Writing Workshop Wednesday

Flow of the Day

• Come in and write down the I Can Statements of the day.  Today we focused on reading and comprehending grade level text.  We spent most of the day in Writing Workshop so the I can statement was I can write, edit, revise, and publish narrative short story.  
• 5 Minute Daily Reading Practice - The topic for the next month will be biographies and today's was on Anne Sullivan, the person who helped Helen Keller learn to read, write, and communicate.  
• 20 Minutes of Independent Reading -  Students take AR tests, read quietly, and check out new books.  The key to success in school is the ability to read and comprehend texts.  Students MUST be reading for more than an hour a day.  Please make sure they are reading for 35-45 minutes at home to make sure they are progressing.  It is the best thing you can do for your child's progress in school.  TRUST ME!
• For literally 90 minutes, student were able to work on their writing PBA.  Now remember, a PBA is an assessment.  They need to be able to do ON DEMAND writing.  This isn't about perfection and pretty, it is about taking the skills we have used for the past 18 lessons and using those skills to produce a written response that uses all the components.   Did they "learn" what they were "taught".  
• They were supposed to finish their draft last night for homework.  Unfortunately, some did not.  So today they worked with a partner to read their story, edit and make revisions.  After they looked at each other's work, they then had another full 45 minutes to make changes and work on their final copy. We have already went over the rubric, so they should pretty good with this first writing performance task.  

Homework:

• Reading - Read independent reading book 35-45 minutes (log and signature of parent)
• ELA /Writing - Finish PBA and to turn in on Thursday

Reminder - 
Thursday is a HALF DAY due to Parent Afternoon and Night to get report cards.
School is from 8:00 until 11:00
It is not a day to stay home - we will regular instruction tomorrow so do not stay home!