reading

** Dream Believe Inspire ** abc **Reading** This week, you will begin a project that revises all of the reading strategies we've covered this year.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 10th December




 * Week Beginning:** Monday 12th November

Click here to complete the PAT Reading test.

This week, you will continue to look at figurative language.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 8th October

Idioms are another form of figurative language. When we understand idioms, we are interpreting figurative language. Idioms are a phrase whose words have a meaning different from their usual meaning.
 * Monday**

// For example: // Henry realised that he’d just __put his foot in his mouth__.

Figurative language helps readers form a picture in their mind.
 * Tuesday**

Personification is another form of figurative language. When we understand personification, we are interpreting figurative language. Personification use the word “like” or “as” to compare two different things.

Personification is when you assign the qualities of a person to something that isn't human or, in some cases, to something that isn't even alive. There are many reasons for using personification. It can be used as a method of describing something so that others can understand. It can be used to emphasize a point.

For example: ▪ The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky. ▪ The run down house appeared depressed. ▪ The first rays of morning tiptoed through the meadow. ▪ She did not realize that opportunity was knocking at her door. ▪ He did not realize that his last chance was walking out the door.

When we understand metaphors, similes, idioms and personification we are interpreting figurative language.
 * Thursday**



People moved along the footpath like worker ants with one single purpose. No one stopped to smile or say, “Good day.” No one seemed to care or even notice that among them were men and women in need of a helping hand. The sun, recognizing it could not penetrate such hardhearted souls, retreated. The dingy grey sky and bitter cold wind were more suitable companions.
 * Friday**

This week, you will continue to look at making conclusions and inferences. You will also complete a reading test.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 27th August

Click here to complete the PAT Reading test.

This week, you will look at making conclusions and inferences. You will also explore the steps involved in **Guided Reading - Reciprocal Teaching**:
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 20th August
 * ** Predicting ** (students predict what the text/section of the text will be about)
 * ** Reading ** (students independently read the text to confirm, reject, adapt predictions and gather information)
 * ** Clarifying ** (students ask questions to clarify understandings and discuss challenges encountered during reading; students work together to resolve the challenges)
 * ** Questioning ** (students pose questions and briefly discuss the text read)
 * ** Summarising ** (the leader sums up the main ideas)

Click here to read an article about gorilla siblings reuniting after three years.

This week, you will continue to explore the author's purpose. You will also look at the history of the Olympics Games and form new reading groups.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 30th July

Ancient Greeks: The Olympic Games (Click on each of the tabs along the side.)

The Ancient Olympic Games

Olympic Games - Information for Kids

The Olympic Games

The Olympics Games - Links for Kids

Olympics Fun Facts

This week, you will explore the author's purpose. Please view the video below:
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 23rd July

media type="youtube" key="skX6RnnIkuM" height="315" width="420"

This week, you will continue to look at identifying the meaning of words in context. In particular, you will look at homonyms, homophones and homographs. Please find their meanings below:
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 11th June


 * ** Homonyms ** are words that have the same spelling and pronunciation as each other, but different meanings.
 * ** Homophones ** are words that have the same pronunciation as each other, but different spellings and meanings.
 * ** Homographs ** are words that are spelt the same as each other, but have a different pronunciation and meaning.

Please look at the following lists to confirm your understanding of homonyms and homophones.

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This week, you will look at identifying the meaning of words in context.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 4th June

Please read the story below and see if you can work out the meaning of any unfamiliar words.

Once upon a time a rich gentleman who was sad after the death of his jikkery, decided to marry again, so his lovely gabbswap could have a mother to care for her.

Unfortunately he chose a proud and selfish woman with two gabbswaps just like herself. She did not reveal her true character until after the wedding. She ordered the little girl to work in the kitchen and live with the servants, while she and her gabbswaps enjoyed a life of splendour.

When the child had finished her work, she used to sit in the chimney corner among the cinders; so everyone called her Sunflaggle. Her clothes were dirty and ragged, but she was far prettier than her fanflickers in all their fine clothes.

One day an invitation arrived from the palace. The King’s son was giving a Mayna! The fanflickers could not have been happier. They talked of nothing but what they would wear, and ordered beautiful lorbil from the best dressmakers in the land. Sunflaggle would have loved to go to the ball, and the wicked fanflickers teased her mercilessly saying; “Wouldn’t you just love to dress up in these fine clothes and ride in a carriage to the palace, and dance with rich young men, and maybe even the Skiby himself?”

