Our nonfiction unit is coming to a close. Students have been busy researching a second extreme weather topic and comparing it to the first one. They will be presenting their information on Friday. They have been working on their written responses to questions in synthesizing text and identifying author's craft. They will be doing a jigsaw activity with the articles they recently read for homework. Each member of a four person team will be responsible for answering one of the four key questions from the unit. Students will have the opportunity to discuss their ideas and write responses that they will share with their team. They will be taking their final unit assessment on Thursday.
Students recently wrote book reviews for our new bulletin board. Using their summarizing and opinion writing skills, Students chose favorite books to recommend to their peers. The bulletin board will serve as a resource for kids to use when they are looking for their next great book to read.
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We have completed the first part of our informational reading unit. Students learned strategies readers of nonfiction need to have in order to understand the many complexities of nonfiction. They filled out a survey and chose extreme weather topics they were interested in, and their research groups were created. They are currently reading, taking notes, and becoming an expert on their topic. On Monday, November 7th they will teach another group all they have learned. Then groups will swap topics to become an expert on a second topic and do some comparing and contrasting work.
Summarizing is not just one of our focus standards in this unit, it's an important strategy for increasing comprehension. Students have learned a technique involving three simple steps for summarizing nonfiction text. We practice orally using notes taken on a text, and then write. The anchor chart with an exemplar is available in my parent resource folder. Students are also synthesizing text, analyzing part to whole, and looking at author's craft in this unit. |
Resource Folders: Anchor Charts
Read AloudsMr. Lincoln's Way by Patricia Polacco
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo Archives
October 2017
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