Sasha and I worked on reading comprehension today. First, she read a short story, "Armadillo's Song." As she read, we discussed homonyms, homographs, and the author's use of onomatopoeia. Sasha answered the comprehension questions accurately, using good test-taking strategies. Next, she read a fable, "The Lion and the Mouse." We discussed the definition of a fable and setting and practiced sequencing the story's events.

Using a magic slate, Addison practiced ou, ow, oi, oy, and oo words. We read Princess Diana and discussed it.

Christopher reviewed his spelling words to prepare for his spelling test tomorrow. He worked on his writing on the computer.

Kellan read more of Dog Man.

Kellan looked at his spelling words to prepare for tomorrow's test. He read Dog Man and discussed it.

I read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind to Richard, and we compared it to the movie.

Richard used paint markers on a chalkboard and a magic slate to practice his spelling words. We reviewed ou and ow words and oi and oy words. He read books with words he can read.

Kaitlin wrote sentences for her spelling words. We read 1984 and discussed it.

Cade had a productive session today. After our alphabetic awareness exercises (sequencing, vowels, consonant, syllable identification), I dictated detached syllables for Cade to write, match to make actual words, and write the orders (number, under, sister). This exercise also served as a review of /er/ syllables. Next, I presented Cade with a list of two-syllable words with /er/and/ir/ words to syllabicate (under, timber, shelter, confirm, skirmish). I then dictated words for him to write (shirl, birth, stern, ver, chirp, shirt) followed by sentences that included similar words and irregular words (His sister has his number. She said the rock is under the bed). I prompted Cade to edit his work with the CAPS acronym. I introduced a new concept, /you're/, showing examples such as fur, blur, burn, and spur. We played two rounds of Crazy Moose to solidify the concepts. To conclude, Cade read a decoable book from FlyLeaf Publishing, "This and That."

I met with Luca's mother; she was concerned about a low standardized test score. I reassured her that Luca's reading fluency is strong in my assessment and that practice will improve his reading comprehension scores. To that end, I prepared summer enrichment work. I chose two novels, Soccer Halfback by Matt Christopher and Island by Gordon Korman, and prepared reading comprehension packets for each. To practice non-fiction genres, I photocopied texts and accompanying comprehension questions from Wonder Literature (McGraw Hill Education). I presented the materials to Luca. We co-read two chapters of Soccer Halfback and discussed various reading comprehension strategies (summarizing as you read, making predictions, and taking brief notes to keep the characters straight). Luca seemed to enjoy the book. I hope that he continues to read over the summer.