READ WITH ME
READ WITH ME
We
have been working very hard at school to implement an ELA and a Math
improvement plan to help our students succeed on the MCAS test this
year. Administrators, teachers, aides, and students have all been
working together to find new ways to learn. We have reviewed old MCAS
tests and have been looking to see how the questions have been asked
and why students got them right or wrong! The ibooks allow us to visit
sites on the internet to give students practice on particular skills in
new ways. Now, we need your help at home!
Parents are and always will be a child's most important teacher. Children watch what you do and decide what is important.
I would like to ask you to set aside 30 minutes a night to help your child in a homework activity I'm calling READ WITH ME.
READ WITH ME
works like this. Each person can choose what they wish to read.You
could read newspapers, books, magazines,(selections from the Literature
Book), etc. The reading could be silent or each person could take turns
reading out loud. After reading for 20 minutes, each person would share
what was read in the remaining 10 minutes.This would be a time to
discuss and ask questions about the reading/s. Each person writes down
what was read, signs his or her name and any interesting comments in a
reading log.
In class, at least once a week, I will ask the students if they wish to share their reading logs and open the class for discussion.
I
believe that many students would benefit from increasing their reading
at home. Reading helps build vocabulary and comprehension skills.
Reading can develop into a lifelong pleasure. If this is an activity
shared with a parent, it will be even more meaningful.
I will be sending home a sign-up sheet. Hope you can join us!
Open Response Questions
Here are listed daily Open Response Questions to practice. Write the answers in your ELA Writing Journal. Use quotations to enclose the exact words from the excerpt. Use complete sentences in a five sentence(minimum) paragraph.
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1.Novel excerpt:
What do you learn about the main character and setting of this novel from this passage?
"Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. . . . " from Call of the Wild by Jack London
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2. Short Story excerpt:
Which details show that the story is set during the Civil War?
" He saw a general on a black horse gazing over the lines of blue infantry at the green woods which veiled his problems." from "An Episode of War," by Stephen Crane
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3. Nonfiction excerpt:
Who is the subject of this nonfiction piece?
"Of all the great artists of Japan, the one Westerners probably like and understand best is Katsushika Hokusai. . . ." from "Hokusai: The Old Man Mad About Drawing," Stephen Longstreet
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4. Poetry excerpt:
What qualities of the passage reveal that it is poetry?
"Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her
silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers,
and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees . . ." from "Silver," by Walter De La Mare
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5. Myths, tales, ballads and tall tales excerpt:
What natural fact does this folk tale "explain" in the African American dialect, or regional speech, of the South?
"De wind is a woman, and de water is a woman too. . . . When you see a storm on de water, it's de wind and de water fightin' over dem chillun." from "Why the Waves Have Whitecaps," by Zora Neale Hurston
6.Drama excerpt:
Question: Which part of this dramatic text is dialogue and which is stage directions?
Miep: Are you all right, Mr. Frank?
Mr. Frank: [Quietly controlling himself] Yes, Miep, yes.
From The Diary of Anne Frank, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.
7. Short Story excerpt (revealing plot---a sequence of actions)
Question: What plot details does this passage from a short story reveal?
One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture---- a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees---very gradually---I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.
From "The Tell-Tale Heart," Edgar Allan Poe
8. Short Story excerpt (Determining "what" the characters are like based on author's revelations. The characters in a story are the imaginary people, animals, or other beings that take part in the action.):
Question: In this passage, does the narrator tell you directly what a character is like or reveal the character through her words and actions?
Susan didn't really feel interested in Saleh Hamadi until she was a freshman in high school carrying a thousand questions around. . .
From "Hamadi", Naomi Shihab Nye
