In this Patricia Polacco Author and Book Study: 5 Day Reading Comprehension Camp, students will meet 1 week for 5 days to listen to and discuss the 5 different books based on her own experiences, ranging from fond family memories to her own academic struggles in school.  These books are certain to capture your child's heart as we learn key components of good story structure and apply what we learn to the stories!  We will focus on reading comprehension, writing, speaking, fluency, & listening skills.

Students at this age are also learning to be good readers.  Good readers use prior knowledge, make predictions, summarize, question, infer, visualize, and make inferences.  WHEW!  That's a LOT!  It is important for children to be able to comprehend what they read--but HOW does that happen?  Students must apply literal, inferential, and evaluative skills to answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions based on the text.  In this camp, we will practice answering comprehension questions focused on inferences and making predictions. Students will review new vocabulary, and answering the 5W's + H (how) questions while reading each story.

During the 45 minute class:
• Students will be welcomed to class.  We will quickly review the class rules and our learning goals.  
• We will go over a short 5-minute mini lesson on story structure and plot elements.  Emphasis will be placed on building the literary vocabulary (setting, characters, events, problem/solution.) Students will then listen to a book (with opportunities to volunteer read aloud) by Patricia Polacco.  Students will be given opportunities for speaking, listening, and oral reading.
• As a class, we will review the material covered in the mini lesson and I will answer any questions prior to dismissing the class.  

Day 1: Mr. Lincoln's Way
Day 2: John Philip Duck
Day 3: Someone for Mr. Sussman
Day 4: Ginger and Petunia
Day 5: The Junkyard Wonders

We will focus on:
-reading comprehension
-writing
-speaking
-fluency
-listening

(NOTE:  Children learn vocabulary, sequencing, and prediction skills through repetition of stories.  If you feel your child would benefit from hearing the stories again, I would love to have him/her join me in additional sections of the class!)