This week, we started a class read aloud called Ticket to Curlew by Celia Barker Lottridge. It is a story about a boy named Sam who's eleven years old who comes to Curlew, Alberta with his family in 1915. This story describes the European settler experience of arriving on "empty" land and starting to build a homestead. This novel study relates to both Language Arts and Social Studies. Students each have their own copy of the book. We practice reading aloud for the class, one paragraph each, paraphrasing in our own words, adding expression to our voices, examining traits of fiction books such as quotation marks, "time passed" symbols, etc. We are also keeping track of Social Studies vocabulary words and their meanings, like "satchel," "compass," and "horizon." After each chapter, we discuss the story, ask questions, make predictions, summarize information, and answer a few short comprehension questions. We will also be discussing connections between the book and our previous learning of the land and history of Alberta.
You can support your child at home by asking them what's happening so far in the story. The ability to summarize and retell is an important quality of a good reader. Prompt them to see if they have any questions or predictions.