It was known that the Skiby was in search of a jikkery, and Sunflaggle’s mean stepmother had high hopes for her gabbswaps. Soon, the great day arrived. Sunflaggle was busy all day, dressing her fanflickers, polishing their shoes, combing their hair, and when the splendid carriage arrived to take them to the Mayna, she dutifully arranged their lorbils so they would not crumple on the journey.

This week, you will continue to explore facts and opinions. Please open the file below and highlight facts in one colour and opinions in another.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 28th May



//Thursday 31st May://
 * Read the "Fact or Opinion" document above. Highlight statements as indicated - facts one colour, opinions another.
 * Read independently for 20 minutes - novel or iBook.
 * Summarise what you've read using one of the strategies we've recently covered, i.e. Who / Wanted to / But / So, Who / What / When / Where / Why or SQ3R. Present this in an interesting and creative way on your iPad... WOW me!!! Upload your finished piece to your Dropbox folder.

This week, you will continue to explore summarising. You will look at a new strategy known as “SQ3R”.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 7th May

SQ3R stands for:
 * S – Survey (Predict)
 * Q – Question
 * R – Read
 * R – Recall (Key words / vocabulary)
 * R – Review (Summarise)

In more detail:
 * __ Survey __ – Scan the title/headings, contents, introduction, chapter introductions and chapter summaries. Purpose is to have an overview of the text. Make a prediction that is supported with what you have surveyed.
 * __ Question __ – Create any questions on the subject that come to mind, or particularly interest you, following your survey.
 * __ Read __ - Now read the text. Read through useful sections in detail, taking care to understand all the points that are relevant. While you are reading, it can help to take notes in mind map format.
 * __ Recall __ – Recall the most significant information/events. Possibly use a graphic organizer (eg. timeline, flow chart…)
 * __ Review __ – It is now time to review the most significant information. Create a summary using these facts/events.

Please find a newspaper article from DogoNews to try this strategy.
 * www.dogonews.com

Please find below a template for future reading responses. You can complete this in the //Pages// app. Be sure to draw a picture in a drawing app, save it to your Camera Roll, then insert it in the template. When complete, email your work to me :)



