Happy Valentine's Week! We had a lovely Valentine's party on Tuesday afternoon. The kids were so gentle and sweet as they passed out their Valentines to one another: they were grateful for what they received and enjoyed a nice spread of food generously provided by some of our 303 families who had previously signed up to bring snacks. Thanks to one and all for helping make it a special afternoon!
Reading: Our students handed in their Scrooge essays and Viewpoint drawings this week. I am thoroughly impressed by the way they used the outlining we did in class to independently draft their work. I am also proud of the way they used Google Docs to communicate with me.
We've been reviewing literary terms and test strategies a little more directly in preparation for the ISATS. This week I helped the kids navigate the purpose of these tests. I explained it in this way, I hope it helps clarify for you, too.
The reading ISATS test three different skills:
Reading: Our students handed in their Scrooge essays and Viewpoint drawings this week. I am thoroughly impressed by the way they used the outlining we did in class to independently draft their work. I am also proud of the way they used Google Docs to communicate with me.
We've been reviewing literary terms and test strategies a little more directly in preparation for the ISATS. This week I helped the kids navigate the purpose of these tests. I explained it in this way, I hope it helps clarify for you, too.
The reading ISATS test three different skills:
- Do you understand the story? (comprehension)
- characters, setting, plot, sequencing, climax, resolution
- summarizing, inferring
- "right-there" questions, search and find, extended response
- Do you understand how the author wrote the piece? (their styles and strategies)
- genres: biography, narrative, advertisement, etc.
- literary devices: foreshadowing, alliteration, personification (using an object as a character throughout the story- Cogsworth/ Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast)
- figurative language: idiom, simile, metaphor, personification (describing an object with human characteristics- the wind whistled)
- Do you understand how the words are combined and used in the piece? (grammar)
- parts of speech
- prefixes, suffixes, root words
- vocabulary, synonyms, antonyms, homophones, homographs, etc
5th Grade Math: Check out Ms. Wennerberg's website and newsletter for updates: http://www.op97.org/swennerberg/
Science: We have plant growth!! Many of the students' terrariums have begun to show plant growth! Next week the elodea, algae and duckweed will arrive and we'll set up our aquariums. Lots of excitement fills our science classes.
Writing: This post still rings true from last week: I've been meeting with students individually to revise their teamwork essays. With each child, I see different areas of strength and need for improvement. As I've mentioned in the past, with some I'll focus on the organization, with others I'll focus on actually writing a clear, narrow idea. Others are concentrating on supporting their opinions and including more savvy transitions. The beautiful thing is that we're also doing this for our "Scrooge" reading projects. The kids are seeing how an outline can work with different topics, and how transitions can be used in various situations. We're also still working on our Shortcut/ Map stories. It truly is a workshop in here! I'm revising with each group using the Google Docs: we sit together at the round table, read through their work, and they can all see the changes being made by each other in real time. It's so cool! We look forward to sharing all of these projects with you.
Social Studies: Check out Ms. Wennerberg's website and newsletter for updates: http://www.op97.org/swennerberg/
Writing: This post still rings true from last week: I've been meeting with students individually to revise their teamwork essays. With each child, I see different areas of strength and need for improvement. As I've mentioned in the past, with some I'll focus on the organization, with others I'll focus on actually writing a clear, narrow idea. Others are concentrating on supporting their opinions and including more savvy transitions. The beautiful thing is that we're also doing this for our "Scrooge" reading projects. The kids are seeing how an outline can work with different topics, and how transitions can be used in various situations. We're also still working on our Shortcut/ Map stories. It truly is a workshop in here! I'm revising with each group using the Google Docs: we sit together at the round table, read through their work, and they can all see the changes being made by each other in real time. It's so cool! We look forward to sharing all of these projects with you.
Social Studies: Check out Ms. Wennerberg's website and newsletter for updates: http://www.op97.org/swennerberg/
Miscellaneous:
- Don't forget to purchase your March to Success tickets soon!
