Now that the players on Team Wilson are experts at describing a character using character traits, we are moving our focus to Making Connections. We use our SCHEMA (our memories, experiences, background knowledge and senses) to make connections as we read. There are 3 kinds of connections we will learn about...
Text to Self / Text to Text / Text to World
For now, we are focusing on TEXT TO SELF connections. So, for this week in your child's THRoW book, students are asked to read a fiction book of their own, or one from their Take Home Reading Pouch, and make a TEXT TO SELF connection. We can connect to how a character is FEELING easiest because we ALL share feelings. THis is what your THRoW may look like. I modelled one for students today after reading aloud the story Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Date: October 26, 2015
In the fiction book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day, Alexander had a terrible day and
everything went wrong. When Alexander was riding in the car
he told everyone that if he didn't get a window seat, he would be sick,
but no one even answered him. I think Alexander felt ignored
and left out. I can understand how he feels because I have also
felt this way before. When I was trying to tell my dad about
something that happened at recess he was watching a foot ball
game on TV and wasn't really listening to me at all. I felt ignored
and left out because he didn't stop watching TV long enough to
look and listen to what I had to say.
I encourage you to discuss the book and how the character feels before your child starts writing in their THRoW book. Use my model as above for ideas on how to start. We talked about Copy Cat Connections and how I DO NOT want students to simply copy the exact situation that happened in the story. If they connect to a feeling, that feeling happened likely in a very different situation.
Here is a copy cat connection...
I understand how Alexander feels ignored because just like Alexander felt ignored when he was riding in the car and no one paid any attention to him when he said he needed a window seat or else he would be sick, I also rode in my car and told my dad I needed a window seat or else I would be sick but he ignored me (the exact same experience is not likely to have happened).
Encourage your child to connect to the main character's feelings and give an example of how they also felt this way in their own life. The key is to connect the feeling back to the story, thus making it a TEXT to SELF connection.
SCIENCE: This week, both grades will be writing an end of the unit Science test.Grade 2 - Simple Machines
Grade 3 - Stability in Structures
I will send home their work books for review this week.
That's all for now!
Coach Wilson
