Reading
The Omegas have been participating in literature circles for a fw weeks now, and all is going smoothly. The Omega Ones are figuring out how to apply the skills they learned through explicit instruction in the first part of the year. Omega Twos, being familiar with the process, are refining their skills. Hopefully everyone will have the opportunity to do each job once.
Here's a little background information on literature circle jobs. Each job corresponds to a different reading comprehension stratgey or skill.
Discussion Director (questioning): Writes four questions to ask the group. (Also must write his/her answers in complete sentences.)The questions must correspond to the current section of text assigned. There must also be once question from each of four levels of thinking: recall, comprehension (explicit), inference, and synthesis/evaluate. The students have question guides and starters to help them.
Fortune Teller (predicting): Makes a logical prediction about what might happen next in the story and supports it with evidence from the text. Prior knowledge of story structure and author's style/technique is also permissible evidence.
Savvy Summarizer (summarizing): Writes a detailed summary that includes the main events and important information.
Passage Picker (determining important information): Selects a passage, records the page number(s), writes about why s/he selected that section to talk about with the group and why it is important to the story.
Amazing Artist (visualizing): Draws a picture of a part of the story and writes a caption explaining the picture. Writes about why that part of the story is important.
*NOTE: Passage Picker and Amazing Artist can be combined into one job.
In addition to completing their jobs and reporting out to the group in weekly meetings, students work with unfamiliar words. Sometimes we work on decoding, but more often the focus is on using context clues to determine the meaning. Students also use the dictionary to check their guesses.
I hope this explanation of the literature circle jobs helps answer questions you may have had. Please feel free to grab my attention after school, if you'd like to chat about it (or anything else, really).
Writing
Omegas have been working on writing procedure pieces. Last week, they wrote about how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then they got to trade papers with a classmate and test out someone's directions. In the end, everyone got to eat what they made. We will continue to work on procedure pieces this week. We will be taking a look at the VT Writing Rubric and Benchmarks to determine what constitutes a quality piece of writing.
Students have also participated in mini-lessons on sentence structure. They have learned that each sentence is made up of a subject (who or what does the action) and a predicate (the action). I have introduced helping verbs. We have also kept working with adjectives and pronouns.
Announcements
Tuesday (tomorrow) is a half-day for teacher inservice. Students will be dismissed at noon. There is no lunch at school, unless your child is going to afterschool.
Wednesday we are going on a field trip to the Firehouse Gallery to particiapte in an art display by Terry Hauptman and her fellow artist, Jerry.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sage Literacy Lounge
The Sages and Sagers have been learning a lot about non-fiction text patterns. They have been identifying various patterns in articles and, most recently, President Obama's inauguration address. The students have also written paragraphs with the intention of including specific text patterns. They are hanging up in the Omega room just inside the door. Come on in and check them out.
We will continue our study of non-fiction text patterns this week and next by writing procedure pieces (How to Make an Ice Cream Sundae) that incorporate patterns such as sequence, compare and contrast, list, and definition. We will use the rubric for procedure pieces from the VT Department of Education and Framework of Standards to outline the requirements for the writing pieces. Then students will trade writing pieces and follow a classmate's directions to make an ice cream sundae. To conclude our study, students will make posters depicting a text pattern to hang in the Sage room. The posters, hopefully, will serve as a reference during research for the cultural display.
We will continue our study of non-fiction text patterns this week and next by writing procedure pieces (How to Make an Ice Cream Sundae) that incorporate patterns such as sequence, compare and contrast, list, and definition. We will use the rubric for procedure pieces from the VT Department of Education and Framework of Standards to outline the requirements for the writing pieces. Then students will trade writing pieces and follow a classmate's directions to make an ice cream sundae. To conclude our study, students will make posters depicting a text pattern to hang in the Sage room. The posters, hopefully, will serve as a reference during research for the cultural display.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Omega World News
Hello, everyone, and welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays and long vacation. The next six weeks will, in many ways, be defined by the Schoolhouse play. We will be reading through the play on Tuesday, and students will audition on Thursday. We will be asking students to make their choices about what parts they'd like to try out for by Thursday so that I can organize the auditions. Many students will be involved in a play short course or even two. It might be a rehearsal short course, props, or sets. There will also be after school rehearsals on Wednesdays beginning January 14. Not all students will need to attend everyday. Someone from the play committee (I think) will notify you about your child's after school rehearsals.
On January 7, students will be watching a performance by New Kids on the Block. Please see the information in your mailboxes.
January 7th and 8th are make up parent conferences. If you haven't already signed up, please do so. If none of the times work for you, check in with me and we can set up an alternative time. Conferences begin at 1:00 and will last for 45 minutes. The last fifteen minutes of your conference will be with Fran.
There is no school on January 19th for MLK day.
January 27th is a half day for teacher inservice.
On January 28, we will be taking a field trip to the Firehouse Gallery in downtown Burlington to participate in an interactive art exhibit by Terry Hauptman.
Sometime this winter...I was wondering how many of my students have snowshoes at home. I am hoping to take the class on a nature walk around the wetland once we get some snow. Please let me know at your convinence. This may be the precursor to a mapping unit later this year.
We are picking new job partners for the second half of the year on Monday.
EXTRA< EXTRA!!! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!
The Omega classroom will be getting an intern from UVM. Her name is Corinne Ann Scoppe (she goes by Cory) and is majoring in human development. She has been interning at Central School in South Burlington for the first part of this year and is looking to have a different experience. She will be with us Mondays and Fridays all day and Wednesday mornings. Cory will begin by observing in the classroom and will slowly try out various roles in the classroom (1-on-1 instruction, small groups, a whole group lesson, maybe even a series of lessons by May). She will start here on Monday, January 12th. I have invited her to Community Meeting next week to meet all of you. In the meantime, if you see her, say hello. She is about my height, in her early twenties, and has long red hair.
