Language Arts this week:
We will continue our poetry unit in both reading and writing. Reading stations and writers' workshop are going strong now. We are still working through independent work expectations/behaviors as well as small group expectations/behaviors during the time I am working with small groups. It's a work in progress. Students who are able to stay on task and work as expected generally get a little more freedom of choice in how they practice new skills.
Whereas last week's poetry focus was more about analyzing the poems themselves for rhyme scheme and figurative language, this week's focus will review that while adding in a comprehension piece. Poetry can sometimes be tricky to understand. We will be working in small groups to analyze the structure and content of poetry. We will continue writing poetry this week as well.
Social Studies this week:
We will begin a several-week unit about the Native Americans who lived in Texas. There is so much to learn about this topic, and generally one that students enjoy. They will learn about the tribes who lived in different regions of Texas and make some connections about how they lived based on previous knowledge about the regions. They'll understand the variety of ways Native Americans got their food and the different shelters they lived in depending on the tribe's way of life.