October 31 - November 4

Reading:

We are reading Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora this week.  This story can be found on pages 159 - 175 in the Houghton Mifflin reading books. 



This story is about the childhood experiences of Tomas Rivera, who was a famous writer of stories, poems and a book.  He later became a teacher and  head of a university.  In addition, he traveled around the world to talk about Mexican American writers in the United States. The strategy we are going to work on to guide our comprehension through this story is drawing conclusions.

Our Focus Skill is LA.4.1.7.3 Main Idea The student will determine explicit ideas and information in grade-level text, including but not limited to main idea, relevant supporting details, implied message, inferences, chronological order of events, summarizing, and paraphrasing.

FCAT Reading Specifications pages 68-70

October 10 - 14

Reading:

In Reading this week, we are reading Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride by George Selden on pages 134B-134H. This fictional selection is about a cricket's amazing journey through New York City, riding on a pigeon. The strategies to revisit while reading are Predict & Infer and Monitor & Clarify.

We're also reading The Parcel Post Kid by Michael O. Tunnell on pages 134I-134L. This nonfiction text is a true story about a girl who makes an incredible trip to visit her grandmother-- as a package! The strategy to revisit while reading are Questioning and Summarizing.

Our Focus Skill is Text Structure, pages 73-74 on FCAT Reading Specifications.
LA.4.1.7.5 The student will identify the text structure an author uses (e.g., comparison/contrast, cause/effect, sequence of events) and explain how it impacts meaning in text.

Social Studies:In Social Studies this week we continued studying the geography of Florida. We finished working in chapter one lesson one and completed the accompanying workbook pages. We also, reviewed our map skills studied in previous weeks.

Writing:

In Writing this week, we continued working with narrative stories with a focus on precise word choice.

Every student is going to receive the opportunity to publish their own book. The students will work through the process of writing a book, visiting all stages of writing: planning, prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading/editing, publishing, and illustrating and their stories. The books the students are writing can be on any topic and in any format. We began planning for the book writing this week. The students created writing folders with pages similar to that of the final draft. Every student published masterpiece will be available for purchase.

Lesson of the Week October 3 - 7

Story of the Week Oct 3 - Oct 7 

The story of the week is By the Shores of Silver Lake. This story is on pages 110-126 in the reading textbook. The strategy focus of the week is questioning. As students read, they should ask questions about what they see and think to help them better understand the story. The comprehension skill for the week is noting details. Understanding the major and minor details of a story allows the reader to better understand the theme or main idea of a story or selection.

October 3-14, 2011

Focus Calendar Standard: LA.4.1.7.5 Text Structure/ Organizational Patterns

Parents and students, you can go to the FCAT Reading Specifiations to learn more about this standard. You will also have the opportunity to view similar styled questions that will asked on the FCAT Reading Assessment. Please, contact me if you need further assistance.