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    Announcement: Last week of 1st Quarter!

    Get Three Sisters Paragraph, Iroquois Confederacy, and U.3 practice sheet signed.

    Reading/Math Log. Due November 12th.

    Daily Homework:

    Reading Log--30 minutes a night is the goal for 4 out of 7 nights.

    Math Log--10-15 minutes of drilling math facts 4 out of 7 nights.

    The Log is due the following Monday for every week.

    Reading Log and Math Log --Stretch to 30 minutes or read extra on the weekend.  Memorize all X facts. Your children are coming home with conversation/debate sheets with questions to prompt discussions about characters.  Please have them share what they believe about a character and support with details/quotes from the story.  Thank you for your support in listening to them talk through ideas and support their ideas with evidence. This will help them become better readers and writers.  

    Some really good books to enjoy together:

    Kate DiCamillo Books--Mercy Watson Junior fiction chapterbook series about a pig and the adventures with Mr. and Mrs. Watson and their neighbors.

    Kate DiCamillo Books--so many good stories and characters with great lessons.

    Sports books by Mike Lupica, Matt Christopher, and Derek Jeter with co-authors

    Andrew Clement books

    Roald Dahl books-- great classics

    Check out your local library and if you have a Mid-Hudson Library card you can log into their audio books under Tumble Books.

     

     It has come to my attention that parents would like to know what they can be doing more at home.

    While your child is reading at home, please have them read books with you at least a couple of times a week if not more.
    Every couple of pages or at a really exciting part, pause and talk about what the character is feeling and going through.  
    Ask them to find details (evidence) in the book to back up their thoughts so they can really show reasons why the mood of the character or scene is sad or angry or happy.  Also, as you near the end of the book, focus on what the character is realizing and what they are learning.  For example, the specific lesson is overcoming a specific fear, but does the book have the universal lesson--overcoming fears or always be brave to try something new.
     
    Any questions you can ask that gets your child to think deeper about the character and the events and why the author wrote specific dialogue or actions will help your child understand books better.  It was also help them to become better writers because they can try the same strategy in their writing.  Remind them to see how an author repeats events, or objects to bring out important ideas of the character or lessons.
     
    If your child is still just saying a character is interesting, ask why; what makes them interesting.
    If your child is still just saying a part is funny ask why do they think the author put that piece in.  Parts are never random.  How do the parts connect to the overall issue that the character is dealing with or overall lesson?
     
    The biggest thing you can do is read books together that you all can enjoy!  Have fun!  Happy reading!