluency.  When students read aloud, they hear the words they are saying and often are able to correct themselves when they notice something doesn't sound quite right.  They also are given an opportunity to improve their expression.  When they read aloud, students will try to adjust expression accordingly to convey meaning.  It is so important to give students as many opportunities to read aloud as they can.  Some simple ideas for this include:

• Have your child read to you at bedtime for ten minutes, or read every other page
• While you're cooking, have your child sit at the table and read for a few minutes aloud to you
• Your student can take turns reading to different members of the family...younger siblings are great for this!

When your child reads aloud, they often correct their own mistakes.  If they don't correct a mistake, oral reading gives you an opportunity to give your child corrective feedback.  For example, "I noticed you said the word 'carpet'.  Let's look at that word again.  It has a 'ch' at the beginning.  What word could it be?  Let's reread and see if ____ makes sense." 

Oral reading is a window that lets you see inside your child's reading process.  When they read aloud, we are able to see what things they need help with.  We encourage you to give your students opportunities to read aloud at home.  It can be a great experience for all involved!