Crazy Week in ELA... Looking Forward

This past week was crazy.... field trip, snow storm, end of unit testing and PBA's due....  Next week we start a new unit and I am very excited....

Heart and Soul

Author Kadir Nelson

• Monday:  We will be starting Unit 2A in ReadyGen.  After looking at the unit overview and what the next PBA will be, we will move right into our new text "Heart and Soul.  Our focus will be to describe how a narrator’s point of view influences how events are described as well as to determine a theme of a story from details in the text, including how characters in a story respond to challenges; summarize the text and to compare and contrast the varieties of English used in stories. (Prologue and Chapter 1)
• Tuesday:  We will be reading Chapter 2 of "Heart and Soul" with the focus of analyzing how visual elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text.  In writing we will work on writing an opinion piece about how one or two images contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of the text.
• Wednesday:  Lesson 2A.3 focuses on determining the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes through reading Chapter 3 of "Heart and Soul".  We will also determine the theme of a story from details in the text and analyze how visual elements contribute to the meaning of a text.  We will also write an opinion piece about the author’s style, particularly the effect of dialect and idiomatic expressions.  Using mentor text to "mimic" writing style is what good writers do.  
• Thursday:   Each class will meet for about an hour before going to lunch and early dismissal.  We will read Chapter 4 of "Heart and Soul" while focusing on how to determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

Students will have lunch from 10:45 - 11:15 AM
Students dismissal at 11:20 AM
Afternoon Conferences are from 12:10 - 2:20
Evening Conferences are from 4:30 - 7:30

• Friday:  Skill Review Friday - Time for Kids article Best Inventions of 2017 with a focus on main idea, problem/solution, and persuasive writing.  Social Studies: Review explorers unit by doing chapter review and then have students show understanding by doing a short chapter test.  Preview next unit as time permits.

Homework:

• Homework Packet #24 will be passed out on Monday.  Each day, students should read the first article and do ONE page of the homework packet.  Packets are due Thursday!
• 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.