Relating to the World

During our author study on Bill Peet, we have been reading many of this stories and seeing the connections between not only his stories, but our lives as well. Despite the fact many of his books are fantasy fiction stories, we learned how to relate the feelings, situations, and experiences to our lives and the world around us.

In a recent lesson we studied how to make a text-to-world connection. Text-to-world connections are made when readers relate topics or situations in a book that they know from the world around them through things from the television, movies, magazines, and newspapers. An example of a text-to-world connection would be when a reader says, "I saw a program on television that talked about things described in this book."

Text-to-world:What does this remind me of in the real world?How is this text similar to things that happen in the real world? How is this different from things that happen in the real world? How did that part relate to the world around me?

Here are some sample paragraphs relating a Bill Peet book of their choice to the world!

The writer related to idea that many people farm in the world just how the make believe dragon Doofus did.

The writer related to the problem of pollution that the fantasy story mentioned. The writer gave details and supported her idea with specific references to the text.

The last writer made a text-to-world connection with the story Ella. The writer discussed the similar events in the world such as the circus and trains. Next, the writer connected to the feelings people can have that were similar to the character's feelings.

Keep up the superb connections young writers!

Vivid Vocabulary

Our room has been bursting with new and advanced vocabulary words lately. Students have been challenged to apply all the recent words we have learned from our last read aloud, Bunnicula.

During each reading, we would stop, predict, and search for clues for those unknown words. This skill is VITAL in their vocabulary development as well as reading comprehension. As students reach higher reading levels, it is up to them to stop and decide the meaning of unknown words. Often, students will read right over them and keep on going. As a result, they end up missing part of the story or this affects their comprehension of the plot.

Each day as we read, we'd make sure to signal if we heard a word we weren't sure on. They learned the fact that not knowing what a word means does NOT mean you have to be embarrassed. There should be about 2-3 unknown words per page if the book they are reading is a 'just right' book.

A common game we have started to play is called, "I have.....who has?" During this game, students are given a card with a vocabulary word on each side. A student first describes the word. Another child in the class has that match and says, "I have..."and then they say the word. Next, they flip their card and ask, "Who has the word that means...." and describe the other word.

For example, if I had a card that had the word "tranquil" and "obliged". I would respond when someone asked, "Who has the word that means peaceful?" I would respond, "I have tranquil. Who has the word that means thankful?" Finally, the child who had obliged would answer, "I have obliged. Who has...and so on and so on. The students LOVE getting active practice seeing, applying, and forming clues with these words. Check the newsletter weekly for the new words we are learning and play some, "Who has..... I have" yourself!

Meet Bill Peet!

"I drew for hours at a time just for the fun of it, and yet I was hoping to find some practical reason to draw for the rest of my life. But when I entered grade school, my drawing habit suddenly became a problem." Bill Peet

Today we began a new author study on Bill Peet. We learned many exciting facts about his life and style of writing by exploring his books today. During our author study we will examine his special crafts, techniques, reoccurring trends, and themes.

Have you ever seen any of these movies?
The films listed below are movies were Bill Peet did storyboards for.

THE SWORD AND THE STONE
101 DALMATIANS
SLEEPING BEAUTY
PETER PAN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
CINDERELLA
SONG OF THE SOUTH
DUMBO
FANTASIA
PINOCCHIO
JUNGLE BOOK

Find out more about this talented man at his website below!

Bill Peet's Website

Here we come to rock the FCAT!

Be confident! You can do it!


This week students will take the Reading the Math FCAT test. Reading will be Tuesday and Wednesday for 60 minutes. Math will be given on Thursday for also 60 minutes. Students are ready to prove just how well equip they are with plenty of reading and math strategies. Mrs. Tsengas and I are so proud of every student this year and we know you all will do fabulous!

Below are some tips and suggestions just to calm and reassure your child, and yourself, about what to do the days prior to testing.

*Encourage your child and pump them up about how well they are going to do. A positive outlook helps children do their best.

*Arrive at school early or on-time.
*Make sure that your child is well rested and eats a good nourishing breakfast. Thank you for the parents who have donated animal crackers, small candies, granola bars and juice as a nice way to refresh before the test begins. We appreciate your generosity!
*Give your child a well-rounded diet. This will help ensure a healthy body and a healthy, active mind. Try not to throw off their regular diet on these days.
* Realize that your child may seem more tired than usual after each day of testing.
*Help your child de-stress by reading a simple book to them before bedtime. Children STILL benefit from being read to nightly. :)
* Express your support and confidence in your child to do well on FCAT. Slip a positive note to them in their lunchbox or backpack. Small gestures really do go the farthest.
*Help your child understand that testing is a part of the instructional process, and there is nothing to be feared.

PARENTS, STUDENTS, AND TEACHERS: Take several deep breaths and try to be calm. Remember it is only a test and all the hard work and studying has already been done!

Language Arts Skill Practice

Each week we focus on a different Language Arts skill. These skills can range from punctuation marks, homophones, word choice, parts of speech and verb tenses. Knowing these basic skills is a direct transfer into their writings. Skill practice sheets and quizzes are usually on pink paper to help keep students organized throughout the week.

One suggestion is to review these sheets weekly with your child. Ask them questions about what they learned and where they see examples of these skills in their nightly readings. For extra practice, I have a great website where you can search the topic and view various games to enhance your child's grades.

Skill Games

Just type in the topic, such as, "commas" and the results will show up in seconds!

I hope you enjoy this great resource. :)

Florida Achieves...YOU ACHIEVE!

Are you ready to sharpen up your reading comprehension and language arts skills? I HOPE SO! This is the FOCUS website. First, go to http://www.florida-achieves.com/, log in to the FOCUS side of the website (the right side).

Your sign in name will be your last name and first initial (For example, if your name is John Smith, your sign in would be smithj)

Once you have your sign in, enter your password which is the number 16, the first four letters of your last name and your birthday month, then year. (For example John Smith, born on January 1st would have the password of 16smit0101)

Once you have logged in, you can choose any link to work on. These assignments align with topics and skills we have gone over in class. They all build reading comprehension. Also, the reading skills correlate with the types of questions on weekly reading tests and on the FCAT.

Don't forget FCAT night is Tuesday, Jan. 26th from 7-8. It will be held in the Media Center. Please come to be well informed on this important test. General information will be presented along with tips and suggestions to help your child.

See you there!

Humane Society Drop Off

What a successful donation drive we had for the Humane Society. The staff and animals were so grateful for the toys, blankets, treats, and toys. It made the holiday. Mrs. Tsengas, several students, and I dropped off the supplies today after school.

Thank you for the friends who donated for the Humane Society. The animals said, "MEOOOOOW" and "WOOOOOF!" ( This means thank you)