Okay...instruction...Omegas are going to begin Literature Circles this week. We will be choosing books Monday and getting set up. Hopefully, we will be able to begin circles on Tuesday. I have put the students in groups this time around, and there is two or three book options for each group. Please be aware that your child may start bringing home literature circle work as homework if the going is slow here. I'll do my best to keep you posted about that so you can support it getting done. Really, the kids should all know what to do. You may just need to help your child find a quiet space good for working or maybe just remind him/her to get busy with it.
Writing instruction will be a bit more formal for a little while as I conduct mini-lessons with specific students based on their needs. Students will continue to write narratives adn respond to simple prompts in their journals during this time. The next two genres of writing we will focus on as a whole class is procedures and persuasive pieces.
Of course, spelling instruction will flow as normal.
I think that's all for now.
Happy New Year!
Rachel
On January 7, students will be watching a performance by New Kids on the Block. Please see the information in your mailboxes.
January 7th and 8th are make up parent conferences. If you haven't already signed up, please do so. If none of the times work for you, check in with me and we can set up an alternative time. Conferences begin at 1:00 and will last for 45 minutes. The last fifteen minutes of your conference will be with Fran.
There is no school on January 19th for MLK day.
January 27th is a half day for teacher inservice.
On January 28, we will be taking a field trip to the Firehouse Gallery in downtown Burlington to participate in an interactive art exhibit by Terry Hauptman.
Sometime this winter...I was wondering how many of my students have snowshoes at home. I am hoping to take the class on a nature walk around the wetland once we get some snow. Please let me know at your convinence. This may be the precursor to a mapping unit later this year.
We are picking new job partners for the second half of the year on Monday.
EXTRA< EXTRA!!! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!
The Omega classroom will be getting an intern from UVM. Her name is Corinne Ann Scoppe (she goes by Cory) and is majoring in human development. She has been interning at Central School in South Burlington for the first part of this year and is looking to have a different experience. She will be with us Mondays and Fridays all day and Wednesday mornings. Cory will begin by observing in the classroom and will slowly try out various roles in the classroom (1-on-1 instruction, small groups, a whole group lesson, maybe even a series of lessons by May). She will start here on Monday, January 12th. I have invited her to Community Meeting next week to meet all of you. In the meantime, if you see her, say hello. She is about my height, in her early twenties, and has long red hair.
Okay...instruction...Omegas are going to begin Literature Circles this week. We will be choosing books Monday and getting set up. Hopefully, we will be able to begin circles on Tuesday. I have put the students in groups this time around, and there is two or three book options for each group. Please be aware that your child may start bringing home literature circle work as homework if the going is slow here. I'll do my best to keep you posted about that so you can support it getting done. Really, the kids should all know what to do. You may just need to help your child find a quiet space good for working or maybe just remind him/her to get busy with it.
Writing instruction will be a bit more formal for a little while as I conduct mini-lessons with specific students based on their needs. Students will continue to write narratives adn respond to simple prompts in their journals during this time. The next two genres of writing we will focus on as a whole class is procedures and persuasive pieces.
Of course, spelling instruction will flow as normal.
I think that's all for now.
Happy New Year!
Rachel
Sage Literacy Lounge
Welcome back! Sages will be kicking off the new year by learning about text patterns (or structures) in non-fiction. The objective of these lessons is to provide a framework through which students can comprehend non-fiction text. The various text patterns we will be working with are: analysis (main idea and supporting details), sequence, list, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, explanation, and definition. As part of our study, students will identify text patterns in authentic material and write using specific text patterns.
Some Sages have been writing in response to prompts from the Young Writers' Project. If you would especially like your child to be writing and s/he's not, let me know, please. All Sages will be participating in Vermont Writes Day on January 27th. Here is the blurb from YWP. I'd like to encourage parents to participate also. You may want to find out which prompt your child is planning to write about and write about the same one. These short pieces will make for great sharing around the dinner table or for before bedtime talks. FYI, I'm not going to tell the kids the prompts until the day before so that some of the more prolific writers don't get too much of a jump start. I am going to encourage them to only think about what they'd like to write and not actually write anything until we do it as a class. So please wait until the 26th to talk about it at home. Thanks.
The Young Writers Project is sponsoring Vermont Writes Day January 27, 2009 on which students, schools, guests, authors, politicians and anyone else who cares to participate will take seven minutes out of their day and write.
We have three suggested prompts to stimulate the writing:
"Dear President Obama ..."
"I am really good at ..."
"Listen."
Some Sages have been writing in response to prompts from the Young Writers' Project. If you would especially like your child to be writing and s/he's not, let me know, please. All Sages will be participating in Vermont Writes Day on January 27th. Here is the blurb from YWP. I'd like to encourage parents to participate also. You may want to find out which prompt your child is planning to write about and write about the same one. These short pieces will make for great sharing around the dinner table or for before bedtime talks. FYI, I'm not going to tell the kids the prompts until the day before so that some of the more prolific writers don't get too much of a jump start. I am going to encourage them to only think about what they'd like to write and not actually write anything until we do it as a class. So please wait until the 26th to talk about it at home. Thanks.
The Young Writers Project is sponsoring Vermont Writes Day January 27, 2009 on which students, schools, guests, authors, politicians and anyone else who cares to participate will take seven minutes out of their day and write.
We have three suggested prompts to stimulate the writing:
"Dear President Obama ..."
"I am really good at ..."
"Listen."
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
