Reading at home is very important! Try and encourage your child to read at home for 20 minutes each and every day!
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Reading Questions To Ask Your Student At Home:
Reading Questions To Ask Your Student At Home:
What character traits would you use to describe your character?
What feeling is your character experiencing in this section?
Do you like the main character? Why or why not?
What are you noticing about your character?
What does that make you think?
What is the theme of your story so far?
How do you know?
What is the central idea of this section (nonfiction)?
What details support it?
What is the setting of the story?
How does the story unfold? What happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story?
What do you think is going to happen next?
What clues did you use to predict that?
What do you think the word _________ means?
Could this story be true? Why or why not?
What is the genre of this book?
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Why is Vocabulary Important?
Why is Vocabulary Important?
This year vocabulary is a focus for all Kindergarten through 5th grade students.
In 5th grade we are focusing on students being able to identify and understand more complex vocabulary words when they are reading. Often times, students come across a difficult word when they are reading it and just skip over it because it is unfamiliar. Because of this, students are not fully comprehending that portion of the text. Throughout the school year we are going to be pulling vocabulary words out of the stories that we are reading and teaching them what these words mean. It has been so fun for students to identify these words in other books that they are reading!
Try and challenge your students at home to use these vocabulary words at home!
What are we learning this year?
What are we learning this year?
Unit 1: Home of the Brave
Unit 1: Home of the Brave
We are reading Home of the Brave
in reading class!
This story is about a young boy named Kek, who has fled from violence and the war in his native country Sudan, and traveled alone to the United States. Due to an attack on his camp, he is left along without his father and brother, and the location of his mother is unknow. He tries to assimilate into American culture while waiting for word about whether or not his mother is alive. Along the way, he learns the English language, embraces school wholeheartedly, and becomes friends with an eclectic group, including a girl in foster care, an old farmwoman, and her cow. Above all, Kek's boundless capacity for hope stands out as a beacon of inspiration for his friends and family.
During this unit, we are using this novel to target multiple concepts all at once! We have been learning about Figurative Language, Theme, Perspective, Point of View, and Character Analysis! Students are doing a wonderful job of applying these skills to their own indpendent reading books as well!
Unit 2: Nonfiction
Unit 2: Nonfiction
We are exploring nonfiction informational texts! Students will be reading the book When Lunch Fights Back, which is a nonfiction text that teaches students all about how different animals that are often seen as prey defend themselves against predators. Students will be learning that as nonfiction books get more difficult, we have to be comfortable with being in the "gray" area and learn to adapt our understanding as we read.
Students will also get to explore nonfiction books that surround their interests in small groups. We will focus on finding the central idea of a text when we read nonfiction.
Unit 3: Poetry
Unit 3: Poetry
We will be diving into the wonderful world of poetry! Student will be learning about the parts of a poem and how poetry can be written in any genre.
Students will also be analyzing and interpreting a variety of poems throughout the next few weeks. We will be learning how to read poetry in a way that focuses on the intentional choices that authors make when writing poetry. For example, authors will use structure, white space, punctuation, and figurative language in order to convey emotion in their poems.
Unit 4: Gaining Perspectives
Unit 4: Gaining Perspectives
Your students will be learning all about argumentative reading and writing throughout this fun unit! Within argumentative writing, an author always has a purpose for WHY they wrote it. More than likely it is to persuade the reader to agree with their side of the argument.
Therefore, students will learn to identify an author's claim, reasons, and find pieces of evidence when looking at arguments. Students will also look to find perspectives from both sides of a argumentative topic. They will gather research about both perspectives and participate in a few debates where they will have to be able to argue both sides of the argument!
Unit 5: Context Clues
Unit 5: Context Clues
During this mini unit of study, your students are learning different strategies to use when stumbling across new words that they don't know. It is crucial that students develop ways to decode difficult vocabulary words, especially as they get start reading more complicated texts. Instead of guessing or zooming past tricky words while reading, students need to be able to understand them in order to comprehend the text. Therefore, students are learning how to use definitions, synonyms, antonyms, inferencing, and more in order to understand the meaning of new words!
Unit 6: Fantasy
Unit 6: Fantasy
We are reading The Thief of Always
in reading class!
This story is about a young boy named Harvey that is unpleased with the dreary life that he thinks that he has. As Harvey is always seeking adventure, he is eventually lured to a magical house by a mysterious creature. Harvey follows this creature to the Holiday House, which is a place that fulfills every childhood whim, and Christmas comes every night! Soon Harvey will discover that the wonders of this house are not all that they seem to be.
5th grade is an incredible time to dive into the genre of fantasy. As students are able to understand more difficult plot and character development, they truly are able to imagine themselves as part of a fantasy novel while they read! During this unit, we are using this novel to target multiple concepts all at once! We will focus on character motivation, setting and how it impacts the plot, imagery, figurative language, and so much more!
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