Advanced Language Arts
Week of May 20 - May 23
The last week of school has arrived! We will finish up with our final DoJo auction, awards, and other fun activities. Have a great summer :)
Week of May 13 - May 17
Literature circles are wrapping up. The students will be presenting their literature circle novels to the class in any presentation style they choose. They are limited only to their imagination. These presentations will take place on Thursday. Then on Friday, all three required independent reading book tasks are due on Google Classroom.
Week of May 6 - May 10
Literature circles are back in full swing this week. At this point, the students are at the halfway point in their novel. The students have also begun to think about their final book presentation. Each small group will present their book to the class in any presentation style they choose. They are limited only to their imagination. These presentations will take place on May 16.
Week of April 29 - May 3
This week the 5th-grade students will participate in TIDE week (Teach-Inspire-Discover-Explore). Each day the students will travel with their homeroom class to hear speakers share experiences and/or careers. We will also have special assemblies from a magician, the Columbus Children's Theater, and the Columbus Zoo. TIDE week will end on Friday with a day filled with awesome art activities planned by our fantastic art teacher, Mrs. Haer. Be sure to ask your students about all the fun!
Week of April 22 - April 26
This week the students were broken into small groups to begin historical fiction literature circles. Each group will read a given number of pages from their novel and then each member will complete a designated job for the day's reading. The following day the small group will have a discussion and then complete the process again.
Week of April 15 - April 19
On Monday and Tuesday, the students fine-tuned their multi-paragraph extended response writing skills. We also completed our read-aloud of Bridge to Terabithia. Wednesday and Thursday the students took both parts of the ELA state test.
Week of April 8 - April 12
This week we began to review our ELA skills with fun activities to be sure we are fully prepared for state testing. We also spent time in the AIR practice test to familiarize ourselves with the test and tools. The students also took their final benchmark STAR reading test. In addition, to help us relax during this sometimes stressful testing season, we began a read aloud. The students love being read to and are really enjoying Bridge to Terabithia.
Week of April 1 - April 5
This week after spring break the students will have an opportunity to take control of their learning with a passion paper. The students may choose any topic they like to write a five paragraph research paper on. They will write their passion paper onto a colorful template that will then be printed out to be used in a gallery walk on Friday. Along with the passion paper, the students must have a physical representation of their topic to display.
Week of March 18 - March 22
This week we are celebrating literacy with a week dedicated to being "Word Collectors". The students will be hearing from two "word gurus". Mr. Butler, former BWI principal, will speak to the students about lost words in our culture. Our very own Mr. Evener, also a published author, will tell us how word choice plays a huge role in writing a novel. The students themselves will be word collectors as they will be on the hunt to find new words through different fun activities all week. What a fun way to take us into spring break!
Week of March 11 - March 15
The students focused on primary and secondary sources this week. As a class, we took a look at an interview, a primary source, and then turned it into a news article, a secondary source. Then the students conducted their own interviews with another student in the class and wrote an essay about that student. On Friday, they shared their essays with the class. This was a fun way to get to know each other a little better and practice our primary and secondary source writing skills.
Week of March 4 - March 8
Students will continue to work with nonfiction literature this week on CommonLit. The focus will be on responding to extended response questions. We will also spend time this week learning to identify reliable sources. Friday, March 8 is the end of Q3. We will celebrate our success with a DoJo auction that day!
Week of February 25 - March 1
Due to the snow day last week the students will continue to work with text structure this week. They will focus on description, compare/contrast, order/sequence, problem/solution, and cause/effect. The students will also take a look at two nonfiction articles on the same topic and write and comparing articles paragraph. To wrap up the week the students will work with a partner on nonfiction task cards. On Friday, March 1 all three of the required independent reading book assignments will be due. Any book assignment turned in after March 1 will count for Q4.
Week of February 18 - February 22
During this short week, the students will focus on text features, text structures, and main idea and details. First, we will take a "field trip" to a few locations, including Disney, using guide maps as a way to use text features in the real world. We will also discuss five different types of text structures this week. In addition, the students will meet in small group as we work through all of these skills in different SCOPE magazine articles.
Week of February 11 - February 15
The students are beginning a non-fiction unit this week. The focus will be on differences in literary non-fiction genres, as well as the author's purpose, and text features. In addition, now that the students have completed their final greek and latin root spelling vocabulary list, they will be looking back at all 300 words we have studied this school year. They will be asked to use at least 10 of the words to write a narrative in their writing journal that will be due on Friday, February 15.
