January 23-27th
Well, I haven't posted recently what we have been working on, but hopefully you have seen the work coming home and have seen the focus on writing and reading comprehension. Right now, students are writing a personal narrative. I am modeling each part of the writing process as we go. This piece will be completed and published next Friday. This writing will also be used to teach spelling and grammar concepts. We will look at homophones, complete sentences, vivid verbs, proper nouns, and correct capitalization.
Well, I haven't posted recently what we have been working on, but hopefully you have seen the work coming home and have seen the focus on writing and reading comprehension. Right now, students are writing a personal narrative. I am modeling each part of the writing process as we go. This piece will be completed and published next Friday. This writing will also be used to teach spelling and grammar concepts. We will look at homophones, complete sentences, vivid verbs, proper nouns, and correct capitalization.
December 5-9th
Thank you very much to all parents that sent in copies of The Last Holiday Concert! Each student has their own copy. The benefit of this to our study and your child's comprehension is amazing. I sincerely appreciate it!
This week we will focus on comprehension strategies in our reading of The Last Holiday Concert and Time for Kids magazines. During our study of The Last Holiday Concert, we will review plot elements, making inferences, and identifying important character traits. Students completed comprehension on chapters 1 and 2 today. Between 3-6 questions will be given on each two chapters. Most days I will read aloud a chapter to the class and they will read one independently. This work will help strengthen the comprehension and discussion during this book study. Finally with the class book study, this week we will look at adjectives and "vivid verbs".
More than likely, you will not see this response journal come home. The journal will be completed and turned in the day we leave for Winter Break. Several grades will come from this journal and be the final reading grades for the second nine weeks.
In Writing this week, we are working on another opinion piece. You should have heard about this piece last week when your child came home to ask your opinion. Students will be writing one paragraph each night at home. This will allow us to spend time editing and adding detail to these paragraphs in class. I will teach another lesson on introduction and conclusions this week before publishing.
Thank you very much to all parents that sent in copies of The Last Holiday Concert! Each student has their own copy. The benefit of this to our study and your child's comprehension is amazing. I sincerely appreciate it!
This week we will focus on comprehension strategies in our reading of The Last Holiday Concert and Time for Kids magazines. During our study of The Last Holiday Concert, we will review plot elements, making inferences, and identifying important character traits. Students completed comprehension on chapters 1 and 2 today. Between 3-6 questions will be given on each two chapters. Most days I will read aloud a chapter to the class and they will read one independently. This work will help strengthen the comprehension and discussion during this book study. Finally with the class book study, this week we will look at adjectives and "vivid verbs".
More than likely, you will not see this response journal come home. The journal will be completed and turned in the day we leave for Winter Break. Several grades will come from this journal and be the final reading grades for the second nine weeks.
In Writing this week, we are working on another opinion piece. You should have heard about this piece last week when your child came home to ask your opinion. Students will be writing one paragraph each night at home. This will allow us to spend time editing and adding detail to these paragraphs in class. I will teach another lesson on introduction and conclusions this week before publishing.
November 28th- December 2nd
Thank you for the donated copies of The Last Holiday Concert. We are still collecting books and will be starting it this week. I am excited about this reading study with the students! I have given each child a winter pencil to use as we read and fill out our reading response logs.
Thank you for the donated copies of The Last Holiday Concert. We are still collecting books and will be starting it this week. I am excited about this reading study with the students! I have given each child a winter pencil to use as we read and fill out our reading response logs.
October 24-28th
We are finally finishing our read aloud, Tiger Rising. This book as taken much longer to read than expected and than I would normally like. However, the students have been so engaged and begun formulating deeper ideas so I wanted to take time to share and discuss these ideas. We will finish the book tomorrow! I encourage you to ask your child about it.
This week, we will begin working on argument writing. Students will be engaging in "argument protocol" to strengthen their writing. Perhaps they will engage you in a respectful debate at home! Many notes will be taken and glued in to the Writing notebook during this unit for students to reference when writing.
Today, we discussed the difference in the simple subject vs the complete subject. This week we will also look at the simple and complete predicate.
