Monday, November 5, 2012

The Kitchen Sink for the Week of 11/5/12


Readers’ Workshop
Students should continue to envision as they read, using personal experiences to help them learn something new about characters (thoughts, feelings, motivations).  This week we will take our observations of characters and how stories go, and make predictions.  It is important when making predictions, to justify why they are reasonable.  Students can refer to clues in the text, character traits, or personal experiences to explain why their predictions are reasonable.  Predictions should include not only what a character will do, but how they will do it!  Have your child practice this skill during their 20 minutes of nightly reading or in their weekly reading response!

Writers’ Workshop
We will finish our drafts this week, taking them from the climax to the final resolution.  We will focus on different techniques that can be used to add suspense to the falling action so the problem isn't resolved too quickly.  Students will receive a chart full of different suspense techniques, like a fight scene or looming deadline, to keep on file in their purple writing folder.  At the end of the week, we will zoom in on strong endings.  Ask your child to update you on their progress.  Have them show you the feedback they have received and how they have adjusted their story as a result of that feedback.

Skills Block
Students will be tested on spelling List 9 this week.
To go along with our study of suspense techniques in writing time, we will use our skills time to take a look at various temporal phrases and transitions that can be used to move our narratives along.

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