Let's Recap

During our most recent literacy unit we are exploring nonfiction texts as readers. Steve Jenkins, creator of books like Actual Size, The Beetle Book, and Never Smile at a Monkey has been our mentor author during this unit of study  and his books have provided us with opportunities to explore access features like headings, contents, index, and glossaries. We have also used his books to explore different structures of informational text. Some are organized by Q&A, Compare/Contrast, Enumerative, and Narrative. Students have learned to use the features and structures to access information efficiently in nonfiction books. Next up, students will share their understanding of informational text access features and structure by nominating one of Steve's books for a fictional award.

During the second part of this unit we will use what we have learned about reading nonfiction to research a topic and write our own informational pieces that will teach others about a topic that students feel passionate about. This will culminate in a Passion Project Breakfast in March where they will share their writing and projects with you. Stay tuned for more information.

This week we also tried out a cool new tool called Let's Recap. Students can respond to a variety of questions using a video commentary. The application then turns their responses into a slideshow to share beyond the walls of the classroom. Here is our first recap video

Just a reminder that students should have all winter gear with them at school as we go outside each day for fresh air and time with friends. We also ask that students have shoes (preferably sneakers) to change into after they arrive at school.