This Week (March 16) in Language Arts...
Current Read Aloud book:
What We're Working On
We are ready this week to type our colonial books using Microsoft Publisher! Students have created an introduction, three body paragraphs, a conclusion, glossary, and planned out their text features. :)
Scholastic News Homework (NONE THIS WEEK!)
Now that we are studying nonfiction text, students will be bringing home Scholastic News homework every Friday. It is due the following Thursday. Students will need to read the whole magazine and return it with the homework on the due date. Notice that the magazine is numbered. I have it checked out specifically for your student to use for that week. I will reuse it for the other homeroom the following week. Please remind your child not to write on it or throw it away!
Academic Vocabulary (None this week)
We are starting a different type of vocabulary this week, so there will be some changes in how we approach it. From now on, we will be studying "academic vocabulary". These lists consist of words commonly found in nonfiction and standardized tests (examples: rural, urban, derive). We learn 2-3 words per day and students record a definition, example sentence and picture, part of speech, and other forms the words take in a small booklet. Students can take the booklet home to study, but a "list" will not be given out. During the second week (after all words have been learned), students will be assigned a VOCABULARY MENU (see below) and must choose their own way of practicing their words.
Grammar
We have started "Spotlight Sentences". These are taken from children's books and are complex structures that kids learn to replicate. So far, we've learned that sentences can start with clauses and adverbs, and they can be joined with conjunctions like "when", "while", and "where". We have been working on adding to our parts of speech knowledge. We will continue studying prepositional phrases this week.
Current Read Aloud book:
What We're Working On
We are ready this week to type our colonial books using Microsoft Publisher! Students have created an introduction, three body paragraphs, a conclusion, glossary, and planned out their text features. :)
Scholastic News Homework (NONE THIS WEEK!)
Now that we are studying nonfiction text, students will be bringing home Scholastic News homework every Friday. It is due the following Thursday. Students will need to read the whole magazine and return it with the homework on the due date. Notice that the magazine is numbered. I have it checked out specifically for your student to use for that week. I will reuse it for the other homeroom the following week. Please remind your child not to write on it or throw it away!
Academic Vocabulary (None this week)
We are starting a different type of vocabulary this week, so there will be some changes in how we approach it. From now on, we will be studying "academic vocabulary". These lists consist of words commonly found in nonfiction and standardized tests (examples: rural, urban, derive). We learn 2-3 words per day and students record a definition, example sentence and picture, part of speech, and other forms the words take in a small booklet. Students can take the booklet home to study, but a "list" will not be given out. During the second week (after all words have been learned), students will be assigned a VOCABULARY MENU (see below) and must choose their own way of practicing their words.
Grammar
We have started "Spotlight Sentences". These are taken from children's books and are complex structures that kids learn to replicate. So far, we've learned that sentences can start with clauses and adverbs, and they can be joined with conjunctions like "when", "while", and "where". We have been working on adding to our parts of speech knowledge. We will continue studying prepositional phrases this week.
ReadingWhy Read??
People who read…
Information is based on several studies described in All Children Read: Teaching for Literacy in Today’s Diverse Classrooms (2011). |
WritingThroughout the school year, kids will be learning 3 different types of writing: narrative, informational, and persuasive. We will first start with mastering the skill of writing a strong paragraph and then move into the various types of writing.
We teach writing using a workshop style. What that means is that students come together with the teacher for a short mini-lesson on a particular skill or technique and then have time to try it independently. We have a writing period where the kids are writing the entire time while I conference with kids who need extra help. Last, we spend some time sharing what we've created. grammarGrammar lessons will be taught throughout the year in conjunction with writing. Students will learn:
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Spelling & vocabularyIn fifth grade, students will have spelling instruction from the Everyday Spelling program for the first marking period and most of the second marking period. Students will learn various patterns in the English language that will make them better spellers. Some patterns are listed below.
For the second half of fifth grade, students will have vocabulary instruction. Students will now be expected to learn the spelling and meaning of the new words. The vocabulary word lists will come from Marzano's list of academic words all kids should know before sixth grade. They will learn Greek and Latin roots, and different forms that words can take (example: react- verb; reaction- noun; reactionary- adjective). |