Week of February 9 - February 13:

This week students will start Unit 4 - Text Set 1. 

We will work on this chapter throughout the week. 

See below for main points and skills we will focus on.

Unit 4 - Text Set 1

• Essential Question: Why do we need government?

• We will read narrative nonfiction texts that focus on government and will build knowledge about why it is important. 

• Academic vocabulary: amendments; commitment; compromise; democracy; eventually; legislation; privilege; version

• Ask and Answer questions

• Cause and Effect

Reading Information:

Curriculum: Wonders 

Books: Wonders Reading Text; Wonders Reading & Writing Companion Workbook 

Ways to Succeed in Reading:

• Pay attention in class!

  • Take notes; complete all classwork; ask questions

• Do all assigned homework

  • Go over with  class and make needed corrections

  • Ask questions!!

• Study for Quizzes and Tests

  • Review "Wonders: Reading and Writing Workbook Companion" pages related to Text Set and lessons

Homework:

• Homework will be assigned throughout the year.

  • This may be in the form of workbook pages (completed in "Wonders: Reading and Writing Companion" Workbook).

  • This may also include things such as Venn Diagrams; Graphic Organizers; worksheets; etc...

• Homework will be checked in class the following day it is assigned.

• Completed work is worth 5 points; incomplete work is worth 3 points; no attempt or missing homework is worth 0 points.

• Homework cannot be made-up for partial credit if the student was present for both days (ex: the day the homework was assigned and they day the homework was was due.)

Assessments:

Reading assessments will be given around every week/week and a half in order to assess the skills taught and the students' comprehension and knowledge of them. 

The different types of assessments (Unit tests, Chapter tests, quizzes, etc...) will vary in points, yet will typically look like the following:

Chapter Tests: 50 - 25 points

Quizzes: 20 - 10 points

Exit Tickets/Classwork: 10 - 5 points  

• Students will be assessed in Reading using Quizzes, Text Set/Chapter Tests, and Exit Tickets. 

• Quizzes and Text Set/Chapter Tests

  • Quizzes and Tests will be conducted throughout each Unit.

  • These assessments will be announced on Google Calendar; Google Classroom; and on this page.

  • Students will be told in advance before an assessment is given.

  • Quizzes and Tests are taken directly from the "Wonders: Progress Monitoring Assessments" Teacher Guide

    • The Progress Monitoring Assessments component is an integral part of the complete assessment program aligned with Wonders instruction.

    • The consistent use of these assessments allows teachers to monitor students' progress through the curriculum in a steady and structured manner. 

    • When the tests are used as formative assessments, the results provide data the teacher can use to inform subsequent instruction. 

    • As students complete instruction for each text set included in the Unit, they are assessed on their understanding of the key comprehension and vocabulary skills that they have learned and studied. These items measure students' ability to access meaning from texts and demonstrate their understanding of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases. 

    • Assessments follow the text-set focus on Wonders. The structure and format of the tests is the same in every unit. Each test includes one to two passages with five to ten associated items assessing the comprehension and vocabulary skills taught during the one-two-three week period of text-set instruction.

    • To support the focus of classroom instruction, the reading passages reflect unit themes and essential questions. Every reading passage is a "cold" or new, read. This allows students to apply what they have learned and allows the teacher to evaluate the degree of mastery that they have achieved. Passages increase in complexity as the school year progresses to mirror the rigor of reading materials students encounter in the classroom. 

• Exit Tickets will be conducted throughout each Unit. 

  • Exit tickets are given at the end of a lesson in order to help the teacher to: assess what the student learned in the lesson; comprehension of the skill(s) learned; and allows students to ask questions that they may still have about the skill. 

  • Exit tickets are not announced before they are given. 

  • Exit Tickets will vary in point value.