Good evening! I just wanted to share with you some info as to what we have been doing so far this year! In general, we are working to build independence in all areas: following daily routines, using classroom resources/strategies to get help (as opposed to always defaulting to asking me for help), following directions, time management, etc. These are crucial skills to have entering middle school, so I try to stress the importance of these skills ASAP during fifth grade. Here are some other things we are working on:
Literacy: We are in the midst of our realistic fiction unit. Students are reading realistic fiction books in small book clubs (ask your child what book he/she is reading and how they like it so far), and I am modeling skills with Pam Munoz Ryan's Because of Naomi Leon (a perennial favorite). We have discussed the elements of realistic narrative fiction, learned to infer character traits by observing characters' feelings, actions, thoughts, etc., discussed and identified the three elements of setting (place, time, environment), learned to identify the three points-of-view through which a story can be narrated (and the pros/cons of each), and discussed the structure of narrative stories using a graphic organizer called the "story mountain". The writing we have done mirrors the reading, with students having just finished planning their own realistic fiction story's main character, setting, and the events using the same graphic organizer. In addition, students have participated in other literacy-related activities and lessons. Students learned the IEEEC (intro, evidence/examples/explanation, conclusion) structure for writing paragraphs, sorted the words on the 1st Academic Word List into three categories ("word friends", "word acquaintances", and "word strangers - ask your child what these three descriptors mean!), and we have begun our routine work with mentor sentences this past week. During each full week we will focus intensely on one sentence from a well-known children's book, first sharing what we notice about the writing (parts of speech, punctuation, literary devices), then working to revise the sentence (a skill which helps students strengthen and experiment with their revision skills, which can then be put to use in their own writing), identify characteristics of the author's writing that they might try out in their own writing, and then taking a short quiz on the mentor sentence/work related to it. Literacy Assessment: In addition to all of the curriculum-based learning, I have been assessing students' reading skills. The classes took their Reading Inventory (RI) very early on, and I have been doing additional oral reading fluency, accuracy and comprehension assessments with them. Once testing is finalized I will be sure to send home a snapshot of all of their beginning-of-year scores so that you are able to see where your child is starting the school year according to various literacy assessments. Social Studies: So far we have learned a bit about the peoples who originally inhabited the country's Northwest and Southwest (and students took a quiz on this information), and will soon be learning about the tribes who lived in the Woodlands and Plains. This unit is using the acronym GRAPES (geography, religion, arts, politics, economy, social structure) to help students learn and organize new information. After these introduction lessons, the fifth graders will have a chance to work on a group project, honing in on specific tribes within a region of their group's choice. They will be able to present their information to the class in a manner of their choosing. This is also a great way to facilitate students' research and interpersonal skills! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Please don't hesitate to reach out should you have any questions! Katelyn
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This is just a quick reminder that Open School Night is tomorrow night: Thursday, September 19th! There are two presentation sessions for you to attend: one begins at 6:00 and the other at 7:00. Mrs. Brown and I look forward to seeing you there!
Katelyn Tavolacci |
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