Here we are at mid-week already and we are starting to get to the end of your Launching Literacy unit. Today's focus was on how hard text makes readers work harder. Students copied this list into their reading notebooks to keep as a reminder of what to do when encountering difficult text. Strategies for Dealing with Difficulty: What to Do when the Book Gets Hard
Students also did a warm-up to practice comprehension skills. During morning meeting time, I continued the Community of Caring curriculum by sharing three statements with the class: I played bass in a heavy metal band. I got two speeding tickets in the same day. It took me four days to drive to Seattle for my sister's wedding. Two are true and one is false. The students had to discuss in their groups which they thought was the false statement (the last one - I flew instead of drove). ![]()
In writing, our focus was that writers unfold stories bit-by-bit rather than summarizing them. I shared two versions of the same short story and students decided which one was a more enjoyable read. Details without going overboard are important to make a story readable and enjoyable. In science, we did an interesting activity involving something called Mobius strips. A Mobius strip is a paper that is twisted and kinked. When you draw a continuous line, you can return to the exact same spot from where you started without ever lifting the pencil. The strange thing is, BOTH sides are covered. It only works when twisted. We then made another one and cut it down its middle to see what happened along with a further one involving a double twist. Comments are closed.
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