Third grade students have been delving deeply into researching the panda. They have read read a variety of books, watched videos of pandas at various research centers in China and have read articles about the panda as well. When reading a nonfiction book about pandas, students learned to use the features of nonfiction to help them to access information. The headings, pictures, diagrams, captions, maps, table of contents, glossary and index are some of the features that students have accessed to complete various charts and to write about the panda.
A recent strategy lesson focused on finding key words in an article about panda communication. Students practiced the strategy of reading a paragraph and finding the key words and then using a highlighter on those key words. They then worded in pairs to read together the rest of the paragraphs, discuss why certain words were important and then to highlight those words. Some of the students even acted out elements of panda communication during their discussion. The next step in the process is to use those key words and their understanding about panda communication to complete an informational sheet. These skills to access nonfiction information utilize and promote the growth of inferential thinking skills.
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