Friday, September 29, 2017

Week #8: October 2-October 6

First of all, many thanks for the show of support for SEP conferences. It was enjoyable to meet so many of you and discuss your amazing students. I know life is busy and I appreciate those of you who could make it. If you couldn't make it, I am happy to meet with you or communicate via email or phone.

We've had a great year of laying a foundation with learning Notice and Note for fictional and informational texts. These will assist us greatly as we tackle our novels, which I'll be pairing with non fiction texts. I LOVE teaching novels and I'm so excited for this unit.

Just a reminder to keep reading: students should be reading 20-30 minutes at least 5 days a week. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Thanks again for the support and have a wonderful week!

Week #8
October 2-October 6

Monday, October 2nd 
Library Day

Tuesday, October 3rd 
Genre-of-the-Week: Non-Fiction
New Class Jobs
Prefix of the Week: Epi--
Free Reading
Notice and Note: Contrast and Contradiction 

Wednesday, October 4th
Prefix Quiz (on the first 5 prefixes) 
Non Fiction Notice and Note Quiz
Free Reading
Book #4 DUE

Thursday, October 5th
Free Reading
Quick Write
QR Novel Introduction!
Honors: Newspaper Day

Friday, October 6th 
Free Reading
Quick Write
Begin A Long Walk to Water
Wednesday Wars (2nd) 

Image result for the joy of reading

Image result for the joy of reading

Friday, September 22, 2017

Week #7 September 25th-September 29th

Another awesome week in Language Arts! We had a lot of fun with the Human Plot Charts--I'll have pictures posted later this weekend here: Photos. This week we will begin Nonfiction Notice and Note to teach students how to close read and analyze informational texts. The Notice and Note signposts for both fiction and nonfiction are tools we'll use all year. Please remember SEP Conferences are this Wednesday and Thursday from 3-6pm. I'd love to meet you all individually and discuss your student and my plan for them this year. Thanks for the ongoing support and have a great weekend!


Week #7
September 25-September 29

Monday, September 25th
Book Fair Preview!
New Class Jobs
Genre-of-the-Week: Poetry
Prefix-of-the-Week: De-
Quick Write
Short PLC Day
Book #4 DUE

Tuesday, September 26th 
Free Reading
Quick Write
Non-Fiction Notice & Note: Quoted Words

Wednesday, September 27th
Free Reading
Non-Fiction Notice & Note: Number & Stats and Word Gaps
SEP Conferences 3:00-6:00pm

Thursday, September 28th
Free Reading
NoRedInk
Non-Fiction Notice & Note: Extreme & Absolute Language
Honors: Newspaper Day
SEP Conferences 3:00-6:00pm

Friday, September 29th

Scope Magazine: N &N Scavenger Hunt
Free Reading
Mrs. Robins at a training


Reading Matters!!
Check out these stats...

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Image result for statistics on reading


Friday, September 15, 2017

Week #6: Schedule, Videos & Winner of the Michael Vey#7 Contest!!

So...Michael Vey #7 The Final Spark is THE hot book right now. I purchased it this week will read it and bring it to school on Monday. Students who wanted to win wrote their names on the board in hopes of being the 1st student read the book! I put their names in a Random Selector and am happy to announce that...


Court D. is the WINNER!! 


Happy reading Court! All other students can get on the waiting list for the fantastic read.



It's been another fun week in Language Arts! We did our first CFA (common formative assessment) on Notice and Note and I'm so pleased at the hard work students demonstrated. The vast majority passed, including those who attended reteaching, and it was just a great week all around!

Here is our schedule for next week. I'm excited to dive into Scope magazine & NoRedInk which are 2 awesome tools that will do wonders in building reading and writing stamina, mastery of grammar and just having a good time with language.

Some students are falling behind. It's critical they read at home at lest 20 minutes a day. I'll be talking to students who are not caught-up on reading and see what I can do to help them. We might be calling home as well. I appreciate the ongoing support and encourage you to email me at rachel.robins@washk12.org or call after school hours at 625-4742.

Have a wonderful weekend! Looking forward to the Human Plot Elements presentations on Monday (I'll post pictures next week.). Thank you!

Week #6
September 18-September 22

Monday, September 18th
Genre-of-the-Week: Mystery
New Class Jobs
Prefix-of-the-Week: Com/Con
Present Plot Chart projects

Tuesday, September 19th 
NoRedInk assessment 
Pass-off books

Wednesday, September 20th
Library

Thursday, September 21st
Reading
Quick Write
Scope Magazine: notes on paragraph writing
Honors: Newspaper Day

Friday, September 22nd
Plot Quiz
Desert Tortoise Writing
Reading
Honors: Writer's Workshop w/guest writers!

Did you see our school and conesite made State News? Big shout-out to Mr. Bozarth and the World Wide Warrior crew for doing some amazing service learning:) Proud of you guys! 




...and an awesome message from Foreign Figures & Jacob Lee who did our anti-bullying assembly/concert!



Reading Matters!
The great news is that it's never too late to improve your ability to reading. The required mins. make all the difference because the #1 way to improve reading is...(wait for it)...reading!!

Image result for reading infographic

Friday, September 8, 2017

Week #5: Notice & Note and Plot Charts!

I really enjoyed this week. We wrapped up Notice and Note, which is an effective way to close-read. We also made team flags (see picture below) and just had an enjoyable week! I've noticed how kind students are to each other. They are eager to learn, help and participate. It's been such an enjoyable week! Thanks for the continued support.

Book Orders are here! Scholastic is a cheap way to build your home library. You can order online here: Scholastic Book Orders which allows you access to all their books. Additionally, you can send in a check to Scholastic or cash and I'll order for you.

This upcoming week will be fun. We'll review and assess understanding of Notice and Note with enrichment/reteach on Wednesday. Next will be moving in to plot chart to review and demonstrate understanding. Looking forward to seeing students continuing to grow! Please let me know if you have questions and have a great week!

Week 5
September 11th-September 15th

Monday, September 11th
Genre-of-the-Week: Science Fiction
Prefix-of-the-Week: Circum
New Class Jobs
Review for Notice and Note CFA Test

Tuesday, September 12th
Notice and Note CFA Test
Reading (after testing)

Wednesday, September 13th
Gecko Day!
Enrichment
Homework Hall
Reteach

Thursday, September 14th
Free Reading
Quick Write
Plot Chart Review
Honors: Newspaper Day

Friday, September 15th 
Free Reading
Plot Chart Activity
Build-Your-Own Based on a Children's Book


Team Flags!

Students are in teams and are working together throughout the trimester to earn points. Teams with highest points per class get a celebration of their choice. They made flags to represent themselves. It's had me smiling all week!