10/8/08 Reading for Comprehension, Minute Math

Part 1 (Daily Reading Homework): your child needs to read at least 20 minutes every night. Please record what they read, how long they read for and then initial it.

Part 2 (Reading Comprehension): One of the main focuses of our year has been reading comprehension. Simply reading a book, article, or passage isn’t enough. Readers need to be able to re-tell what they’ve read in their own words! Tonight your student is reading a short passage about the explorer Christopher Columbus. After they read the passage then need to answer 4 simple questions about the passage. We have talked at great length about implicit and explicit information. All of the questions asked about this passage are explicit (that means the answer is clearly stated in the passage). Please discuss you child’s answers with them. Why are they answering the way they do? Also, please check if your child understands the difference between explicit and implicit. Let me know how it goes!

Part 3 (Minute Math): Minute Math is a daily activity. It is not due until Friday. The grade on Friday is calculated like this: 20 points per day Minute Math is done at home plus one point for every correct answer on Friday (a student who did their Minute Math every day and got 11 correct on Friday would get a grade of 91: 80 points for the days worked at home plus 11 for the right answers at school). Have your child finish as many of each day’s problems as they can with a pen in 1 minute. Mark how many they got right in 1 minute at the bottom and then initial. Then have your child finish the unanswered questions with a pencil. This needs to be done every day but does not need to be turned in until Friday. If you have any questions about minute math please contact me.