March 6, 2020
This week students shifted their research focus to the actual events of the American Revolution. We spent a lot of time leading up to this by learning about the causes of the Revolution. Students also split into two groups, the Loyalists and Patriots, and debated which side was better to be a part of.
February 21, 2020
Students continued to dive deeper into their American Revolution research. They are still focused on their specific part of what caused the American Revolution, including the specific details of how both the colonists and the British felt about that topic.
February 14, 2020
We started our new reading unit this week, which is all about reading and researching history. Students formed groups of four, and started out by selecting a topic to research about a cause of the American Revolution.
February 7, 2020
This week students continued to work in their literature discussion groups. We wrapped up our biography unit, and are ready to proceed with our next reading unit starting on Monday.
January 31, 2020
During our reading discussions, students continued to read their literature discussion books. They are reading for deeper understanding of the text.
January 24, 2020
We discussed different elements of our biographies with week. Students learned about the challenges their character faced, and how they overcame those challenges. Students also found connections and similarities between themselves and the character they were reading about.
January 10, 2020
Students all checked out biography books this week as part of our new reading unit. They are reading and flagging their books to learn about the main character, the setting, and secondary characters. Students are also in the midst of another reading group book and have assignments to complete for that book as well.
December 13, 2019
After giving some presentations that were less than great, students had a chance to rework their presentations and give them again this week. While they improved a little bit, most students need to work on making their presentation more exciting, engaging, and energetic.
December 6, 2019
Students presented their research and findings they made over the past several weeks to their classmates on Friday. Each group had two weather/natural disasters to compare and contrast as part of their presentation.
November 22, 2019
Groups were given a second topic to research this week. This topic relates to their first topic, and gives them a chance to compare and contrast the two different topics they have researched and learned about. We discussed how they can approach the new topic, given the knowledge they already gain from their first topic.
November 15, 2019
Students were split up into groups of three as they started research projects on severe weather/natural disasters. Each member of the group is responsible for one subheading within the topic as they read and research using several different books. We discussed how to synthesize information from different books and put it into your own words.
November 8, 2019
This week students worked on summarizing informational texts. We discussed looking for the main idea of a section, coming up with two or three supporting details for that idea, and putting all of that into your own words.
November 1, 2019
We started our Unit 2 study this week, which focuses on students reading and using informational texts. Students were each given a bag of books on one topic to read and learn from. We discussed different text structures of informational text, as well as ways to take notes while we read.
October 24, 2019
Students took an assessment to finish out Unit 1. For the assessment, they had to read a story, then write about what kind of person the main character was. Students also had to write about the theme of the story and give examples from the text to support their theme.
October 18, 2019
Our focus this week continued to be theme. Students have been writing about theme as they finish their literature discussion group books, and their themes haven't quite been where I think they should be. Therefore, we have continued to practice and learn more about theme. Students are making progress and getting better at it, but it will continue to be a focus of ours until they truly understand how to find and write about the theme of a book.
October 11, 2019
We discussed theme this week during our reading workshop. When looking for the theme of a book, students need to choose a theme that appears throughout the book, and give evidence of at least three different places where that theme was present.
October 4, 2019
This week we moved beyond characters and discussed how authors use setting, objects, and plot to help the reader comprehend what is happening in the story. Students are continuing to practice the skills we've been discussing in their own books through our literature discussion groups.
September 27, 2019
We continued our discussion on characters and how we can really get to know them and understand who they are. One of our lessons focused on how characters can act differently in different settings, and then thinking what the author is trying to tell us about this characters through these scenes.
September 20, 2019
Our reading focus was all about characters this week. We discussed ways to really learn about our characters through their patterns of behavior, changes to that behavior, or when an author repeats something they say, do, or feel over and over.
September 13, 2019
We started our first reading unit this week, which has focused on finding selecting good books. Students are encourage to read often, finding books within their level and interests. It is important for them to read carefully for understanding as we start to develop deeper comprehension skills and strategies.