READING INQUIRY Mrs. Deborah Faehner X 11382

READING INQUIRY With the change to the middle school schedule, all 6 th and 7th graders will have reading every day.

READING INQUIRY In the Reading Inquiry class, students will apply various reading strategies to analyze literary and informational texts. An emphasis will be placed on having the students apply these strategies, both collaboratively and independently.

READING INQUIRY Tentative (and partial) list of novels that may be read in class: Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick Pigman by Paul Zindel Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse Peak by Roland Smith Tangerine by Edward Bloor

READING INQUIRY INFORMATIONAL TEXT We will also by utilizing informational text from various sources such as: Scholastic Magazines Internet resources such as Newsela, Izzit, and Readworks Electronic versions of the newspapers

COMMON CORE The goal of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is to prepare all students for either college or for a career. Pennsylvania has his own version of CCSS – PA Common Core Standards

What does PA Common Core mean for the students in reading class? Students are being challenged to read more difficult material and to respond to these readings, both critically and analytically. There is an emphasis on informational text.

What does PA Common Core mean for the students in reading class? “Close reading” is a term that your children will be hearing quite often. Reading meticulously and critically Re-reading materials for different purposes Marking and annotating text

Do students still need to read for homework? YES – Students are expected to read 20 minutes each night, Monday through Thursday. The students will respond to a prompt at the beginning of class. Their response should be based on their reading from the night before.

READING LOG Sample prompts Describe the main character using two character traits. What is the evidence from your story that helped you to decide on these traits? Describe the setting of your story. If the setting changed, how would your story change? What is one text feature that the author uses? How does this text feature help you to understand the book?

READING IS THINKING! There is no such think as multi- tasking when it comes to reading. The students should turn off all screens and take off the headphones while reading (unless they are listening to an audiobook). Students need to be able to concentrate in order to truly understand what they are reading.

MATERIALS One notebook (preferably a marble notebook) One two-pocket folder These items will be kept in the classroom.

DICTIONARIES Your child should have a dictionary available at home. This could be a hard copy or one that is available on a computer or through another electronic source.

What is a LEXILE? A lexile is the determination of the readability of a book based on: sentence length sentence difficulty word frequency Students have a lexile level and books have a lexile level. The goal is to match the student’s lexile with the book’s lexile. The lexile level is considered to be more accurate than the older readability graphs. Your child will know his/her lexile level after they complete Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI). and Barnes and Noble Students are able to locate books based on the lexile level of the title.

Contact Information Mrs. Deborah Faehner – is the most efficient way of contacting me. Phone (ext )