5th-grade students spent the beginning of the week building background knowledge for their upcoming novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins. On the first day, students had to build a canoe or raft to gain an understanding of what the main character would face throughout the story. The background knowledge continued to be built when the students read the true story of the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island, which Island of the Blue Dolphins was based. The students used the instruction strategy, JigSaw to make inferences and identify the main idea and supporting details. They made collaborative posters with their home groups to teach the new information to their peers! It’s been a jam-packed few days of learning!!!!!