I hope you are having a wonderful start to your Thanksgiving break! As you are enjoying spending well deserved time with your friends and family, please continue to encourage your child to read, read, read!
One way that we have practiced our reading is through meeting several "beanie friends" that help remind us of different decoding and comprehension strategies. I know that many students have been collecting the beanies that we have met thus far... that is awesome! If you are wondering, "What on earth is 'Stretchy the Snake?!?'" then here is some info for you! Below, you will find a description of all of the beanie friends that we have met/studied:
*Please note that this is not an original idea created by me. This idea has been used and replicated by many creative teachers in many different classrooms. These posters were found at http://www.bainbridgeclass.com/.
Chunky Monkey:
This monkey helps remind us to find word chunks that we know, such as -ing, th, or ch! This helps us to sound out unfamiliar words.
Stretchy the Snake:
Stretchy reminds us to slowly s-t-r-e-t-c-h out the unfamiliar words we are trying to read.
Eagle Eye:
Eagle Eye tells us to look closely at the pictures to help us figure out unknown words.
Eagle Eye tells us to look closely at the pictures to help us figure out unknown words.
Questioning Owl:
Good readers always ask questions before, during, AND after reading. This owl reminds us to always be asking questions.
Good readers always ask questions before, during, AND after reading. This owl reminds us to always be asking questions.
Picturing Penguin:
We learned how good readers always have a "mind movie" playing in their brains as they are reading. Picturing Penguin reminds us how fun reading can be when we use our brains to picture what is happening!
Digger the Dog:
Digger the Dog reminds us to dig, dig, dig for important ideas when we are reading! He helps us dig for important details in order to find what the story is MOSTLY about (i.e. the "main idea").
Repair Bear:
It is SO important to THINK when you read! The Repair Bear reminds us to turn our brains on, think when reading, and to STOP if something doesn't make sense. This bear reminds us to STOP and use a strategy if you come to a word you don't know or if the story becomes confusing. He is what you might call a "fixer-upper!" :-)
Have a great holiday weekend!
:-D Mrs. Brignac
