Adventures with Miss B

Being a fluent reader means you read smoothly with expression and correct

phrasing. You read at a suitable pace, paying attention to punctuation

marks. 

In 5/6J – on average you should be reading between 100 and 130 words per minute aloud, and even more if

you read silently.

Multiply your age by 10, that gives you an indication of your oral reading rate of words per minute. 

Today we will test your silent reading skill. The texts are quite hard, aimed at high school students.

The aim is not to read too fast that you can’t remember anything you just read. After the

test you will be asked some comprehension questions!

Click the link below to go to the reading speed tester. You can read more than one text, when you

start again you get a different text. 

Click here to find your score!

Our focus strategy at the moment is learning to form a synthesis. 

Synthesising is one of the hardest comprehension skills because to do it you need to ask

questions, infer, make connections, use your background knowledge and summarise!  

Phew!

Our reading groups tasks this week is to form a synthesis on our much-loved book

“Poppy Comes Home”.

Use the planning page to help you fill out the Story cube at Cube Creator.

This term we have been looking at Information Reports. We have discovered that information reports feature

facts grouped together into categories. 

Information reports feature a lot of technical language. Technical language is words and phrases specific to

the topic that are not used very often in everyday conversation. 

This week in reading groups we will be reading a text at studyladder.com.au called ‘How Do Plants and

Animals Survive in the Desert’. Let’s see if this information report has lots of technical language or just topic

language. 

Click the image below to visit www.studyladder.com.au and click on your set tasks to see this report. 

This week we are looking at how animals adapt in the desert. We will be doing an experiment and also reading some facts about these desert survivors.  

When we read factual texts our brains are constantly coding what is important, what is interesting and what is not relevant. 

To work out what it is important, or to find the main idea, we have to be looking for the facts and information we think is the most important to tell someone else who has not studied that topic.

If you could tell them ONLY three things about what you have read – what would it be?

Sometimes, the text we read shows us the most important facts by putting them in boxes or by making the font bold, italic or underlined.

This page is a perfect example of that. 

 Other pages might make different words and phrases stand out, but they might no necessarily be the most important fact.

In reading groups this week 5/6J, See if you can sort out what is important and what is interesting on these pages:

Start here and find the three most important facts to record on your T chart, along with 3 things that are just interesting. 

If you have time click here, here and here, recording your 3 important and 3 interesting facts each time. 

This fortnight we are learning to

determine the most important

details and events in the texts that we read. 

DETERMINING IMPORTANCE is also referred to as FINDING THE MAIN IDEA.

Click here to practice this skill! 

Still have time? Here’s something that explains it – especially for Factual Texts.

Thanks Tim and Moby!

You may have time to do the quiz and activities too. 

Learning Intention: We are learning to Make Inferences so we figure out exactly what the author is trying to say.

Today you need to log in to the student’s area of this site. The password is on the board.

You need to drag the magnifying glass into the book. Complete the following 3 tasks:

A) Listen to the introduction

B) Watch the video

C) Complete the activity

If you finish early, drag the question mark into the book and complete the activities on Questioning!

This week our focus strategy is on MAKING INFERENCES.

Firstly, CLICK HERE to read what making inferences means and test out your skills. Read the story about Pete and Patti and then click the flower (you’ll know what I mean when you visit this site).

Next, you need to visit THIS SITE to play an inference game. How many clues did you need before you could guess? The lesser then better!

Still have time? Master the skill at these extra sites.

Wow, still have time? Log in and write a comment and tell us:

Why does making inferences help when reading?

What do you need to do to make an inference?

We have been reading about Australia’s Gold Rush in the last 2 weeks.

Many of the texts we have been reading are historical recounts. Historical recounts retell an event from History.

We know they are recounts when they have:

Facts presented in chronological order

Dates, years, months and people and place names

Time connectives to sequence the events (such as later on, next, the following year etc)

Evaluative comments about the person or event from history

Historical recounts are found in biographies and autobiographies, encyclopaedias, in books and on websites about history.

Today you will read a historical recount about Ernest Shackleton, who was an explorer who planned many journeys to Antarctica. His most famous expedition, on board a ship called ‘Endurance’ was met with many dangers and challenges as the boat became trapped, and eventually squashed by floating sea ice.

You can read about Shackleton’s adventures below!

This week you read with Miss B about the Australian Gold Rush.

The strategy that we are focusing on this week is ‘Asking Questions’.

Today you will read a text on your studyladder account.

It is a set task for you.

Each page has a paragraph about The Gold Rush.

Words that may be difficult to read are underlined.

If you click them they will be read to you.

The studyladder text is a historical recount. It retells an event from history.

After you have read each page,

you need to record TWO QUESTIONS

you have about the text in your

reading books.

Here are some ideas for how to start your questions:

Why does…

How come… 

I wonder if… 

Where did…

What if… 

What does…

Or you can write your own questions.

Click here to visit studyladder now and login.

IF YOU FINISH EARLY CLICK HERE FOR AN EXTENSION ACTIVITY.

This week’s comprehension strategy is Synthesising.

Can you be a synthesising hero?

SCHEMA is a fancy word for background knowledge. When we read, we constantly refer to our background knowledge and add new information.

Before we read something we know a little, then as we read we add on to our knowledge so after reading we know a lot more. Like the Russian Dolls.

Now you can go to the Into The Book website and work on the Synthesising activity. Click here!