Next Week in ELA

We have another busy week lined up for next week... Here is a snapshot of what to expect:

• Monday, ReadyGen Lesson 4B.4 with a focus on determining the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area. RI.5.4 and determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text. RI.5.2 using pages 20-29 in our New Worlds text.
• Tuesday, ReadyGen Lesson 4B.5 will have the same learning targets, but we will be using pages 30-35 in our text as anchors for the study today.
• Wednesday:
• First block will be used for MOCK ELA state testing.  Students will be moved according to testing criteria to "practice" what will happen day 1 of the ELA State Test.  They will do a MOCK test and we will use the data as a guide to see what skills and strategies to focus on as we approach the state test.
• Second Block (502) will work on ReadyGen Lesson 4B.6 with a focus on determining two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text. RI.5.2 using pages 36-43 of our text.
• Thursday:
• First block will be used for MOCK ELA state testing.  Students will be moved according to testing criteria to "practice" what will happen day 2 of the ELA State Test.  They will do a MOCK test and we will use the data as a guide to see what skills and strategies to focus on as we approach the state test.
• Second Block (501) will work on ReadyGen Lesson 4B.6 with a focus on determining two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text. RI.5.2 using pages 36-43 of our text.
• Friday:
• Skill Review Friday / Social Studies
• Today we review the skills we have been working on not just this week, but so far this school year.  We will be working with several articles from Time For Kids and then doing skill activities that reinforce the skills necessary to be good readers and writers.
• Social Studies will be a review of Chapter 3 and then a short Unit 3 Test to check for understanding of the Unit.  It is really cool that this Unit matches what we are studying in ELA (Explorers of North America) so students have more chances to understand the reasons, what happened, and the effects of exploration on the New World and the entire globe. 

Homework:

• Homework Packet #19 will be passed out on Monday.  Each day, students should read the first article and do ONE page of the homework packet.  By Thursday, they should have practiced close reading well enough that they can show mastery by reading the last article and doing 8 multiple choice questions and one written response (this models the state test!)
• Reading Response Journals are to be completed 5 nights out of the 7 days of the week.  Students are expected to read for 30-45 minutes on their own.  Then they should spend 5 minutes writing a brief summary of what happened in the pages they read.  They should spend another 5 minutes writing a reflection toward what they read.  What it meant to them.  What they felt.  How they can connect and relate to it.  This is part of STUDYING to be a better reading, writer and thinker.