Language Arts and Social Studies Update

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed your break as much as I did. Yesterday we took some time to catch up and share about our holiday break. From the third grader's perspective, it sounds like you all had a fun and safe time together. We will work the week and next on the following LA/SS topics. LANGUAGE ARTS READING We will begin earning a new way to think about questions we encounter during and after reading. This way of thinking or strategy is known as QAR (Question/Answer Relationship). QAR is useful as a tool for conceptualizing and developing comprehension questions. "QAR creates a way of thinking about the types of questions that are most appropriate for different points in guiding students through a text. Questions asked before reading are usually On My Own QARs. They are designed to access relevant prior knowledge. In creating questions asked during reading it is important to balance text based and inference questions. Search and Locate QARs should dominate and should build to the Author and Me QARs. Finally, after reading questions are primarily Author and Me and On My Own QARs. Please remember that too many Right There QARs may indicate and overemphasis on literal, detail questions. QAR is useful as a student tool in providing a basis for three comprehension strategies: locating information, determining text structures and how they convey information, and determining when an inference would be required. It initially helps children understand that information from both texts and their knowledge base and experiences are important to consider when answering questions. It helps students search for key words and phrases to locate the appropriate information for answering questions. Finally, QARs help students recognize whether or not information is present in the text and, if not, that it is necessary to read “between or beyond the lines” to answer the question." (the reading lady) WRITING We have finished our personal narratives and will begin to consume various types of book reviews. If you are an amazon shopper, you might read book reviews often. We will discuss what types of information help make a review helpful to those who read them. Please share with your child you ideas and options about the books you are reading. Let them know WHY you choose to read that book. Did a friend recommend the book? Is is on the top 10 best sellers list? Did you read a review in a magazine or newspaper that sparked your interest in the book? SPELLING There will not be spelling the week of January 2. Spelling lists will begin again next week, 1/9-1/13. Please remember that the 10 points of spelling homework are due on Thursday each week and tests are administered on Fridays. THANKS for your help with WORD WORK at home. SOCIAL STUDIES We have put economics to rest and are moving on to a new topic for this nine weeks. Social Studies and Science will compliment eachother over the next few weeks as we learn about various landforms and bodies of water. Here are our new vocabulary words for this study… Canyon, Peak, Channel, Peninsula, Coast, Plain, Coastal Plain, Plateau, Desert, River, Gulf, Riverbank, Hill, Valley, Island, Ocean, and Mountain. Understanding these concepts will help us later this 9 weeks as we talk about different types of maps and regions across America where these land forms can be found.