As we continued to empathize with the characters in our books, we also added making predictions about WHAT they will do and also HOW they will do it. This requires thinking about what we know about our characters and how our characters are feeling to make a thoughtful prediction. Making predictions causes us to read thoughtfully and then we read more closely to see if our predictions were right. Here are some sticky notes that students put in our Jot Lot to show me their thinking about what they are reading. They were asked to make a prediction about what their character was going to do next and how they were going to do it.
One of the many reasons I love to teach reading is because I also get to teach how to think about others, how to have empathy, which is such an important quality. During our character unit, we have been discussing how important it is in a book to feel what your character is feeling, to walk in their shoes. Some students are so good at doing this, while others need more help in doing this. We discussed how we need to have empathy, not just for the characters in our books, but also for the people around us.
As we continued to empathize with the characters in our books, we also added making predictions about WHAT they will do and also HOW they will do it. This requires thinking about what we know about our characters and how our characters are feeling to make a thoughtful prediction. Making predictions causes us to read thoughtfully and then we read more closely to see if our predictions were right. Here are some sticky notes that students put in our Jot Lot to show me their thinking about what they are reading. They were asked to make a prediction about what their character was going to do next and how they were going to do it.
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Today, students turned their opinions into claims by providing reasons or evidence that support their opinion. We did a few together as a class and then students picked opinions from their own lists and provided three reasons that support them. They tried out a few, in search for the one claim that they have the strongest feelings about and the strongest reasons.
Today we started brainstorming ideas for opinion pieces we can write. Students were to think of issues or problems they had at home and form an opinion about them. For example, one third grader wrote under problem that she has to share a room and under opinion she wrote that she should get her own room.
After students started a list about home, we took a walk around the school to remind us of problems or issues students had with the cafeteria, hallways, classroom, recess, etc. Students then chose one thing from their list and wrote about their opinion and reasons. If you haven't already, please have a conversation with your child about what changes he/she wants to see in the household (later bedtime, less vegetables at dinner, not sharing a room, getting a pet), and then ask your child for some reasons that support his/her opinion. That will be a big help to your child! Here are a few examples of students' lists from today. I love to read what they are opinionated about! Is your child opinionated? If your answer is yes, then this next unit is going to be perfect! Tomorrow we are starting our persuasive essay unit in writing. As with most units, I will first give the students a pretest to see what they already know and remember from second grade about opinion writing. Then, we will spend a couple days generating a list of ideas that we can write about. This sometimes can be the hardest part of writing for some kids, so here is a way over the next couple days that you can help your child be successful-
Thank you so much for your help! The more the students think and talk about their opinions, the better they will be prepared to sit down and start writing out their opinions and reasons. I always love this unit. It puts into perspective again for me the things that matter to third graders, the things they have strong feelings about. They are opinionated! Matthew is such a hard-working, polite super hero. He is safe, responsible, and respectful as he walks the halls of RRO, with his cape billowing behind him.
Last week, Addisyn could be seen with a cape around her shoulders and a smile on her face. She is a hero who is safe, respectful, and responsible. Way to go, Addisyn!
This week Aiden is our super hero. He has tried out many different capes this week and was very entertaining to the audience when he presented his poster. He sure knows how to make people laugh! Thanks, Aiden!
Super Erica can be seen being responsible, respectful, and safe as her cape billows out behind her. This is one super hero who knows how to listen to her teachers and other students. Thanks for being super, Erica!
We have been working a lot on identifying character's traits. Students are getting really good at identifying the traits of their characters in the books they are reading, so today we added that they have to also provide evidence from their books that support their thinking. Evidence comes from things the character says or things the character does. It was great to see students digging through their books to find evidence for the character traits they chose.
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Mrs. Ellis's Class
Learning & laughing our way through third grade. Archives
June 2020
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