This week, you will explore summarising. Please read the stories below. Please use the following prompts to help you summarise the text: ** Sleeping Beauty ** Once upon a time there lived a good king and his queen. They had no children for many years and were very sad. Then one day, the queen gave birth to a lovely baby girl and the whole kingdom was happy. There was a grand celebration and all the fairies in the kingdom were invited. But the king forgot to invite an old fairy. She came to the celebrations but was very angry. Soon it was time to gift the baby with special wishes. The good fairies wished her well and said, “May she grow to be the most beautiful girl in the world! She will sing sweetly and dance so well! She will live happily!” All the fairies blessed the baby and gave her beautiful gifts. When it was the old fairy’s turn, she said, “When the baby is sixteen she will touch a spindle, and die!” The king and queen were shocked and begged the fairy to forgive them and take her words back but the fairy refused to do so. When the other fairies saw the king and queen crying, they said, “We cannot undo what the old fairy has spoken. But we certainly can make it different. Your child shall not die when she touches the spindle. But she will fall into a deep sleep for a hundred years. Then, a prince will come along and wake her up.” Hearing this, the king and the queen were relieved. The king forbade everyone from spinning so that the princess would never touch a spindle. The princess grew up to be a kind girl and helped people in need. Everybody loved her. Years passed. When the princess was sixteen years old, she was walking in the woods when she saw an old lady spinning. “What is this? May I try?” she asked The old lady said, “Of course, my pretty little child!” And the princess sat down to spin. But the moment she touched the spindle, she fell to the floor in a deep slumber. The old lady took her back to the palace and the king and queen laid her on her bed and tucked her in. They were very sad and called the good fairies. The fairies felt sorry for them and cast a spell over the whole kingdom so that when the princess woke up after a hundred years, she would not be alone in the palace. Everyone, including the guards and the servants and the animals were now fast asleep. For a hundred years, they all slept soundly. A hundred years passed. There came a prince from a far off land. He, along with his servants, went deep into the forest and crossed many rivers. Once the prince lost his way and was separated from the rest of the travellers. He came to the sleeping kingdom and was amazed. The guards, the servants, the cats and the cows were all fast asleep and snoring. The prince reached the palace and entered it. No one moved. The prince then found the sleeping princess. She was such a beautiful girl that the prince kissed her. By that time, a hundred years had passed by and everyone was waking up, one by one. The princess yawned and opened her eyes. She saw the prince and smiled. She asked him “Are you my prince?” He was happy to hear her speak. The prince and the princess fell in love with each other. The prince wanted to marry the princess so they went to ask for permission from their parents. The king and the queen arranged for a royal wedding. All the clothes the bride wore were a hundred years old, but she looked beautiful. Soon, they were married and then they rode away to the prince’s kingdom far, far away. ** Hansel and Gretel ** A poor woodcutter and his wife had two children named Hansel and Gretel. Their mother died when they were young. Hansel and Gretel were very sad. Soon their father remarried but their stepmother was very cruel. One day, she took the children deep into the forest and left them there. Clever Hansel had some breadcrumbs in his pocket and had dropped them on the way so that they could find their way back home. Alas! The birds ate all the crumbs and they couldn’t find the path that led back home. Hansel and Gretel went deeper and deeper into the forest. They were hungry and tired. Finally, after walking for a long time, they saw a cottage made of chocolate, candies, and cake. “Look, Hansel! A chocolate brick!” shouted Gretel in delight and both ate it hungrily. Now, a wicked witch lived there. When she saw Hansel and Gretel, she wanted to eat them. She grabbed the chil­dren and locked them in a cage. The witch decided to make a soup out of Hansel and eat him first. She began boiling a huge pot of water for the soup. Just then, Gretel crept out of her cage. She gave the wicked witch a mighty push from behind and the witch fell into the boiling water. She howled in pain and died instantly. Hansel and Gretel found treasure lying around the cottage. They carried it home with them. Their stepmother had died and their father wel­comed them back with tears of joy. They never went hungry again!
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 23rd April
 * Who:
 * Wanted to:
 * But:
 * So:

** Little Red Riding Hood ** One day, Little Red Riding Hood’s mother said to her, “Take this basket of goodies to your grandma’s cottage, but don’t talk to strangers on the way!” Promising not to, Little Red Riding Hood skipped off. On her way she met the Big Bad Wolf who asked, “Where are you going, little girl?” “To my grandma’s, Mr. Wolf!” she answered. The Big Bad Wolf then ran to her grandmother’s cottage much before Little Red Riding Hood, and knocked on the door. When Grandma opened the door, he locked her up in the cupboard. The wicked wolf then wore Grandma’s clothes and lay on her bed, waiting for Little Red Riding Hood. When Little Red Riding Hood reached the cottage, she entered and went to Grandma’s bedside. “My! What big eyes you have, Grandma!” she said in surprise. “All the better to see you with, my dear!” replied the wolf. “My! What big ears you have, Grandma!” said Little Red Riding Hood. “All the better to hear you with, my dear!” said the wolf. “What big teeth you have, Grandma!” said Little Red Riding Hood. “All the better to eat you with!” growled the wolf pouncing on her. Little Red Riding Hood screamed and the woodcutters in the forest came running to the cottage. They beat the Big Bad Wolf and rescued Grandma from the cupboard. Grandma hugged Little Red Riding Hood with joy. The Big Bad Wolf ran away never to be seen again. Little Red Riding Hood had learnt her lesson and never spoke to strangers ever again.

This week, you will explore "Read and Retell".
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 19th March

Click on the following link: @http://bit.ly/zO5Zz1
 * What do you think this article will be about?
 * What are some words you think will be in the article?

Click on the following link: @http://www.dogonews.com/2012/3/19/trashin-space

Follow the prompts below:
 * Sharing Responses ** : In small groups/partners/whole group, ask students to:
 * ** share ** their retellings,
 * ** compare ** the similarities and differences in what they have written.
 * ** borrow - ** add to their own retellings using ideas from other people in the group.

Discuss:
 * What was the article about—who remembered what, who borrowed what from each other, why?
 * What did the author want us to know—who thinks there is a message between the lines?
 * What does the text mean for me—how has this text changed my views, attitude, ideas, how I might read future texts?

