Reading, Reading, Reading

Students in all grades are embarking on new adventures in reading.

The kindergarten students just finished creating books about the five senses. They loved making the Build a Books and are bringing them home this week.

The first through third grade students are reviewing what good readers do when they read. Good readers ask themselves questions about the text, they make connections to selves, world, and other texts, and they evaluate what they have read. They think about reading for information as well as read ing for enjoyment.

The fourth and fifth grade students are preparing for a project. They are discovering how to search for keywords, how to cite sources, and how to use nonfiction text features to find information efficiently.

Beginning next week, all students will take a break from this to enjoy the books nominated for a California Young Reader Medal. The students always enjoy this time, because it is an opportunity for them to choose their favorite books among five that we will read.

Coming in March is Read Across America. I will be looking for readers from the community to come to Eastin on March 2 or 3 and read aloud to a classroom. If you are interested, please contact me (Laura Cox) at 510-475-9630 ext. 60796.

Winter Break

There will be no school from December 19 through January 2. School will resume on January 3.  I hope everyone will keep reading during the break. 
When we come back we will enjoy one more week of coding followed by some time to enjoy literature. 
Have a great break!


FYI Time is running out for our Donors Choose Project. Please consider donating to this project: Show what You Know, Read What You Need

We Are Typing

Students in Grades 1 through 5 have been working on building accuracy with typing. They are learning where to place their hands and how to type without looking at the screen. There are many sites that are perfect for young typists to practice with:

Dance Mat Typing is a British website. The accents may throw students off. But the content is particularly entertaining and friendly for our younger students.

Typing.com requires a sign in. Our third through fifth graders know how to sign into this site. This doesn't have the graphics seen in other websites, but it focuses in on the typing skills.

Typing club is another website that our fifth grades are familiar with. It requires log in for keeping track of your progress.

Keyboarding Zoo I  and II are perfect for our youngest keyboarders. The kindergarten can learn valuable letter skills and connections to the keyboard here.

Keyboarding Challenge is great for learning the order of our letters and numbers on the keyboard.

Have fun typing!