This week in Language Arts we are continuing with the "First 20 Days" plans provided by the district. It involves a lot of whole group and small group instruction to help the students set the stage for learning throughout the year. It is a time for me to learn your children as learners (how they learn best, interests, reading level, writing level, etc.) During this time the class does almost the same thing. We will slowly transition into small group instruction where I will be able to meet each child where he/she is academically and bring them ahead in their learning. It will involve a lot of individual, partner, or small group learning in stations on specific objectives that encourage choice/selection by your children. In this way, each child should be challenged at the appropriate level. In these first few weeks, we are setting up for this type of learning, so please be patient with me as we get all our systems in place.
Our current focus throughout this week involves building stamina for independent reading while being able to talk about what we read. Students are learning to write reader response letters based on what they read. It is an expectation that students will write a letter once a week. This is something we do in class. In addition, we are learning about the attributes of realistic fiction and how to check out books that are "just right" for our reading level. We visit the library as a class every other Monday, but students are also allowed to go during homeroom or right before recess.
In Social Studies, we will be studying the landmarks of Texas and locating them on a map. In addition we will determine what region the landmark is in and why people want to visit it.
Homework each night this week is to read 15 minutes. We are charting information on a reading log in class and discussing what we are reading with partners to hold us all accountable.
As we get deeper into the first weeks, the description of what we are studying will be more specific. I look forward to seeing you all at Back to School Night, September 14th.