We have begun to explore nonfiction texts during read-aloud sessions. To figure out what a book is mostly about, it is helpful to pay attention to the word or words we see repeated.

• What repeats on each page in the words?
• What repeats on each page in the pictures?
• What is this mostly about?​

As we read the book ‘Sleeping Baby Animals’, the children looked for what was the same on each page. We noted words that were the same on different pages and wrote them down on a whiteboard.

The children joined in with the reading as the text was repetitive. We looked for familiar high-frequency words in the sentences.

Snow is a beautiful sight, but sometimes it can get in the way. We read a non-fiction text to explore the many ways snow can be removed in ‘Goodbye Snow’. We discussed the engaging photographs to learn about the different tools used to remove snow. While reading the simple sentences, we explored initial consonant blends (sn, br, tr) and digraphs (th, sh).

Next, the children were invited to create their own non-fiction page. They decided on the theme or topic they wanted to write about. Then they drew a picture and finally included letters, words and sentences to talk about the drawings.

We have been looking at books, reading different picture books, listened to adults read and retold our favourite stories in K2. We introduced the readers to 3 different ways to read because we know that children learn to read by engaging in the act of reading by “Reading the pictures”, “Reading the Words” and also “Retelling a Familiar Story”.

Each day, we spend time with books to develop good reading habits. We know that reading and exploring books helps children:

• develop an awareness of print (understanding that print carries meaning, that books contain letters and words, and how a book “works” — such as identifying the front and back covers and that pages are turned)

• develop phonological awareness (the ability to recognise and manipulate the spoken parts of words — including rhymes, syllables, and phonemes)
• explore phonics and decoding (understanding of the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language)
• develop new vocabulary (using the words they hear orally to make sense of the words they see in print)

We have been looking at books, reading different picture books, listened to adults read and retold our favourite stories in K2. We introduced the readers to 3 different ways to read because we know that children learn to read by engaging in the act of reading by “Reading the pictures”, “Reading the Words” and also “Retelling a Familiar Story”.

Each day, we spend time with books to develop good reading habits. We know that reading and exploring books helps children:

• develop an awareness of print (understanding that print carries meaning, that books contain letters and words, and how a book “works” — such as identifying the front and back covers and that pages are turned)

• develop phonological awareness (the ability to recognise and manipulate the spoken parts of words — including rhymes, syllables, and phonemes)

• explore phonics and decoding (understanding of the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language)

• develop new vocabulary (using the words they hear orally to make sense of the words they see in print)

The students have been practicing how to retell or recount a text. In previous weeks, we used the ‘story mountain’/’story arc‘, to help us retell and discuss the characters, settings, main events, problem, solution (resolution) and end of a story.

The students have used the 5 finger retelling technique to retell a fictional story. We have also explored and practiced how to make connections with what we read.

PDF available here

As part of our inquiry into non-fiction resources, we have focused on finding the main idea and related facts in non-fiction texts. The students will continue to practice these skills by using graphic organises and responding to their reading. 

The students have been reading a variety of books over the last few weeks. They have been talking about books, sharing their favourite stories and making choices about the books they read. It was time to practice talking, and sharing opinions about books!

The students have used the attached information to help them talk about and recommend their favourite fiction and non fiction books.

What books would YOU recommend? 

“Readers Grow Like Beanstalks!”

The students were invited to discuss this further. If we want to stay healthy and help our bodies grow, we need to provide our bodies with nourishment, eat healthy food, drink plenty of water and get lots of sleep. In Second Grade, we know that we get better at reading, when we read, read and read!

But how do we become better readers? How do we develop our comprehension, accuracy and fluency while expanding our vocabulary? 

We used the mentor text ‘Katie Woo Has the Flu‘ by Fran Manushkin, to help us learn more about developing as readers.

First, we had to decide ‘How the book wanted to be read‘.

We looked at the cover, the image, read the title, and discussed what we noticed. How should we read this book? Can we make any personal connections with the image on the cover? What emotions does the image and the title evoke? We discussed our prior knowledge and wondered how we might read this story.

Next, we read the ‘Back Blurb‘. Were there any clues about the story? How did the author and illustrator want THIS book to be read? 

Then, we read the ‘Table of Contents’. We discussed the title of each chapter, and the emotions and feelings these titles evoked. We decided how we wanted to read the book.

Then, we began to read the story…

As we read a few pages, we thought about the different strategies we had practiced during ‘Readers Workshop‘. We focused on our COMPREHENSION, and revisited three strategies that help us understand what we read. 

Next, we used post-it notes to tag a page that we wanted to share with the class during our ‘SHARE’, at the end of the lesson.

Here is Ms. Shemo’s Favourite page!

“This is my favourite page because…this picture reminds me of a time when I told the children that they won’t melt if they get caught in a slight drizzle!”

It was time to practice our strategies!!

We chose ‘Just Right Books‘ from our book tubs to practice our strategy. We know that reading books that are too hard does not help us develop and practice our reading.

We partnered up and reminded ourselves of the different behaviours when ‘Partner Reading’.

Reading Partners Work Together

• we work as a team, sit side by side with a book in the middle, we take turns to read
• we build good habits together by taking sneak peaks at the books and rereading books together
• we may choral read or seesaw read
• we give each other reminders about the different strategies we can use/try
• we grow together through discussion
•  we provide book introductions
• we don’t just tell – we HELP!
• we can do something at the end – reread, retell or share ideas

Finally, the students gathered at the meeting area to share their favourite pages, pictures or parts of the story they were reading. 

We continue to become better readers by practicing our reading!