Starting a New Unit is ELA

Today we started Unit 1B.  The focus of this unit is nonfiction texts.  We are still working with the theme of interdependence.

Today we started reading a new text "Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology".  We read Chapter 1 and discussed many different aspects of the chapter. Our big focus was using historical context to make sure we added a new layer of understanding to our reading.

The daily objectives were:

• I can quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. RI.5.1
• I can determine the meaning of and use academic and domain-specific words in a text. RI.5.4
• I can introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically. W.5.2.a

After finishing the chapter and working through the PowerPoint lesson, students worked on their independent practice which was answering questions to see if they understood the historical context of our text on Rachel.

Afterward, we talked about interesting openings that allow the reader to get hooked on the subject and actually find out what the topic is right at the very beginning. This allows the reader to become interested and know exactly what the topic is from the very beginning.  A very valuable tool when you are writing an informative/explanatory essay.

We ended by doing some work with verbs (past, present, and future!). The exercise they have for homework is adding ING using the rules we covered in class.

Homework:

1. No School Tomorrow 
2. Read 45 minutes for Monday, 45 minutes for Tuesday , fill out Reading Contract and have parents sign.
3. Verbs ending in ING sheet