Super Scientist 

 The wonderful Super Scientist competition has returned for Term Two. The aim of the competition is to promote interest in Science and develop scientific understandings, with an oral language focus. The competition requires the students to give a 2-5 minute science based presentation. The presentation can take the form of an experiment, a demonstration of a science concept, or an oral report of a concept/idea. We are looking for the students to make sure that they are able to explain the science behind the experiment. We will be starting the presentations for Room 11 at the beginning of Week Six. We will need to choose our three class representatives that will complete in the Year Three final by the end of Week Six. Good luck to everyone.

 Literacy Pro 

 This week we resat our Literacy Pro test to see if our reading has improved. We have loved doing Literacy Pro and earning many certificates. We have been working very hard on our comprehension skills this year with great success.

 Comprehension Skills – What are they and how can I help my child? 

Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. To be able to accurately understand written material, children need to be able to (1) decode what they read; (2) make connections between what they read and what they already know; and (3) think deeply about what they have read. One big part of comprehension is having a sufficient vocabulary, or knowing the meanings of enough words. Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about what they read – what is important, what is a fact, what caused an event to happen, which characters are funny. Thus comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and reasoning. What parents can do to help at home

•  Hold a conversation and discuss what your child has read. Ask your child probing questions about the book and connect the events to his or her own life. For example, say "I wonder why that girl did that?" or "How do you think he felt? Why?" and "So, what lesson can we learn here?"
• Help your child make connections between what he or she reads and similar experiences he has felt, saw in a movie, or read in another book. 
• Help your child monitor his or her understanding. Teach her to continually ask herself whether she understands what she's reading. 
• Help your child go back to the text to support his or her answers. 
• Discuss the meanings of unknown words, both those he reads and those he hears. 
• Read material in short sections, making sure your child understands each step of the way. 
• Discuss what your child has learned from reading informational text such as a science or social studies book.