Week of February 4 - February 8
Due to the three snow days last week we will be reviewing and taking the Among the Hidden test on Monday this week. The students will then begin their choice board project presentations on Tuesday. Those presentations will take the majority of the week to complete as a class. The students also worked on their final greek and latin root spelling vocabulary list this week. The test will be on Friday, February 8. On Friday, the students will also complete a STAR Reading progress monitoring test. The goal is to show growth, and we can only grow as readers by reading. Please remind your student to read at level or appropriately challenging material for at least 20 minutes each evening.
Week of January 28 - February 1
We are wrapping up our class novel Among the Hidden this week. I think many kiddos are hooked and can't wait to read the rest of the series independently. This week the students will discuss the themes in the book, review the novel with a Kahoot, and take a final open-book test over Among the Hidden on Wednesday, January 30. Students were also given a choice board last week in which they needed to choose 2 projects to complete and present to the class on Friday, February 1. The students are taking a pause on vocabulary this week to focus on completing the novel projects.
Week of January 21 - January 25
We are deep in rich discussion with our class novel Among the Hidden. The class discussed the pro and cons of laws and the concept of a revolution both of which are topics in our class novel. The students continue to blow me away with their higher level analysis of the text. This week we will also take a closer look at different types of figurative language that is used in the novel. Students were also given a choice board in which they need to choose 2 projects to complete and present to the class on Friday, February 1. The students are also studying Unit 29 greek and latin root spelling/vocabulary. Due to the short week, they will have a test on Friday.
Week of January 14 - January 18
The students are really into our class novel Among the Hidden. We have been mapping the neighborhood where the story takes place, analyzing how characters in the story are changing, and taking a closer look at the different laws in the novel. The students are also studying Unit 28 greek and latin root spelling/vocabulary. Due to the snow day, they will have a test on Friday.
Week of January 7 - January 11
We are continuing reading and discussing Among the Hidden. The students are having some really great conversations. This week we will also take a closer look at different types of government in the world and decide what type of government is being depicted in the novel. The students are also studying Unit 27 greek and latin root spelling/vocabulary. They will have a test on Thursday.
Week of January 2 - January 4
It was so great to get back and see our friends this week. We spent some time sharing our breaks speed dating style on Wednesday. We also reflected on 2018 and set new goals for 2019. Our main goal focus was on reading and we spent time getting off to a great start in the BWI library. On Friday, we began our class novel study on Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This is one of my personal favorites and just know the kids are going to love it too! The students were also introduced to their Unit 27 greek and latin root spelling/vocabulary list. We will be changing up the program this semester. The students will only be given 10 words each week instead of 20. However, they will be adding in the spelling component. The kids will be given the words in a spelling test format and then use that list as a word bank to fill in the sentences with the correct word. The Unit 27 test will be Thursday, January 10.
Week of December 17 - December 19
The students will round out the quarter with Christmas themed readers theater performances and a DoJo auction to celebrate our Q2 success on Wednesday.
Week of December 10 - December 14
The students dove right into poetry this week. We began by analyzing poetry in small groups. Then, the students chose a poem to read in a creative way at our Poetry Cafe`. The kids did great! We then created a piece of blackout poetry. Be sure to ask your student to share theirs with you. We ended the week by reviewing the elements of poetry with a Kahoot review and taking an open note test over the elements of poetry. On Thursday we also took our units 25 -26 greek and latin root vocabulary test. This was the last vocab test of the quarter. This was also the last day to turn in the three required independent reading assignments on Google Classroom.
Week of December 3 - December 7
The students continued working with figurative language this week. We did pause on Wednesday to take the mid-year STAR reading test to measure our reading growth. We then wrapped up verb tenses by identifying it in our own writing journals and taking an open-note NoRedInk quiz. On Thursday we also took our units 23 -24 greek and latin root vocabulary test and received our new units 25 - 26 lists on Friday. We also began our poetry unit on Friday.
Week of November 26 - November 30
The students are beginning a figurative language unit this week. We will define and discuss eight types of figurative language. We will also have a karaoke day where the students will sing along to songs and locate figurative language throughout. We will end the week in station rotation as we apply our new knowledge of similies, metaphors, idioms, hyperboles, personifications, alliterations, allusions, and onomatopoeias. In addition, we will also work with verb tenses this week. Due to the short four day week, there will be no vocabulary.
Week of November 19 - November 23
This Thanksgiving week we will continue to work on our writing with a Thanksgiving piece. The students will have a choice between writing a creative fictional Thanksgiving story or writing an essay about what they are thankful for. Due to the short week, there will be no vocabulary.
Week of November 12 - November 16
This week the students are printing and creating a cover for their Personal Narrative. The students will then share in small groups near the end of the week. At the end of the week, we will also work on core reading skills with Scope magazine in small groups. We will continue to work with greek and latin root vocabulary and have a test over units 21-22 on Friday, November 16.
