It is Word Work Wednesday! We used the word “standard” to focus on today. We found the definition and part of speech in a dictionary packet, the guide words on the top of the dictionary page, identified a synonym (normal) and antonym (rare), and used the word in a sentence. We reviewed guide words and discussed how the first guide word is the first word on the page and the last guide word is the last definition on the page. For literature today, we read chapters 4 – 6 in our novel, Polar Bears Past Bedtime. In our reading we used context clues to help us understand the meaning of “gaze”, “retreat”, and “hind (legs)”. We worked through comprehension and critical thinking questions and tasks after each chapter. We inferred the game the characters were playing (tag) based on our knowledge of touching a person and running away and then also saying “you’re it!” We then explored the feelings the characters must have had when they were on the cracking ice and recalled the details from the text of how the polar bear was able to come on the ice as well as what the humans learn from animals. We identified similes in our reading and discussed how they help us “see” the story better. Finally, we completed a cause and effect activity from chapter 6. To enrich our study, we read non-fiction articles about harp seals and polar bears and discussed them. We learned about the blubber on the seals’ bodies that keeps them warm and that polar bears do not hibernate! We also practiced novel-based spelling words. This is a nice, challenging list! For writing today, we discussed ways to continue on in his story. Yesterday, he had written an abrupt ending. We talked about ways to wrap the story up and Jonathan actually decided he wanted to extend the middle of the story, so he continued writing from there. We discussed how he can “end” the first day of the story and then how to transition to the next day. I could see the wheels turning and he wrote and wrote! We will read and discuss what he wrote in our next session.