Readers and Writers Notebook

Please continue to check the blog for ideas about how to use the readers and writers notebook.

Term 3

•  Have you noticed that the reader's and writer's notebook has just got bigger this term?  We decided that providing more space for writing was necessary as the students are now beginning to write stories and non-fiction reports about things!  The new notebook also has a page at the back for recording the books that have been read, which includes a small 'comment' space for your budding reader to express a quick response to the book. 
• Please encourage your child to write and draw their responses and ideas, their predictions, questions or wonderings, inferences, or a short reflection on what connections they might have made to the text.  WE are encouraging the students to develop their thinking about what they read through this notebook, and often ask the students to share with one another any observations or thoughts they had.
• Some children may be reading longer books.  We encourage them to note down the pages or chapters each time they read, as simply recording the book once doesn't really indicate how much reading they may be doing.

Term 2

• Our current reading focus is diagraphs (two consonants joined together to represent one sound) When reading with your child please look for words that contain these diagraphs.     E.g. 'sh', 'ch', 'ph', 'ck' etc
• Our reading focus has been Inferring. The children have gained an understanding that a reader brings to their reading, prior knowledge. With prior knowledge, the reader is able to understand text at a deeper level. The reader makes an informed guess as to what the author has suggested but not actually stated. The reader makes connections from their experiences with the text. When reading at home with your child, on occasion, when the text invites inferring, stop and ask them what they think the author is suggesting in a given situation, but is not explicitly saying.

Term 1

• Before reading a non-fiction text, write down any questions you may have on the topic, as you read reflect if the questions are being answered.
• Children can write a recount about what they did on the weekend in their writer's notebook to share with their home group.
• Write a book review about one of the books we have read in class and it could be linked to the Shelfari Library.
• Predict what you think the book will be about and record this prediction in your Readers Notebook to reflect upon at the end of the book.
• In the readers side of the notebook children can record the date, name of the book they are reading and express how the book makes them feel.
• Sapphire our neighbourhood lizard is a Cunningham's Skink. If children are interested in researching about Cunningham's Skink they can record what they learn in their Notebook to share with the neighbourhood.

A great example of how to use the Writers Notebook by Atticus