MOOSE TRACKS

Grades 4-6 had a visit from author J. Torres last Friday! We were excited to meet this graphic novelist and comic book writer. Mr. Torres showed us his book Stealing Home, about a boy’s experience during the Japanese internment. We learned more about graphic novel terminology and what it is like to be an author. Some of our junior division students will be seeing Mr. Torres again soon when I take them on a field trip to the Forest of Reading Festival! Stealing Home is nominated for a Silver Birch Award- exciting!! Thank you so much to Mr. Torres for his presentation and his time with our students.

https://www.jtorrescomics.com/

-From Growing Book by Book- BENEFITS OF BEDTIME STORIES

Bedtime stories hold a special place in many peoples’ hearts. Here are just a few of the benefits of reading or telling your child a story every night.

• Provides a few minutes at the end of each day to bond with your child.
• Shows that you value reading.
• Helps kids calm down before bed.
• Builds your child’s listening vocabulary.
• Helps instill a love of reading and books.

TAKE AWAY- Read or tell a bedtime story every night to your child. 

Grades 1 and 2 had a wonderful visit with local author Julia McKeown. I invited Ms. Julia to come and speak to our classes as grades 1 and 2 are planning their Project Based Learning on the theme of the Zones of Regulation, which is a framework that teaches students to build awareness of their feelings and to use tools and strategies for regulation and wellness. Ms. Julia is an occupational therapist. An O.T. is a health worker who helps children and adults to participate in activities they like to do, want to do, and need to do every day. Ms. Julia wrote the story of “Bouncy Blake”, a sloth who is much more energetic than his fellow sloths and sometimes needs tools to regulate his sensory needs. She also told us that we actually have more than 5 senses! Ms. Julia taught the students about her process toward becoming an author and publishing her book. The students were very excited to meet a real author. They asked great questions and had insightful comments during the presentation. Thanks so much to Julia McKeown for this great learning opportunity! You can buy her book Bouncy Blake here-

GROWING READERS TIP- DID YOU GET THAT?

A piece of the learning to read puzzle is comprehending what we read. This starts long before your child can decode the words. The next time you are reading to your child, try these questions to build your child’s comprehension of the story.

• Can you start at the beginning and tell me what happened in the story?
• What was your favourite part of the story?
• What do you think the author wanted us to learn or know from the story?
• If you could be a character in the story, who would you be and why?

TAKE AWAY- Ask discussion questions about a story to build comprehension.