Reading:

Students chose a chapter book to read.  The first step each day is to set a goal for how many pages that they would like to read, then kick back and escape with their book.  The final step is for the students to write two questions each day to use in our Battle of the Books. 

 

Writing:

For our Biography writing unit the students are writing a rough draft essay showcasing all of their knowledge that they gain from their research.  After they finish writing the rough draft, they will edit their paper themselves and then switch with a peer for a second edit of their paper.  Then move onto their final draft. 

Reading:

This week we will focus on short stories again this week.    The students will pick from several short stories to read and then write two questions for each story for our Battle of the Books competition.  We are looking to have our Battle of the Book competition on Friday with Mrs. Lounsbury's class.  

 

Writing:

Biography research.  Students will be writing their research paper using the facts that they have researched.  The focus will be writing a five-page paper to showcase their learning of their biography person.

 

Welcome back! I hope that you all had an amazing Spring Break!

 

For reading, we are going to start a new unit on the Battle of the Books.  Students will read picture books, short stories, and Chapter books.  After reading each piece of literature, students will write 2 questions.  They two types of questions are inferential questions and evaluative questions using a Microsoft form on the computer.   I will then compile all the questions, and then on Friday we will have a Battle of the Books to see who can answer the most questions correctly and also who has read the most books. 

 

For writing, students will choose a person to research from a given list, and they are using a graphic organizer will conduct the research.  After the research is completed, the students will create a Bobble head of their chose person and then take all of their research to write an Autobiography essay. 

This week in ELA will be a little different. 

 

Monday: Students will stay with their Advocacy until 10:00 and then they will transition to their regular ELA class.  The 5th grade boys will stay with me for Growth and Development with Mrs. Schnieder, and the 5th grade girls will go to Mrs. Lounsbury's class for a review lesson of reading skills. 

 

Tuesday: We will transition into our regular ELA classes and then at 10:15 the 5th grade boys will stay with me to work on reading skills, and the 5th grade girls will go to Mrs. Lounsbury's class for their Growth and Development lesson with Mrs. Schnieder. 

 

Wednesday and Thursday: All students will stay with their Advocacy classes as Mr. Varela and Mrs. Lounsbury will go with their First and Second grade buddies to the Tails for Tales program. 

 

Friday: We will have a regular ELA class.  The students will finish working on "Love That Dog" reading comprehension packet and writing poetry to finish up our Poetry unit. 

This week we will be breaking into new groups for ELA. 

 

Reading:  We will begin reading Love That Dog and working on comprehending this poetry book. The students will also be working on giving meaning to figurative language text. The students will be picking a free reading book and set a goal for themself of how many pages that they are going to read for the week and then each day the students will write down a summary of their reading and any new vocabulary words that they need to look up. 

 

Writing: Students will write a Sonnet, Haiku, Ode and Hip-Hop Poems this week.  The students wrote a bio poem last week that should be coming home in Friday folders.  They were super creative and wonderful! 

Reading: We will continue to read poetry and understand the meaning.  We are also learning figurative language vocabulary to help understand the poetry elements to deepen their understanding. 

 

Writing:  Students will begin writing poems this week. They will write a Sonnet, Haiku, Ode, and Hip hop poem.  

This week we will begin Poetry. 

 

The students will learn the Elements of Poetry, read poems and understand the meaning. In this unit we will read Love that Dog and make meaning of this book as well and make connections. 

 

On Tuesday, February 27, the students will be on a Field Trip to the Denver Art Musuem. If you haven't filled out the permission slip for the Field Trip, please do so by Monday, February 26. Please see the information below. 

 

Dear 5^th grade families,

Our students will be going on a field trip to the Denver Art Museum on Tuesday, February 27^th from 9:45-2:00pm. Please complete the permission form here by Monday, February 26^th. During the field trip, students will be participating in a program called Perception Games.

We are in search of 4 adult chaperones for the day. If you are interested in being a chaperone, please complete the background check via the Westgate website (if you have not done so this year already) and then email [email protected]. Note that not all parents who complete background checks will be selected to chaperone for this field trip.

Reading:

Students are finished or finishing reading their assigned novel.  When they are finished the students reading Hatchet are working on a Survival Guide and the students reading Esperanza Rising are working on the end of book project looking at the symbolism and connecting to real life events that Esperanza and her family faced. 

 

Writing:

After reading the Opinion writing papers comparing two restaurants we need to go back and take a second look of how the paper can be editing and created into a five-paragraph essay. 

Reading:

Students will finish Reading their novel. 

For the book Hatchet students will write a survival guide using their knowledge from the book. 

 

For the book Esperanza Rising students will pack a suitcase by putting their self in Esperanza's shoes.  They will need to pick five things that would be important to them and explain their reasoning for picking their choices and compare their items to Esperanza's travels.

 

Writing:

Students will finish writing their Opinion essay comparing two restaurants. 

Reading:

We hope to finish reading both books this week, Hatchet and Esperanza Rising.  The kids have done an amazing job of switching to the new Literature Circle Role sheet which encourages higher level thinking about the reading.  We will read and practice using Text Evidence to support your reading and thinking. 

 

Writing:

The students have finished writing their Opinion Writing piece. We will move on to choosing an Opinion writing topic that will show both the pros and cons of the topic. 

Reading:  Students will continue reading their assigned book.  Last week the students got new Literature Circle sheets to complete while reading their assigned pages.  These new sheets not only are working on reading comprehension, but also Depth and Complexity to work on higher level reading skills. 

 

Writing:

Students will finish writing their Opinion Writing piece.  The next step is to choose a topic that could be agreed and use text to support both sides of the argument. 

Reading:  For both books, Hatchet and Esperanza Rising, the students are getting into the rising action and doing a fantastic job with their literature circle role.  We are also focusing on using Text Evidence to support reading understanding. 

 

Writing:  Students picked a topic for their Opinion Writing.  They began the process by brainstorming and will focusing on writing their rough draft stating their opinion and sharing three reasons and examples to support their opinion.  

Reading:

Students will continue reading their book, either Hatchet or Esperanza Rising. The students will pick a new Literature Circle Role and be expected to complete their role to be reading for discussion on Friday.  There will also be comprehension questions, that the students will need to use text evidence to support their answers. 

 

Writing:

Students will choose a topic for their Opinion Writing piece.  They will continue to use the writing process, brainstorming, rough draft, editing and final copy.  

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

 

In Language Arts this week we will start a new unit on Opinion writing and reading. We will continue to run Literature Circles where students are placed in a small group and go through 15-to-20-minute rotations working on Reading, Writing, Typing club and Teacher time. 

 

Reading:  Two groups will be reading Hatchet by Gary Paulson and the other two groups will read Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz.  The students will pick their literature circle role and while reading the set number of pages, they will be responsible for completing their role.  The roles are Discussion Director, Word Wizard, Connector, Illustrator, or Summarizer.  Ask your child what book and role that they are responsible for. 

 

Writing:   We will begin working on Opinion writing where we will discuss the meaning of an opinion, look at some examples and write a short opinion using a graphic organizer.  We are laying the foundation for the Opinion paper that the students will work on the following week.