We are finally finishing our read aloud, Tiger Rising. This book as taken much longer to read than expected and than I would normally like. However, the students have been so engaged and begun formulating deeper ideas so I wanted to take time to share and discuss these ideas. We will finish the book tomorrow! I encourage you to ask your child about it.
This week, we will begin working on argument writing. Students will be engaging in "argument protocol" to strengthen their writing. Perhaps they will engage you in a respectful debate at home! Many notes will be taken and glued in to the Writing notebook during this unit for students to reference when writing.
Today, we discussed the difference in the simple subject vs the complete subject. This week we will also look at the simple and complete predicate.
October 17-21
This week our grammar focus is on subjects and predicates. Today, I taught students how to identify the subject and predicate of a sentence and what each part means. We will continue to practice this throughout the week. Next week, I will assess students on this concept.
This week students will begin working on a summary of our read aloud, Tiger Rising. We will discuss the important events from the book throughout the week.
This week our grammar focus is on subjects and predicates. Today, I taught students how to identify the subject and predicate of a sentence and what each part means. We will continue to practice this throughout the week. Next week, I will assess students on this concept.
This week students will begin working on a summary of our read aloud, Tiger Rising. We will discuss the important events from the book throughout the week.
October 3-7
I hope you had an excellent Fall Break. I thoroughly enjoyed the days off with my son and the time to be outside!
The main focus this week is paragraph writing. Today, I modeled a paragraph about Fall Break. Then students wrote their own paragraph about the break. Tomorrow, I I will model adding detail to the paragraph and then students will examine their own paragraph and add detail. By the end of the week and several lessons, students will have a full writing piece about Fall Break. The length will vary depending on what the student writes, but each student should have several paragraphs. This will be the final grade of the nine weeks.
Today we again reviewed the meaning and examples of common and proper nouns. I told the students that I will now be grading them on these concepts in their daily writing since I have taught more than 3 lessons on the concept. A student asked if I would post the definitions and my examples on my blog and I said yes.
common noun: a person, place, or think Ex: school
proper noun: a specific person, place, or thing Ex: King Springs Elementary
* A tip I told students: if I went anywhere in the US and mentioned "school", people would know what I was talking about this. This is a common term/word. But, if I went anywhere in the US and mentioned "King Springs Elementary", people may or may not know that school. This is a specific word or term so it is capitalized.
Book clubs end on Wednesday. The students briefly met today and planned the reading and discussions for Wednesday. Students will meet on Wednesday and then completed final reading responses. I have enjoyed watching the students grow in their reading and discussions during these book clubs! I think they have enjoyed them as well.
I hope you had an excellent Fall Break. I thoroughly enjoyed the days off with my son and the time to be outside!
The main focus this week is paragraph writing. Today, I modeled a paragraph about Fall Break. Then students wrote their own paragraph about the break. Tomorrow, I I will model adding detail to the paragraph and then students will examine their own paragraph and add detail. By the end of the week and several lessons, students will have a full writing piece about Fall Break. The length will vary depending on what the student writes, but each student should have several paragraphs. This will be the final grade of the nine weeks.
Today we again reviewed the meaning and examples of common and proper nouns. I told the students that I will now be grading them on these concepts in their daily writing since I have taught more than 3 lessons on the concept. A student asked if I would post the definitions and my examples on my blog and I said yes.
common noun: a person, place, or think Ex: school
proper noun: a specific person, place, or thing Ex: King Springs Elementary
* A tip I told students: if I went anywhere in the US and mentioned "school", people would know what I was talking about this. This is a common term/word. But, if I went anywhere in the US and mentioned "King Springs Elementary", people may or may not know that school. This is a specific word or term so it is capitalized.
Book clubs end on Wednesday. The students briefly met today and planned the reading and discussions for Wednesday. Students will meet on Wednesday and then completed final reading responses. I have enjoyed watching the students grow in their reading and discussions during these book clubs! I think they have enjoyed them as well.
September 19-23
This week our grammar focus has been on common and proper nouns. Some students are still having a difficult time after two days and my small group lesson. Please talk with your child to see if they can identify the difference. We will continue to work on this as the semester continues.
