Researching for Meaning

Good Morning Class!

We have been studying the Medieval Times for just over a week now, and it is time we develop some critical research skills as we move forward towards our final research project and group presentation. When we do research in Social Studies, we need to bring in our critical thinking skills that we have been developing in language arts. One of the questions we often asked ourselves in our discussions was "who wrote this story?". In social studies, we also need to ask ourselves this question.

When researching there are two different kinds of sources that we find information from. Primary sources offer first-hand accounts of events that occurred. This could be in the form of a diary, a photograph, an interview, etc. A secondary source, on the other hand, recounts information through research from other secondary sources, or from primary sources.

The following link takes us to an overview of these two different forms of sources. It also leads you through a tutorial of using these sources for research. Lastly, there is a brief quiz to test your knowledge on these forms of sources before we begin our research projects.

Research Skills

Parents
Being able to recognize the difference between primary and secondary sources, and use them appropriately to conduct research is a skill that we build upon within the Social Studies strand in grades 4, 5 and 6. Within the Inquiry/Research and Communication Skills section of this document students in grade 4 and 5 are asked to "use primary and secondary sources to locate information about medieval civilizations (early civilizations) (e.g., primary sources: artefacts, field trips; secondary sources: atlases, encyclopedias and other print materials, illustrations, videos, CD-ROMs, Internet sites)"(28, 30), where as students in grade 6 are asked to "select relevant resources and identify their point of view" (34). We will be building on these research skills in Social Studies, Language Arts, and Science and Technology throughout the year. 

Making Connections

Hello All!

This week we are focussing on Making Connections as a reading comprehension strategy. One popular way to make a connection is to consider how the text (story, article, etc.) is related to self, other texts, or the world. Check out this link for more information in preparation for tomorrow's class. We will be using the "Student Handout" to complete our work, so have a quick look at it too!

Making Connections

Parents
Making Connections is a strategy that is specifically supported within the Ontario Language Arts curriculum for grades 4, 5 and 6. The reading specific expectation 1.6 states that by the end of this grade students should "extend understanding of texts by con- necting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them" (pg 83, 97, 112). We will be using this making connections strategy throughout our guided reading unit, as well as within other subjects throughout the year.

Fun & Games with Reading!

Hello Students!


Try the links below to get connected to fun and games with reading. Each one has been chosen for you with a specific purpose in mind. Enjoy :)

This first link brings us to the Flocabulary hit "Five Elements of a Story". Here you will find a fun rap that highlights the five elements that should be in any story. These elements are crucial to know to really help readers get a full grasp on what is happening in the story. Finding the five elements is also a good comprehension check! You will never forget the elements (or the rap) after checking this out!

The Five Elements of a Story

By clicking on this next link, you will be transported to an article all about elephants! This not only ties in with our habitats unit, but also will help us to have a closer look at reading comprehension. Reading comprehension means reading for meaning. We can ask ourselves questions in our minds to  help make sure we know what is happening in a story or understand the information that an article is telling us. This is called an inner dialogue. Have an inner dialogue with yourself while reading this article, then take the short quiz on the side! Did your questioning strategies work?

All About Elephants


Our last link for today brings us  to a YouTube video of students, your age, participating in a discussion about their guided reading books. We will be doing similar discussion in our weeks to follow. While watching, I would like you to jot down in a chart which aspects of this guided reading discussion you liked and would like to do, and which aspects you do not think worked well. What are some other aspects of novels we could discuss? How do you want to share your understanding with your peers?

Reading Discussion

Useful Resource

Hi All!

Below you will find a link to the Halton Regional Library Kids' Page! On this website you will find some interactive games for our reading level, links to various ebooks (books that you can read online, on your computer), lists of books that you may be interested in checking out, as well as a list of programs that our libraries offer for you and your family to enjoy together!

Make sure you have your library card number handy in order to make the most of this useful website!

Halton Hills Library for Kids

Welcome!

Welcome Junior Students!

At this blog we will have fun investigating and exploring ways to delve into the exciting world of books! Here I will give you tips to help get you started with your independent reading activities, comprehension techniques, discussion opportunities, and some fun links to interactive games and other websites.

If you find anything in your own online activities that relate to our literacy studies, and you think your classmates would like to know about, please come talk to me and I can take a look and maybe even blog about it in future posts : )

I am looking forward to sharing one of my greatest passions with you all! So let's pick up a book and begin our journey!

Miss McCready