What Do Good Readers Do When They Read?

The thrust of this week's instruction centers around the questions:  what do we actually do when we read?  What is going on in our minds as we read?  How can we become more attentive readers who are aware of their thoughts and reactions as they read?  Today students are choosing a novel to read independently; they will have opportunity to read a bit in class this week, but this will be their primary homework over the next few weeks.  As they begin to exercise their findings to the aforementioned questions--that readers use strategies and that their minds are constantly thinking--they will be raising their awareness of their thoughts as they read.  By becoming more active readers, they will retain more focus on their book and deepen their comprehension of it.

Students will monitor their thoughts by using sticky notes to jot quick ideas/thoughts/reactions.  Three times during the course of their novel, they will pause to write up a log sheet that encompasses one interesting quote from the book, their ideas/thoughts/reactions to it, and a brief summary of events so far.  To culminate their reading, students will choose either to create a plot line poster or to write an essay based on their choice of given prompts.

In addition to all of this activity around reading, I'm hoping to introduce our first vocabulary list this week, too!

Homework:

Monday:  if you have not yet submitted the "All Summer In A Day" essay, please submit to CLASSROOM and give me you self-scored rubric.

Monday-Thursday:  read choice book w/sticky notes.  FIRST LOG due FRIDAY!

Friday:  first log is due today; continue reading over weekend using strategies/sticky notes.  Next log is due 10/11.


Choice Novel Reading Instructions & log schedule

Independent Reading Activity Choices/Instructions

Reading Log template

"All Summer In A Day"

On this first day of autumn, the weather is making us feel like the title of Ray Bradbury's short story, "All Summer In A Day".  After reading the story together and discussing initial impressions, students began collaborating in groups to take a closer look at characterization of the protagonist and antagonist, the movement of the story on the plot line diagram, descriptions of the setting (the planet Venus) in the rain and in the sun, the language that Bradbury uses to create imagery, and thematic discussion questions.  

This week, after doing a carousel survey of each group's work and taking notes on it, students will choose a prompt on which to write a paragraph essay.  I will model how to write a topic sentence based on a prompt, and students will practice by writing topic sentences for each of three prompts related to the story.  Then, they will complete an organizer of supporting ideas for the prompt they chose to write on.  We will consider the use of transition words to introduce and connect pieces of text evidence, and I will model how to transform notes on an organizer into complete sentences, as well as how to write a concluding sentence.  Once they've completed a draft, students will self-edit using an editing checklist, revise, and submit a final draft.  The goal is to be finished by the end of class on Friday.

Homework:

Tuesday:  none

Wednesday:  finish organizer; can work on draft if ready

Thursday:  finish editing

Friday:  if paragraph is not submitted by end of class, please finish and submit over weekend.


All Summer In A Day paragraph essay instructions/prompts/editing checklist

Diving In!

This week we take the plunge into short stories.  As a springboard into thinking about the elements of fiction, students will read "A Natural Disaster", a very short (one page) text.  They will then consider whether this short piece constitutes a story and will take sides to debate their positions.  Next up will be Ray Bradbury's "All Summer In A Day".  Following our shared reading, students will collaborate with partners to examine setting, conflict, characters, and language.

Please be reminded that projects are due tomorrow or Thursday (no school for students on Wednesday).  There has been some very honest, descriptive, and creative poetry writing going on, and I look forward to reading students' final drafts--as well as viewing their projects!

I hope to see you at Open House Thursday evening.  It's a good opportunity for everyone to get a general overview of ELA curriculum and class time.

Homework:

Mon-Wed:  project due Thursday! Should have poem creatively incorporated into it.

Thurs-Fri:  none so far

Testing the Waters

Students are getting their writing feet wet and creative energy is flowing!  They are immersed in writing descriptive lines of poetry about themselves--their family life, friends, favorites, hobbies, sports, and so on.  We have examined how to take a boring line (Iam from fudge) and make it better by adding imagery that appeals to the senses.  By the time we were done with that example, we all wanted a piece of fudge!  This, I told them, is how they know they've done their job as a writer.  They made their audience (in this case, themselves) visualize, smell, and taste that fudge!

Students are engaging in the entire writing process with this first piece.  They began by brainstorming, then drafted, edited, and they will revise for their final draft.  The goal is for them to have their poem completed by the end of class on Friday.  Then, they will be able to incorporate it into their project in the creative way they've envisioned.  Projects are due on or before Thursday, 9/19.  I can't wait to see them!

I had asked students to complete a little survey at the start of school so that I could get to know them and ask about their reading and writing preferences, challenges, and goals.  After reading through them, I was excited that so many of them want to "use bigger words".  They are already doing this with their poem, and they will be on the hunt all year for spicy new words that enhance their writing, create linguistic precision, and create fresh imagery for their readers.

Homework:

Monday-Friday:  work on project--due on or before 9/19.  Don't forget to incorporate your final poem creatively into the project!

Ready, Set, Go!

After a quick introductory few days last week during which we got ready and set for action, students have plunged into ELA through a creative project and poetry.  Introduced last week, including exemplars of projects made in the past, the project will be a representation of some aspect (or many aspects) of its maker.  Students read George Ella Lyon's poem, "Where I'm From" and analyzed it by identifying details and categorizing them (for example, students determined that the details of dirt, back porch, beets, clothespins, forsythia bush, Dutch Elm can be grouped as the category of "backyard/outside").   After completing this analysis, students will brainstorm categories that relate to their own lives and list details within those categories.  These will then become the building blocks of their own poems about themselves.  Finally, the poems they write in class will be creatively incorporated into their projects.  The instructions for the poem/project are linked below, and students should have a copy in their binders.  To be clear, students are writing the poem in class and working on the project at home.  Projects w/poem incorporated are due on or before September 19.

It has been a pleasure getting to know students over the past few days, and I look forward to a creative, productive, and fun year with them!

Homework:

Tuesday-Friday:  work on project (plan, collect, materials, set up work space, begin!)


I Am From project instructions