5th Grade ELA News
Reading
They're doing a great job exploring new vocabulary. Students know that if they don't find any unknown words, they can skip the steps of predicted meaning and definition and simply put the word in a NEW sentence showing me they DO understand the word. When they begin choosing their own books (after Maniac Magee) they should find some new vocabulary if they are choosing books at their level.
In addition to the continued vocabulary work, they answered questions about the book. I don't want to spend too much time on that but I do want to know if they are understanding what is going on in the story. We will be revisiting what a complete sentence is this week, as some of us are still struggling to generate that!
Finally, a reading response journal is something else students use to convey their understanding of the text. It asks them to write about what is happening in the story (just what they read in the text). From this, they are to make an inference about the plot, characters, or events in the story. Then, they use a direct quote from the text to support their inference. It's often hard for students to write exactly what's going on in the story, keeping their inferences separate.
Spelling
Storyworks
Writing
Within their narrative writing this week, students worked to tell the story from inside it, really reliving the small moment they are writing about. They also took one of their started entries and "flash drafted" it, writing a complete piece in a short amount of time to get started. Lastly, they worked to incorporate a good hook into their draft as a way to catch the reader's attention.