Has your child been talking about their Halloween costume since September first?  Then you've come to the right class!  Feed their need for all things Halloween while they practice reading concepts.  Each day students will gather to hear a Halloween themed or spooky (not scary) story.  (Please note that I will read the book aloud.  Students will not be reading the book, they will be listening and answering questions about the book.)

In this ongoing class, students will gather three times each week in October to participate in an interactive read-aloud of a different picture book. As I read the book of the day aloud, students will be actively listening and discussing the book throughout the story.   As I read the book, I will stop to discuss vocabulary, have students make predictions, answer comprehension questions, make inferences and explain their thinking, encourage and model making text connections (connections to their own experiences in life, with other texts, and to their existing knowledge), etc.  Students will be encouraged to ask questions and respond to each other's questions and comments as we read.  "Research has demonstrated that the most effective read-alouds are those where children are actively involved in asking and answering questions and making predictions, rather than passively listening."  ("The Importance of Interactive Read-Alouds," Orton Gillingham Online Academy, https://ortongillinghamonlinetutor.com/the-importance-of-interactive-read-alouds/)

Interactive read-alouds build vocabulary, improve comprehension, and build attention span.  They also help students improve fluency and expression in their own reading.  This type of read-aloud allows students to hone their own reading skills while sharing their experiences and ideas with classmates. "...IRA [Interactive Read-Aloud] experiences build students’ ability to think and talk critically about texts during other reading contexts, such as guided reading and independent reading." (Pinkerton, Lisa, "Interactive Read-Aloud: The Bedrock of the Literacy Block," Scholastic EDU, https://edublog.scholastic.com/post/interactive-read-aloud-bedrock-literacy-block.) 

Much like an interactive read-aloud in a typical brick and mortar classroom each day of this class is a stand alone lesson in which students will hear one picture book read-aloud and practice the reading concepts that are most appropriate for each book.  (For example: some texts are better than others for practicing predicting, some books might have more new vocabulary words than others.  Some books might be easier than others to find a text to self connection- Someone who has been trick-or-treating will connect easily to a trick-or-treat book.)  Students can join this class any day/week and be able to participate as soon as they are comfortable doing so.  


Week of October 4th- Comprehension, Questioning, Predicting, Inferring, Text connections (Text to self, text to text, text to world), Vocabulary
              "The Vanishing Pumpkin" by Tony Johnston, illustrated Tomie dePaola    
              "Picnic at Mudsock Meadow" by Patricia Polacco     
              "The Witch of Hissing Hill" by Mary Calhoun   

Week of October 11th- Comprehension, Questioning, Predicting, Inferring, Text Connections, Vocabulary
             "Turkey Trick-Or-Treat" by Wendi Silvano, illustrated by Lee Harper
              "Sir Simon: Super Scarer" by Cale Atkinson
              
             
This class follows the same format as my "Happily Ever After- Read Aloud Book Club."  If you're looking for a class like this one without a holiday theme, please check it out here: https://outschool.com/classes/happily-ever-after-read-aloud-book-club-4bBbOfzk#usV8FjRkoB