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Reading |
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Our reading series (Houghton Mifflin Expeditions) has some super literature in it. Often the stories included in the series motivate students to find out more about the authors. Themes for the series are as follows:
We are reading a variety of genres like tall tales, poetry, plays, autobiographies, and more.
Literature Circles Three or four times during the school year students break up into small groups determined by their choice of children's literature. Groups organize their reading over a period of two weeks and plan their roles for each of the discussions that they will engage in.
Self, peer, and teacher evaluations take place throughout the process. Students enjoy reading current children's literature and taking such active roles in leading and contributing to the discussions.
Three or four times during the school year students will be asked to read a chapter book of their choice and then to write/create a 'report' on this book which they will present to the class. This 'report' can be a typical written report or can follow another format. Students are allowed to choose the format they wish. View our book report criteria page for more detail on expectations. Presentations of the books should be practiced by the student at home. They are required to present their report in such a way that they are familiar with their book (no reading from a piece of paper.)
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Reading Links The following sites are places where students can explore to learn and practice more of their reading. Virtual
Exploration Society Bookhive |
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Writing |
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Writing is
integrated into all curricular areas. Students engage in a variety of
writing formats.
We write to:
Writing reflections occur in reading, history, science and math. Sometimes we write quicker, shorter essays on certain topics. We will also take more time on certain
projects and go through the entire writing process:
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The following
sites are places where students can explore to learn and practice more
of their writing.
The
Write Site
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Poetry |
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Check out our Dr. Seuss link in the 'Student Work' section for some
visuals on the poetry that we have already completed. Here are a couple of poetry links to 'whet
ones appetite'.
Academy
of American Poets Poetry
for Kids Kristine
O'Connell George's Children's Poetry Online
Poetry Classroom
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Spelling |
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When we follow
our reading series we practice words that follow our stories. Often they
follow certain phonetic patterns. Students take a pretest on Monday. If
they receive a 90% or greater on their pretest, they are allowed to work
on alternative spelling activities for the week, where they choose 5
challenge words to learn. Otherwise students
practice the core spelling words and are tested again on Friday.
When we engage in literature circles, students pair up with another person reading the same book they are and come up with a list of 10 words which they practice using alternative spelling (like word searches, crosswords, translations into other languages, etc.), and then test each other on their words on Friday. Spelling is also emphasized in all daily work. Students are encouraged to use dictionaries and to help each other with their proofing and revising.
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The following
sites are places where students can explore to learn and practice more
of their spelling.
Help Elementary Students Improve Their Spelling
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Language Arts Sites
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| Dictionary.com This site has a dictionary, thesaurus, audio pronunciations, grammar help, and more. Vocabulary
University Vocabulary
Vulcanizer |
