Multiple Meaning words

This week we studied multiple meaning words. These are words that, unlike homophones, are spelled the same but mean different things. For example, the word "bat" can mean an animal and an object a baseball player hits with. We learned you have to read around the word and use the context clues to figure out the correct meaning. Therefore, when we read the sentence, "The player grabbed his bat and went to the catcher" we knew they were talking about the object you hit with.

This skill tends to be tricky for readers because they tend to quickly jump to the definition they immediately think of. Students were given multiple meaning words and told to select the correct meaning based on how it is used in the sentence. Here's what they look like:

1. I washed my hands in the sink. Sink means:

a. opposite of float
b. rise
c. place in the bathroom

After thinking about how 'sink' is used in the sentence, you can make a decision the answer is C, even though sink DOES mean choice A.

Here is a super game to practice and learn other multiple meaning words.

Jeopardy Multiple Meaning Words

Koko's Kitten

Here the is the latest "Text Talk" book we read and discussed in class.


In this story Dr. Patterson described her career as a teacher and caretaker of a female gorilla, Koko. Koko has been taught how to communicate using sign language. For Koko's birthday she signed she wanted, "Cereal there. Good there drink. Cat." Later she repeated, "Cat. Cat. Cat." After waiting, Dr. Patterson finally gets Koko her kitten, All Ball. She becomes a wonderful, caring mother to her new kitten.

When something very serious happens to All Ball, we see how Koko and Dr. Patterson handle the situation. Koko shows us how even gorillas deal with the same emotions and problems as we do in our lives.

Here are our vocabulary words! Ask your child to use them in a sentence or explain how it was used in the story. :)

console:to give comfort in time of loss or suffering; make less sad.
affection: a friendly feeling of liking/loving
aggression: any mean, violent or unfriendly act
abandon: to leave behind with no plan to return
accustomed: to become used to or familiar with
capable: having the skill or power to do something
distressed: worry, pain, or suffering, or anything that causes suffering.

Reports are in the air

Have you heard there are a bunch of animals running all over the class? Well this is quite true as we have begun doing our animal reports.

I'm not 'lion'!




We have leaped right back into learning here in our classroom. We began studying Non-fiction Reading and Writing.

First, the students brainstormed possible topics they were interested in. After this, I went to the Media Center to retrieve books for them to research with. However, some books were not long enough to gather enough details to write a report. As a result, we discussed other ways besides reading books to learn information on their topic.

One way is to visit the Internet. Here are some websites I have found that your child can go to and print out information for their animal.

Animal Information

Animal Facts

Animals galore

Also, you can always visit other libraries to find more books. The Pablo Creek Library here in Jacksonville is wonderful. It is right down the road from Walmart on Beach Blvd. You can check out the magazines and books they have to choose from for free!




Happy hunting!