With the fire safety village field trip and STEM day, this is a short teaching week. One of the main focuses is reading stamina and book club discussions. Club discussions are getting better each day. I wish we had one more week before the break so that students could continue to read and discuss even deeper. The original goal was for book clubs to be finished by Thursday, but I don't think they can wrap up all thoughts and discussions by then. We will meet on Thursday and assess final clubs.
I have talked with students about reading in class. In addition to spending a minimum of each day reading for 15 solid minutes in Language Arts, students are required to read a chapter book in class. I am also having each student read a book that is an appropriate reading level. Although, I am not assigning a formal level, I am giving students options and guidance for book choice. When reading at home, students have choice over what to read.
This week our grammar focus has been on common and proper nouns. Some students are still having a difficult time after two days and my small group lesson. Please talk with your child to see if they can identify the difference. We will continue to work on this as the semester continues.
With the fire safety village field trip and STEM day, this is a short teaching week. One of the main focuses is reading stamina and book club discussions. Club discussions are getting better each day. I wish we had one more week before the break so that students could continue to read and discuss even deeper. The original goal was for book clubs to be finished by Thursday, but I don't think they can wrap up all thoughts and discussions by then. We will meet on Thursday and assess final clubs.
I have talked with students about reading in class. In addition to spending a minimum of each day reading for 15 solid minutes in Language Arts, students are required to read a chapter book in class. I am also having each student read a book that is an appropriate reading level. Although, I am not assigning a formal level, I am giving students options and guidance for book choice. When reading at home, students have choice over what to read.
September 12-16th
Book clubs started today! The students previewed the books yesterday and picked their top two choices. Today, students were put into their book clubs and set their first goal. They are so excited and enjoyed this first day! During book clubs, we will focus on main idea/details, summarizing, and using specific details from the text when writing and talking about the book. I thoroughly went over how book club works and the requirements.
Spelling this week is focusing on adding -s or -es to make a word plural. We worked together to identify the rules for adding the correct ending. Students will be tested on the spelling of the words this week, as well as the pattern rules that we are learning all week. These are listed below.
Rules:
*Add -s when a base word ends in
*Add an -es when a base word ends in ss, ch, sh, x, or z
* 's' at the end of the word does not always mean that it is plural Ex: cries, gas
Book clubs started today! The students previewed the books yesterday and picked their top two choices. Today, students were put into their book clubs and set their first goal. They are so excited and enjoyed this first day! During book clubs, we will focus on main idea/details, summarizing, and using specific details from the text when writing and talking about the book. I thoroughly went over how book club works and the requirements.
Spelling this week is focusing on adding -s or -es to make a word plural. We worked together to identify the rules for adding the correct ending. Students will be tested on the spelling of the words this week, as well as the pattern rules that we are learning all week. These are listed below.
Rules:
*Add -s when a base word ends in
*Add an -es when a base word ends in ss, ch, sh, x, or z
* 's' at the end of the word does not always mean that it is plural Ex: cries, gas
August 29th-September 2nd
Last week, our lessons and work focused on finding the main idea and details. We used several different strategies for identifying the main idea and details. This will be a concept that students will continually practice. Language Arts homework all week is to publish their page about the most important thing about them. This idea came from a book we read in class, The Most Important Thing. I encourage you to read what your child thinks is the most important thing about them.
This week in class, we are focusing on summarizing. Today, students took notes on what a summary contains. I read aloud two chapters from Tiger Rising and students wrote a list of the most important details from the chapters. Tomorrow, we will work together to formulate a summary. Students will work on summarizing this week and next, as well as throughout the year.
In grammar, today's lesson was on fragments and run-on students. Last week, we focused on using capitalization. As a class, we created Writing Givens. These are things that the students said that they all should and can use in any writing all year. I have these posted in the room and students will copy them in their notebook.
Finally, working on reading stamina is a big part of our everyday life. I am working with students on reading continuously for the first 15 minutes of class while they eat snack. In addition, students are required to read for 15 minutes, 4 nights each week.
