English Language Arts

Students in the Stretch program will take part in a 40 book challenge in which the goal of every student is to read 40 books at their level in a variety of genres. They will also participate in book discussions and activities led by Mrs. Foster in which the class will read the same book (chosen by Mrs. Foster with input from the students).

Reading strategies students will be working on include:

• Monitoring comprehension

• Questioning

• Making connections

• Determining important information

• Visualizing

• Making inferences

• Synthesizing information

Vocabulary will be taught in conjunction with the class books that students are reading. Students will participate in Wordmasters Challenge competitions. This is a national competition for students in grades 3-8 which encourages growth in vocabulary and verbal reasoning. There are three contests throughout the year (November, February, and April). Students receive a list of words approximately 6 weeks before the contest to study. Competitions consist of analogies with the words they have learned.

In grades 4 and 5, writing will be taught in the students' regular classroom, however, writing will also be incorporated regularly into the Stretch reading program. In grade 6, writing will be taught during the students Stretch ELA block.