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Mr. Baldwin Language Arts

Course Description

 

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Week of 1/22 to 1/26

This week, we will be focusing on the reading strategies of cause & effect and character traits and motives.  Students will annotate as they read, building upon the skills we worked on last week (depth of knowledge questioning, inferring, and writing vocabulary words in context). 

12/18-12/22

Monday- We will be exploring what the PARCC Test will look like. Students will have the opportunity to play with the test. 
Tuesday- Field Trip
Wednesday- Students will be doing a PARCC Practice Test. 
Thursday- We will present our books to our kindergarten buddies. Student led conferences in the afternoon. 
Friday- We will be staying in Advocacy.  
 

Week 12/11-12/15

This week in Literacy, we will be finishing our picture books. They are due on Wednesday, December 13, 2011. Please see rubric previously posted. Literacy Circles will be meeting on Monday and Tuesday, also Friday and next Monday will be our last meeting. Books and jobs should be done by then. Please check your child's grades. All make up work is due by December 13! I will not except work after that time. 

12/4/17-12/8/17

Currently in Literacy, students are working on a personal spelling/vocab list. These are words that the students have chosen themselves to either know how to spell or know the meaning of by 12-8-17. Personally, I am not a huge fan of spelling tests but students from the class have asked for spelling because it is one of their strengths. Thus, I am trying to respect their wishes. Next, students are working on a picture book for their kindergarten reading buddies. These books will be Holiday gifts for the kindergartners. See the rubric I posted last week. Finally, students are either reading A Wrinkle in Time or The Magician's Nephew. They are completing a job to help in the Literature Discussion. *Ask your child what his/her job is this week and have him/her explain what they are supposed to do. Also, discuss the book with them! 

Picture Book Project Rubric

 

4

3

2

1

Organization

Story has a clear beginning, middle and end of the story. The story also has a problem and a solution.  The reader is engaged and longs to continue reading.

Story has a clear beginning, middle and end of the story. The story also has a problem and a solution.  

Story has a beginning and middle but is missing the end. The story has a problem but the solution is missing.

Story is lacking key story elements.

Creativity

Book has many colors and details to help bring the story to life. The pictures make sense to the story. All the pictures are the author/illustrators own creation. Storyline is original.

Book has many colors and details to help bring the story to life. The pictures make sense to the story. Seems as if inspiration came from another source.  

Book has colors and details. The pictures make sense to the story. Inspiration for the story probably came from another source.

Book has little to no color.

The pictures do not match the story. Inspiration for the story came from another source.

Grammar/Spelling

There are absolutely no spelling or grammar mistakes.

There are less than three spelling or grammar mistakes.

There are 3-5 spelling or grammar mistakes.

There are more than five spelling or grammar mistakes.

Detail and Audience

Pictures are neat and all words are legible. Story is written for a five-year-old and is appropriate for child’s developmental level.

Pictures are neat and words are legible. Story is slightly high/low reading level but content is still appropriate for a 5-year-old’s developmental level.

Pictures are neat and words are mostly legible. Story is written way to high/low for reading level but content is still appropriate for a 5-year-old’s developmental level.

Pictures and words are less than neat. Story is not written for a 5-year-old audience. The story is not appropriate for the developmental level.

11/27/17

We have four weeks left in this semester. Your child has already worked exceedingly hard. We will be taking a lighter pace for the next four weeks and doing a few fun projects. Please keep a look out for rubrics and project descriptions to be posted. This week we will be: choosing a reading group book, starting and creating new centers, and debriefing after our choice essays.  

11/13/17

Since our class has successfully finished our Choice Essays, we will be spending the next week to work on Oral Expression and Listening standards. Students will have the opportunity to present their essay as speech. In this, we will explore "How do presenters make themselves clear when presenting ideas to others?", "How do presenters make a good impression when speaking with others?", and "When presenters want to persuade audience members, what is important for them to remember?"

11/06/17

Dear parents, 
I am so excited to see how your children have flourished in their writing. Before Thanksgiving break, each student should have their choice essay complete. Here is the writing scheduled for this week: 
11/6- Conclusion Paragraph 
11/7- Peer Edit with Students from Mrs.Cundari's 5th and 6th grade Literacy Class
11/8- Make Corrections
11/9- Bibliography and when done students will be able to add pictures 
11/10- NO SCHOOL
Thank you, 
Melissa Woodward 
 

10/30/17

.This week in Literacy: 
Monday- Introduction Paragraph
Tuesday- Finish Introduction Paragraph
Wednesday- Body Paragraph 1 
Thursday- Body Paragraph 2
Friday- Body Paragraph 3- We will also meet with out kindergarten buddies on Thursday this week.
I will be doing my best to check every child's progress everyday. If a paragraph is not finished in the day it is assigned, it will become homework. 

Choice Essay

Dear Parents, 
If you would like to know the progress your child is making on his/her choice essay, please check out his/her ONENOTE. This can be found on his/her online Office account in their language arts notebook. His/her user name is [email protected] and their password is the same as when they log into the school computer. 
Also here is the schedule for what they are supposed to accomplish in class:
Monday 10/23- Choose topic
Tuesday- Start Research Process and have notes on topic
Wednesday- Continue Notes on topic
Thursday- Continue Notes on topic
Friday- Check in with Mrs. Woodward- Make sure student has enough notes to start first paragraph on Monday. Mrs. W or student will email home if student needs to work on notes over the weekend. 
 
Monday 10/30- Outline of essay made
Tuesday- First Paragraph written
Wednesday- First body paragraph written
Thursday-Second body paragraph written
Friday-Third body paragraph written and check in with Mrs. W
 
Monday 11/6 - Final paragraph written
Tuesday- Peer edit
Wednesday- Make corrections
Thursday- Edit with Mrs.W or Nick (Our high school assistant)
Friday- Edit with Mrs. W and make corrections. Mrs. W or student will email parent if student is behind. 
 

10/23/17

This week in Language Arts we will be doing research for our Choice Essay. We will also be finishing Esperanza Rising. Today, Monday, We will be creating a schedule for our research and talking about appropriate sources. Please check your child's planner everyday to make sure that they are staying on track for our Choice Essay. I will email on Friday if your child needs to do homework over the weekend to stay caught up. 
Thank you, 
Mrs. Woodward

Week of Oct. 16

This quarter we are going to focus on the writing process. One big piece that we learned from quarter one was that our students need more direct instruction on how to form and organize an essay. We also have computers!!! This will give us the opportunity to edit and revise our writing to create something that we can be proud to share with you. This will also help with our year long goal of being able to write for multiple audiences. 
 
This week, we will finish Esperanza Rising. We will be starting book groups on Oct. 23rd. 

October 16th & 17th

Hey all, 
I wanted to let you all know that I will be out of the building on both Monday and Tuesday for the CAGT Conference. If your child will struggle because I won't be there, please talk to your child and prep them for a sub. 
Thank you, 
Melissa Woodward