The word is spreading about Rourke Educational Media’s exciting phonics based series, Sound Adventures. Take a look at the rave review penned by blogger Andrea Keller: http://busybeeideas.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Andrea!

We have a guest blogger this month, Sara Kane. Sara teaches third graders in Billings, Montana. Take it away, Sara!

Teaching About the Environment

Our third grade year is coming to an end rapidly and I have two chapters left to cover in our Social Studies curriculum. One of them covers what our environment is and how we need to care for it, including the topic of pollution. I hunted for a short, nonfiction read aloud to introduce the topic and found, “Cleaning Up The Earth” by Precious McKenzie. This book supported the curriculum perfectly and was engaging for my class. We recently reviewed nonfiction text features, so we took the opportunity to note those things (table of contents, bold words, photographs and labels, glossary, etc.) We then read through the text and spent time discussing each page.

After discussing “Cleaning Up The Earth”, we made an anchor chart stating issues we care about and ways that we could help.

We then designed comic strips showing our new knowledge in a creative way.  I have a set of comic strip templates that I copied so that students could choose whichever one was most appealing to them. Each student created a cartoon connecting to the topic of pollution and included a problem and solution. Our anchor chart acted as our prewrite to help us get started with this assignment.

The students shared their comics with their classmates before turning them in to me.

I found that most of my students came with excellent background knowledge about caring for our environment. They had just recently studied the water cycle and visited the water treatment plant for Science. The topics connected and we had a very good discussion about various types of pollution (land, water, air). In the end, I am confident to say that my students know what pollution is, and many ways in which they can do a better job caring for our environment.

What do you read to find out about and understand the world around you? What do you read to find out the climate as you prepare for a trip? How do you identify the bird or flower you just saw? The answer is informational text.

The Common Core State Standards and other state standards call for a 50/50 balance of literature and informational text by Grade 4. They call for the need to increase the amount of informational texts that students hear, read, and write. Many students actually prefer to read informational text rather than fiction. Unfortunately, students often struggle to comprehend such texts because of their lack of exposure to them. Below is a quick overview of what informational texts are and how to use them effectively in your classroom.

What are informational texts?

Informational texts are text with the primary purpose of expressing information about the arts, sciences, or social studies. Text can range from newspaper and magazine articles to digital information to nonfiction trade books to textbooks and reference materials.

How can I get my students to read informational texts effectively?

The physical presentation of informational texts can be overwhelming for some children. Below are some tips to get your students more comfortable and excited about reading informational texts:

• Teach children the functions of each feature (table of contents, glossary, chart, diagrams, captions, etc.) and how to use them
• Review the text structure of the content with students (description, sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution)
• Teach students the comprehension strategies they need to understand the text

Engaging students in the topic is one of the best ways to excite them about reading more.

• Look at a website about the topic. Get your students hooked before they even open the book.
• Create a purpose other than “read it because I assigned it.” Have students read and then write their own personal or class book on the topic.
• Have a text feature scavenger hunt. Encourage individuals or partners to explore the text, noting the text features throughout.
• Encourage students to reflect on their learning and make inferences by connecting the book to the world around them.
• Have students create a brochure, news broadcast or public service announcement about what they read. This is a sure way to get them excited about what they are reading!

At the end of the day, we want our students excited about reading and learning. Reading informational texts not only builds reading skills and strategies, but also teaches our students about the world around them.

Check out our NEW Independent e-Reading program with a comprehension assessment piece.  All of the assessment questions focus on the informational text reading strategies for comprehension. We have just expanded our collection and now offer 935 eBook titles! For more information on this product or any of our other products, visit our website at www.rourkeeducationalmedia.com.

Lauren Cassidy

Curriculum Consultant

To comprehend something means to understand it. Comprehension is more than asking a student what their favorite part of a story was. It is having a deep understanding of what is being read.

How do we go beyond simply asking students what their favorite part of the story was? Use the following prompts to get your students actively engaged in the reading process:

• What would you do if you were__________character?
•  I was surprised when__________.
• Since__________and __________happened, I predict that __________will happen next.
• This story reminds me of__________.
• What do you like most about the main character?
•  What kind of surprises did the story give you?

Try these engaging activities to extend learning in your classroom:

• Have your students write about their favorite and not so favorite part of the story and explain why.
• After reading informational texts, have your students write a “how to” book about what they learned.
• Have students write a letter to the main character or make a postcard from one character to another.
• Have your students create simulated journal entries from the perspective of a book character.
• Wait…wait…don’t tell me the end! Read a book to your students, but stop before you get to the end. Have your students write their own ending.

Check out our eRead and Report Program. It is an independent e-Reading program with comprehension and vocabulary assessment. All of our questions focus on the informational text reading strategies listed below:

-Using and interpreting text features

-Determining importance or central idea and identifying key details

-Visualizing

-Making inferences

-Making connections

-Asking questions

Being able to derive meaning from a book enables students to develop intellectually, socially, and emotionally-something we all want for our students.

Happy Reading!

Lauren Cassidy

Curriculum Consultant

A strong vocabulary goes hand in hand with reading comprehension. As teachers, we often provide our students with the vocabulary they need, but neglect to teach them how to make the words their own. When students are able to incorporate new vocabulary into their writing and speaking, we can infer that students have a deep understanding of the word and truly own it.

How can we help our students own the words we feel they need? We can bring these words alive by focusing on the following strategies:

• Develop word awareness

-Access students background knowledge and prior experiences. Give your students time to play with words. Encourage them to draw pictures, create symbols, and even dramatize the word.

• Provide rich instruction to build vocabulary

-Different types of words require different types of instruction. Use words in a conversational manner rather than a dictionary format. Encourage students to discuss the words through cooperative learning activities.

• Build strategies for independence

-Instruct students on how to use context clues, word parts, and dictionaries. This leads to ownership of the word.

• Actively engage students with a wide range of books

-Expose students to many forms of literature in a variety of ways. Use additional activities such as games, vocabulary journals, and writing assignments to revisit important words.

Rourke Educational Media strongly believes in the importance of exposing students to new vocabulary and providing them with the necessary strategies to succeed. Our eRead and Report online reading and comprehension program uses highly engaging books that provide students with exposure to Tier I, II, and III words and the tools necessary to build their vocabulary and comprehension skills.

To get more information on any of our programs or books, visit www.rourkeeducationalmedia.com

Check out our NEW titles, Go Readers, and HIGHLY engaging informational texts!

Lauren Cassidy

Curriculum Consultant