Last week, our lessons and work focused on finding the main idea and details. We used several different strategies for identifying the main idea and details. This will be a concept that students will continually practice. Language Arts homework all week is to publish their page about the most important thing about them. This idea came from a book we read in class, The Most Important Thing. I encourage you to read what your child thinks is the most important thing about them.
This week in class, we are focusing on summarizing. Today, students took notes on what a summary contains. I read aloud two chapters from Tiger Rising and students wrote a list of the most important details from the chapters. Tomorrow, we will work together to formulate a summary. Students will work on summarizing this week and next, as well as throughout the year.
In grammar, today's lesson was on fragments and run-on students. Last week, we focused on using capitalization. As a class, we created Writing Givens. These are things that the students said that they all should and can use in any writing all year. I have these posted in the room and students will copy them in their notebook.
Finally, working on reading stamina is a big part of our everyday life. I am working with students on reading continuously for the first 15 minutes of class while they eat snack. In addition, students are required to read for 15 minutes, 4 nights each week.
August 15-19th
The last two weeks have started out well in Language Arts. Although they go hand-in-hand, I break up the week into Reading and Writing so that students can have time to learn and apply the skills we are discussing in class. In Reading, our focus began with choosing an appropriate book to read. Each day, the students begin with 15 minutes of silent reading. This time of reading uninterrupted is critical to improve reading. Each week, the students will be assigned to read 4 nights for 15 minutes. In class, we discussed that the students get to pick the days that they read. I know that many people have activities or family functions during the week. Allowing each student to pick the day that works best for them, helps them learn to plan and become accountable for their learning. The week is Monday-Saturday. The students will log their reading in their agenda on the nights that they read. I appreciate your support in checking in with your child weekly about their reading.
Last week, we began working on using text evidence to support our thinking and talking about our reading. I expect students to use exact words from the text when writing about their reading. We are continuing to work on this skill this week and will throughout the year.
In addition, we began talking about inferencing. Today, we discussed the difference between an inference and a prediction. I will post the chart on my blog once we have finished tomorrow. I read half of the book, Tuesday to help students use inferencing. The students got a big kick out of this book! Ask your child what makes this book different from most that they read.
In Writing, we are also using text evidence to support what we write about. Our unit is focused on informational writing. Reading nonfiction passages and identifying the important details in the passage were the focus last week. This week, we will continue studying the text features of an informational piece and using specific wording from the passage when we write about it.
*A final note: Each day, I will discuss the homework for math in class before they leave. I told the students last week that if I tell them that they do not have homework, they are to write, None, in the box. You should see something written each day in your child's agenda.
The last two weeks have started out well in Language Arts. Although they go hand-in-hand, I break up the week into Reading and Writing so that students can have time to learn and apply the skills we are discussing in class. In Reading, our focus began with choosing an appropriate book to read. Each day, the students begin with 15 minutes of silent reading. This time of reading uninterrupted is critical to improve reading. Each week, the students will be assigned to read 4 nights for 15 minutes. In class, we discussed that the students get to pick the days that they read. I know that many people have activities or family functions during the week. Allowing each student to pick the day that works best for them, helps them learn to plan and become accountable for their learning. The week is Monday-Saturday. The students will log their reading in their agenda on the nights that they read. I appreciate your support in checking in with your child weekly about their reading.
Last week, we began working on using text evidence to support our thinking and talking about our reading. I expect students to use exact words from the text when writing about their reading. We are continuing to work on this skill this week and will throughout the year.
In addition, we began talking about inferencing. Today, we discussed the difference between an inference and a prediction. I will post the chart on my blog once we have finished tomorrow. I read half of the book, Tuesday to help students use inferencing. The students got a big kick out of this book! Ask your child what makes this book different from most that they read.
In Writing, we are also using text evidence to support what we write about. Our unit is focused on informational writing. Reading nonfiction passages and identifying the important details in the passage were the focus last week. This week, we will continue studying the text features of an informational piece and using specific wording from the passage when we write about it.
*A final note: Each day, I will discuss the homework for math in class before they leave. I told the students last week that if I tell them that they do not have homework, they are to write, None, in the box. You should see something written each day in your child's agenda.