Miss Wejman’s
Peek at the Week
Week of September 19th-28th
Note about the schedule and the strike:
We will continue on with the common core standards that were supposed to be taught during the strike. Because of the short week, we will combine the two weeks together.
Reader’s Workshop
Common Core Standard: Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds as the character changes and moves toward a resolution.
This week, the sixth graders will become acclimated to the routines of reader’s workshop. As stated at curriculum night, the students will be reading three different books: a reader’s workshop book, a guided reading book, and an independent book. Assignments will be completed for all three books on a Bingo Sheet. These activities account for 30% of the reading grade. Bingo Sheets (the students complete five activities to make a Bingo) are due every Friday and will be completed in a reader’s notebook. While the students are working on their Bingo Sheets and reading, I will be meeting with guided reading groups. Reading activities are all pertaining to the week’s common core standard. The students will receive homework in the form of a Tic Tac Toe sheet. It will be posted on my blog. Homework will be due on Friday. It is preferred that homework assignments be completed in a homework notebook.
Writer’s Workshop
Common Core Standard: Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters, organize an event that unfolds naturally or logically.
The students will begin to generate ideas in their writer’s notebook. During the month of September, the students will be learning strategies that will help them to write a narrative. To help in the collection of ideas for this writing, the students will be compiling authority lists of possible topics to write. In the book, Sing a Song of Tuna Fish, Esme Raji Codell shares memoirs of her Fifth Grade life. The students will use the book as an inspiration to help them write personal memoirs of events that took place in fifth grade or over the summer.
Social Studies
Common Core Standard: Describe how a text presents information.
To help the sixth graders learn about the early hunters and gathers, they will write first person narratives as a hunter or a gatherer. They will be required to use examples of social studies vocabulary in their writing. Additionally, they will identify text features (pictures, charts, graphs, maps) and identify the significance of it in learning about the early people. Finally, they will work in groups, to summarize each subtitle of the text. Homework for this week will be pages 18 and 19 in the social studies activity book and will be due the next time we have social studies (please refer to the monthly schedule).
Poetry
Common Core Standard: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
In addition to reading and writing, the students will also have poetry during the language arts ninety minutes. Each week, a new literary device will be introduced to the class. The students will put the poem in their poetry notebook and the class will discuss the poem and identify the literary device.