https://newsela.com/articles/historic-new-oregon-trail/id/19753/
https://newsela.com/articles/bio-explorer-Meriweather-Lewis/id/18877/ https://newsela.com/articles/historic-new-oklahoma-land-rush/id/20089 The Transcontinental Railroad by James Burger The Oregon Trail by James Burger Immigrants and the Westward Expansion by Tracee Sioux The Quest for California's Gold by James Burger
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We have officially launched Book Clubs! Groups will be getting their book assignments shortly where they will work together to create their club's reading assignments. In the meantime, the link at the bottom on this post is a great resource to give you and your students an idea of what to expect from their Book Clubs. It shows examples of discussions, questions, writing assignments, and the importance of being in a Book Club.
The students and I are all very excited for this new activity, and I can't wait to see how it helps them grow as readers! www.youtube.com/watch?v=djazf786BZo We have been working hard in RELA! I am so impressed by every single one of the students, and their knowledge on how to dig deep into characters, Story Mountains, and small-moment narratives.
Recently, we have: - finished our first full reading unit! - completed a unit test on characterization - started our last bend in Lucy Calkins Writer's Workshop: Small Moment Narratives - turned in our first Summative Assessment for writing (onto KidBlog) Grades have been entered, and I am so happy to say that they are impressing me already. However, please make sure your students are completing and turning in their work on time. I am happy to take late grades or work with them one-on-one either before or after school. There is nothing I want more than for my students to succeed, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that happens; but, I also need them to put in the same amount of effort. Coming up: - Reader's Workshop Unit 2: Analyzing Themes - Starts tomorrow, September 14th - Final Small Moment Narrative Story - Due to KidBlog Friday, September 30th Parents: The RELA team would like to try a new way to make sure our students stay organized in our class. We will be sending out an email in the coming week asking for each child to bring in and/or donate a 1.5 inch binder. They will be using one binder to hold their flash drafts, final papers, rubrics, and any other handouts. This will hopefully ensure that they always have the papers that they need in class without creating a mess in their folders or backpacks. Also, continue to please make sure you student is bringing a book to school every day (most have remembered it every day so far!). Like always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks! KidBlog is up and running! Students in my AM and PM blocks will have the opportunity to practice their typing skills by publishing their final essays for each unit on their blog. Homework will also occasionally be KidBlog based. Using this blog will:
- teach students how to type - prepare them for Milestones testing (all of which is on a computer) - give them the opportunity for peer editing - allows parents to view their student's work - keeps their work all in one place - gives students the opportunity to view their progress throughout the year - let students work on their ever growing, always improving essays - so much more! I used this website last year, and the students loved KidBlog time! I will give them time in class to work on their publishing, and even use it in lessons. Parents: this website is a safe place for students to be proud of their work. They can use their blog as a journal, to keep track of small moments, share good examples of writing, and more. You may view your student's blog at any time. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to email me. Students: to access your blog, follow the link to the right (either AM or PM, depending on your block), find your name, and enter your Student ID/Lunch # (including the zeros). What a week!
Reading: Last week we learned tons about how to get to know a character in a story, specifically our book Crenshaw that we have been using as a read-aloud. We've developed ideas, theories, and patterns about Jackson and his family, as well as asked ourselves why he was that way. By digging deeper into the character, we learned more about the plot, predictions, and the meaning behind it all. Writing: We worked on how to generate personal narrative ideas. We can get ideas by thinking about a person that matters to us, a first or last time we did something, a time when we realized/learned something, or a place that has meaning or memories. The students have been writing short, small moment stories based on these ideas, and have done a phenomenal job so far! At home, try to encourage your student to take notice of those small moments, maybe even have them jot it down or even write it out as a narrative. We also learned how to "raise the level" of our writing by: 1) dreaming the dream (making the story come to life for the reader), 2) telling the story from the first person, 3) giving true accounts of what happened, and 4) telling the small moment as a story, not a summary. Please make sure your student brings a book to school every day. We are doing a lot of independent practicing after our mini lessons, and the students need a book in order to do this. They know that this is a requirement for my class, and that if they do not bring a book, they are coming to my class unprepared. This week, we are starting a new bend in our reading and writing units. We will begin getting into book clubs for reading, and start working towards publishing our narrative piece. I look forward to seeing everyone at Curriculum Night on Thursday! Congratulations on making it through your first week of 5th grade! I had a lot of fun getting to know each of you this week, and I already can't wait to learn even more. Quick recap of what we did:
- "Get to know you" games and activities - STEM game - Class schedules - Round Robin: each student added one sentence to each other's stories to create one silly, collaborative story. If you did not get your paper back this week, I will be returning them on Monday. - Decorate files and Writer's Notebook with writing inspiration - Learned about the Inside Reader (the little voice in your head that is making observations and asking questions during reading to help you comprehend what you're reading) We will begin our Writer's and Reader's Workshop on Monday, starting with Narrative Writing and a book called Crenshaw. Each student was provided a Writer's Notebook from myself, and will need another composition notebook (any color or style) for their Reader's Notebook. Finally, please make sure you have a book with you or in your file for independent reading time. Parents: Your student should have brought home their Friday folders yesterday. In their folders are the first 5th grade newsletter and a fundraiser packet. If you need another copy of the newsletter or your student forgot to bring it home, I will post a copy of the information on here shortly. Also, if you would like another fundraiser packet, I will send it home with your student on Monday. Please make sure you send the Friday Folder back on Monday so we can fill it with our most recent assessments and activities. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! Have some fun, get some rest, and come ready to dive into Workshop on Monday. PS. Make sure you follow 5th grade's hashtag (#5thgradeiskey) and RNE's hashtag (#rnegreatthings) on Twitter! I am so excited to begin my teaching career with the Roswell North 5th grade team! This is going to be a phenomenal year filled with learning, exploring, and growing in reading and writing.
We will be using Lucy Calkins' Writer's Workshop, and piloting her Reading Units of Study this school year. These are both fantastic methods, and I don't doubt that by the end of 5th grade, you will all be stronger readers and writers. Who knows - maybe you'll even find a new hobby out of it! If you have any questions or even just want to introduce yourself, please feel free to email me at anytime. I look forward to getting to know each of you over the 2016-2017 school year! |
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