This week, you will continue to make predictions about texts based on headlines, diagrams, images and captions. You will also continue to explore the difference between literal and inferential questions.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 12th March

Please explore one of the following online newspapers. Use the headlines, diagrams, images and captions from articles to predict their content.
 * www.dogonews.com
 * www.heraldsun.com.au

Please remember:
 * Literal and Inferential Questions**
 * //'Literal'// questions, you put your finger on the answer.
 * //'Inferential'// questions, you put your finger on the clue.

Please read the passages below. Please try to answer the questions under each passage.

** Passage 1 ** Sue enjoyed travelling in the car, but she could never stay still. She was constantly excited by whatever she saw, especially things that moved. We were travelling down a quiet country road one lazy Sunday afternoon. Sue, bouncing on her four short legs between the headrests of the front seat, spotted a hawk that rose up in the front of the car. With a growl she lunged at it. It took several minutes for her to recover. 1. What is Sue? 2. What happened to Sue after she lunged?

**Passage 2** The first sign was the increased movement in the treetops. The she heard a humming in the overhead power cables. But it was the sudden drop in temperature that sent her rushing to the line. Dropping pegs in her haste she quickly gathered all she could carry before returning indoors. 1. What was about to happen? 2. What did she carry inside? 3. Where was she at the beginning?

**Passage 3** //"Wow! What a great trophy. What did you get that for?"// I asked Tim. //"Oh, it's not mine exactly,"// he replied modestly. //"It's Sandy's and mine really. We won the jumping events. She only knocked down two railings and she was the only one to clear the water jump. I nearly came off - just managed to stay on."// 1. What is Sandy? 2. What was the trophy for?

** Passage 4 ** I knew what mum was holding in her hand. She didn't smile, nor did she taker eyes off me as I walked up the path. //"What do you call this?"// she bellowed. //"Poor marks is one thing, but I never dreamed a child of mine would ever be described as 'the worst student I have ever taught!' "// 1. What was mum holding in her hand? 2. Was mum pleased? How do you know that? 3. Who was described the child as '//the worst student I have ever taught//'?

**Passage 5** It looked truly frightening - the deafening roar of the cars on the tracks, rushing by above me at breakneck speed. When they turned upside down in the loop, still racing along, the screams increased. I know I had made the right decision. 1. Where was he (the writer) standing? 2. What decision had he made?

**Passage 6** I was out in the garden with Jan when the phone rang. She quickly ran in and picked it up. //"Hello,"// she said breathlessly. Then, //"No, it is not. You have the .... Huh! Some people."// She came back outside. //"Another order for Chinese takeaways,"// she muttered. 1. Why was she breathless? 2. Who was calling? 3. Why did she say 'another'?

This week, you will look at the importance of asking questions before, during and after reading.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 5th March

What key words, questions or thoughts do you have about this picture?




 * Pop Art**

Pop Art is the movement in art when artists began to create art with the subject of things that are the iconic in nature such as famous people, advertising, and movies.

The British and the American people were responsible for setting off this type of art in the 1950's and 60's. In art history, art movements are attached to time periods. It is the most recent form of artistic movements next to postmodernism.

Abstract expressionism precedes pop art. An offshoot of pop art is a type of art called "Lowbrow". It was started in the 70's in California, USA and is often termed "pop surrealism". One of the most notable pop artists was the artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987). One of Andy Warhol's most famous paintings was that of a Campbell's soup can. Another notable pop artist was Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997). Lichtenstein loved doing abstract expressionism but later was drawn to pop art in the 60's. He created art using comic strips as the subject. He also was known for creating pop art style reproductions of master painters like Monet.

In 1962 the world's first public exhibit of pop art was shown at the Pasadena Art Museum. The works included artists Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Dowd, Phillip Hefferton, Joe Goode, Edward Ruscha and Wayne Thiebaud. Pop Art works are fun, colorful and playful. As much as it can be associated with a child-like playfulness and simplicity, it has quite a bit of art theory to it.

This week, you will continue to explore reading comprehension strategies.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 20th February

This week, you will continue to explore independent reading routines in order to prepare you for future reading sessions.
 * Week Beginning:** Monday 13th February

Please find below some links to online stories:
 * Beantime Stories
 * Children's Storybooks Online
 * Wacky Web Tales (insert some nouns, adjectives, etc... and personalise the story)