Questions to ask your child this week:
Reading: Students continued to meet in their literature circles to read and discuss their books focused on social movements and social change. They had some compelling discussions in class on Wednesday! When we return from Thanksgiving break, each group will work together to produce a one-pager demonstrating their understanding of their book. *I encourage students to read a book (or books) for fun over the Thanksgiving break! Audio books are also great choices for long trips. Writing: We began our personal narrative unit this week. We read and discussed three examples in class, and worked on two brainstorming activities. When we return from Thanksgiving break, students will choose one event from their lives and begin writing about it. This unit will take several weeks, and students will complete mini-lessons focusing on core elements like descriptive writing, organization, and grammar/mechanics as they write.
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Due to the snow day and field trips, we met for ELA on Monday and Friday of this week. On Monday, students found out their literature circle reading groups. Their first book discussion will be this upcoming Monday, and students met in their groups to assign literature circle roles and start filling out their literature circle planning sheets. As a group they decided what page or chapter they wanted to read through by Monday. Some students may have some reading to do over the weekend to meet their goal. I'm looking forward to hearing their discussions on Monday!
Questions to ask your child
Reading We spent this week doing a read-aloud of the short novel Seedfolks, which the kids really seemed to enjoy. Each chapter in the book is narrated by a new person, all of whom contribute to a community garden in Cleveland. As I read, students kept track of the character traits of each new person. On Thursday and Friday, students chose one character to focus on and analyze what that character thought and felt, their contributions to the garden, and what assumptions other characters had about them before interacting with them. Students showed this analysis with either a character portrait or a 'found' poem. You can see the project description here and the rubric here. Students will have half of class on Monday (about 25 minutes) to complete their project; I encouraged several students to take their project home to work on this weekend, so they're in good shape to finish up on Monday. Then we can dive into our first literature circles of the year, with kids working in small groups to read a novel of their choice. Stay tuned for more details on this next week! Photos of kids working on their project: Reading:
As we get ready to write a snapshot memoir next month, we explored how to use figurative language, including metaphors, similes, hyperbole, personification, and onomatopoeia. After practicing how to take notes in class, we read Gary Soto's poem "Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes" and examined how the author used figurative language. For Halloween, we read the short story "The Monkey's Paw" and looked at how the author created a dark and spooky mood with language. Writing: On Tuesday students wrote their own ode to an everyday object, using at least three examples of figurative language. On Thursday after our Halloween parade, students practiced their expository writing with a fun Halloween-themed activity. Each student drew a monster, then wrote out instructions for someone else on how to draw it. Students then swapped only the written instructions with a partner and tried to draw each others' monsters. As you can see from some of the examples below, it was a real lesson in how important specific instructions can be! Reading: On Monday and Wednesday, we began class by examining a poem together and identifying examples of sensory and descriptive language. Students had a chance to write their own poem modeled on George Ella Lyon's Where I'm From, where they turned favorite childhood memories into a poem. We will be continuing working with poetry next week! On Monday everyone finished up their one-pagers on Hoot, and I really enjoyed seeing how they each interpreted the assignment. Check out some of their work below: Writing:
I was out of the building on Tuesday, so students had a chance to respond to one of several creative writing prompts with the sub. On Thursday students revised their letters to the editor, practicing how to incorporate feedback into the drafting process. We'll be sharing these letters out to each other next week. Vocabulary & Grammar: On Friday I set up IXL accounts for students. IXL is an online platform that students can use to practice skills across many content areas, but we'll be using it for grammar and mechanics. On Friday students tried an exercise on using commas. I plan on incorporating more grammar practice on Fridays after students finish up with their vocabulary words. Reading:
We worked on our first one-pager assignment this week, where students showed their understanding of Hoot with visuals and text. You can find the assignment description and rubric under the 'Reading Resources' tab. *Students will have time to read a book of their choice next week. I'll have books for students to choose from, but if they have something in mind that they want to read they are encouraged to bring it to school on Monday! Writing: Students continued working on their letters to the editor. We talked about how to choose a topic you care about, and how to use logos, ethos, and pathos to persuade readers to agree with you. Most students have turned in their first draft, and we will be revising them next week. Questions to ask your child this week:
Questions to ask your student this week:
Reading: Students started working on a "one-pager" to show their comprehension of Hoot. Students will use text and images to demonstrate their understanding of the theme, characters, setting, and style of the novel. You can find the project guidelines and rubric under the "reading resources" tab. We will be finishing these up next week! Writing: We started a new writing assignment this week, a letter to the editor. We looked at examples of letters published in the New York Times and broke down what elements a convincing letter has. We also learned about logos, ethos, and pathos as persuasive techniques. Students chose the news article they want to respond to, and are working on filling out a planning document before they start writing their letter. You can find the planning document and the rubric under the "Writing Resources" tab. Reading:
Students are finishing up Hoot. Next week we will discuss the book as a class, and students will complete a "one-pager". You can head over to the Reading Resources tab to find that assignment rubric, description, and some examples. Writing: Students finished up their nature journals this week, and I am so impressed with their work! Look for those to be laminated and hung up in the middle school commons next week, and come see some of the sensory language we've been working on in class. Next week we will be breaking down our next writing project, a letter to the editor of a Michigan newspaper. More details will be up on the Writing Resources page soon. What an exciting, enlightening week we've had. The retreat to Howell Nature Center was a blast, and gave the class lots to think about as we try to decide how to take what we learned and apply it to helping people in our own community who may not have enough to eat. Stay tuned for more on this topic in the future! Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip: Reading:
We continued reading Hoot this week, and students are doing a great job of stopping, thinking, and jotting about their reading. I am hoping that students can be finished with the book by Monday, October 7th. For some this may mean taking the book home to read, and I encourage you to check in with your child on their progress. It will be key for our discussion of the book's themes and for our next writing project that everyone has read the book! Writing: Students continued working on their nature journals. Students are putting our study of descriptive and sensory language to good use as they describe a time they were out in nature. These are due next week Thursday, October 3rd, and I will post them around the middle school commons. You can check out one student's work below: We ended this week by learning how to become vocabulary collectors. You can head over to the "Vocabulary Resources" page under the ELA section to see the slides we went over in class (and some pretty hideous drawings done by Lauren). The biggest take away for now is that students are going to be collecting vocabulary words as they read, from either their in-class book or their reading at home (or both). They'll bring their list of words to class on Friday, choose 4 to define, and then choose from 9 options of in-depth activities to show their understanding of the words. I can't wait to see what they create, and will post photos from their notebooks next week.
Reading We spent Monday and Wednesday reading Hoot. Students continued to reflect on their reading and add sticky notes to their books to show their thinking. For students who are nearing the end of the book, they will have options next week of how to reflect on the book as a whole. Writing Tuesday and Thursday were dedicated to our first major writing assignment, a nature journal. You can find the rubric and some examples that we looked at together over at the "Writing Workshop Resources" page. Students will be working to finish their journal pages next week, and will present them at next week's Friday morning meeting. They are creating beautiful descriptive and sensory language! |
AuthorLauren Yavor teaches ELA with a reader's and writer's workshop format to SK 5th and 6th graders. Archives
March 2020
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