Language Arts Reading: We will be using a reading workshop approach combined with the Daily 5 concept, except we will call it our Weekly 5. Students are taught a skill during our whole group mini-lesson prior to breaking out into small groups. These small groups will rotate Monday-Friday and will consist of: *Guided Reading & Conferring with me - This is a time I will be working on targeted reading and/or comprehension skill in a small group setting. *Word Work-An activity reinforcing Greek/Latin root meanings as well as high frequency word practice *Media Center - Students must have a book to read at all times. They will have one day a week during reading workshop time to visit the media center. The students will have a selection of AR books in our class that relate to topics we are studying. I also have a large selection of books in our classroom library. See information on Accelerated Reader Program below. *Reading and Responding to Literature - Students will read silently and respond in their journal using teacher prompts. Students are also allowed to take AR tests during this time. *Read to Someone-Students will work fluency as well as discussing literature using teacher prompts. *Listening/Responding to Literature-Students will listen to a text that is related to something we are learning about in class. They will be expected to respond to the literature given a specific prompt.
The Accelerated Reader Program is an integral part of our reading program. This program measures student comprehension on a book they have read in their pre-determined range. Nothing will help students read better than practicing reading every single day! I have an incentive program set up to help motivate the students to reach their goals. I will also have a large amount of AR books on hand in the classroom for your child to pick from. These books will be related to topics we are discussing in class. Each student will be expected to earn 17.5 points each nine weeks with an 80% accuracy. The goal for the year is 70 points. They will have time to read every day at school and for homework.
Writing/Grammar: Writing and grammar skills will be taught through mini-lessons. I will be using many mentor texts to show how authors use writing and grammar skills. This allows children to make a connection to the skill as opposed to using a skill in isolation. I will also conference with students weekly to check in and see that they are using the skills I have taught them in their daily writings. We will be doing A LOT of writing this year!
Word Study: The components of the word study program will be comprised of high frequency spelling words, handwriting, and vocabulary. We will alternate spelling/word study units and Wordly Wise. We will start out spending two weeks on these units at the beginning of the year and will transition into one week units.