Week of November 5 - November 9
This week the students are revising their Personal Narratives. The focus is on a strong lead, word choice, dialogue, voice, transitions, and a strong ending. At the end of the week, we will begin to peer conference and edit. We will continue to work with greek and latin root vocabulary and have a test over units 19-20 on Friday, November 9.
Week of October 29 - November 2
The students will read a personal narrative/memoir on CommonLit this week as we will then begin to write our own personal narratives. This week we are in the brainstorming and planning phase. In small group, we will reflect on the personal narratives we read and how we can apply some of the techniques used in that piece of writing into our own. At the end of the week, we will begin to write a rough draft. We will continue to work with greek and latin root vocabulary and have a test over units 17-18 on Friday, November 2.
Week of October 22 - October 26
This week we will review the Elements of Fiction with a fun Plicker review and a rap battle. Yes, rap battle! The students also have an open note test over the Elements of Fiction on Tuesday, October 23. The students will also be introduced to conjunctions. We will work with these types of words all week and then have an open note quiz on NoRedInk on Friday, October 26. We will also pick back up with vocabulary this week. The test over units 15-16 will also be on Friday, October 26.
Week of October 15 - October 19
The reading focus this week is on plot structure. We will define, discuss and plot diagram together. We will culminate by having a Pixar Film Festival and plot diagram the movie shorts. There will be no vocabulary this week. This week also ends Q1. We will celebrate our success with our first DoJo auction of the year.
Week of October 8 - October 12
The reading focus for the week is theme, mood and tone, as well as story devices. The language focus will be on prepositions. We will have mini-lessons and take notes in our interactive notebook on each of these topics. We will also work with the reading skills in reading groups when we meet to discuss this week's CommonLit assignment. We will practice using and identifying prepositions in our own writing as well. Our greek and latin root vocabulary study continues with units 13-1. The test will be on Thursday.
Week of October 1 - October 5
Our focus this week is on comparing and contrasting characters in a story as well as point of view. The students will write a character compare/contrast paragraph based on last weeks CommonLit story. The students will also create a comic strip based on another story of their choice they already know and love. However, this comic strip must be written from the perspective of a different character in the story. Our greek and latin root vocabulary study continues with units 11-12. The test will be on Thursday.
Week of September 24 - September 28
Our focus this week is on story vocabulary and characterization. We will practice using these skills with a team creative writing piece. Our greek and latin root vocabulary study continues with units 9 - 10. The test will be on Thursday.
Week of September 17 - September 21
This week the students began meeting with their reading groups for the first time. The students are given a story to read independently at their level on the free online resource CommonLit and answer questions that mirror state testing. I then meet with each group to discuss the story and questions as well as focus on a reading skill. This week our focus was on using context clues. We also learned how to correctly use the comma and practiced this skill in our own journal writing. The units 7-8 vocab test will be on Friday this week due to the short week.
Week of September 10 - September 14
This week the students will discuss genres and sub-genres of fiction. We will also practice identifying homonyms and heteronyms as well as choosing appropriate synonyms and antonyms. At the end of the week, we will visit Mr. Stanford at our school library to learn about how we can not only check out books in the library but also how we can use the space in different ways throughout the year. The students will continue to work with greek and latin root vocabulary and be tested over units 5-6 on Thursday.
Week of September 3 - September 7
This week the students will finalize their Oreo essays that focus on descriptive explanatory writing. The students will also begin to create their ELA interactive notebook that we will keep all of our ELA notes in. In addition, the students will continue to study greek and latin root vocabulary with units 3-4. The test over those words will be on Friday this week due to the long weekend.
Week of August 27 - August 31
The students will work with their first set of vocabulary words this week. They received the list for Units 1 and 2 on Friday. We will have our first test over both of the units on Thursday, August 30. This first test is only a practice and will not go into PowerSchool. The students do not need to memorize definitions but must be able to place the words from a word bank correctly into a sentence. A copy of the vocabulary lists can be found on this site under the MORE tab. We will also begin working on writing our first three paragraph essay of the year.
Week of August 20 - 24
The students took the STAR reading test. This district-wide universal screener allows us to progress monitor student growth. Your child's results will be sent home in the weeks to come. My classroom library will also open up for students and we will begin working toward our 25 Book Challenge for the year. Ask your student for details on this. They will be receiving a packet this week explaining how the reward based challenge works. The required reading for the quarter is three independent books and a completed task on each. I will also be sending home our first Scholastic Reading Club order forms. Throughout the week we will also take a look at and set up the online software we will be using this year. Please don't forget about Curriculum Night on Monday that begins in the gym at 6:00. Hope to see you there!
Week of August 13 - 17
Welcome back! We are going to take time to get to know each other this week and learn what this awesome year is going to look like.
