In addition to working on phonics this week, we will be engaging in read-alouds to focus on fluency and comprehension. Why are read-alouds important, you ask?? Well, let me share the reasons. Read alouds expose students to a positive reading role model, new information, the pleasures of reading, rich vocabulary, good grammar, a broader variety of books than they'd choose on their own, and richly textured lives outside their own experiences. At the same time students imaginations are stimulated, attention spans stretched, listening comprehension improved, emotional development nurtured, and the reading-writing connection established. Outside of all that, reading aloud doesn't do much. ;)
After reading, we will be "cooking up" a "story pie." Each student will get a slice of paper and a task to write and illustrate their "piece" of the story (the setting, the characters, the problem, etc.). As students retell their parts, the pie will be reassembled, taped together, and displayed.
