December 1, 2022

This week's work could be summarized in two words: choice and agency. For the past few weeks we have worked together to learn about big literary themes during our reading block, the students have also been writing entries about their independent chapter book stories and have been working with a partner, a guided reading group or by themselves on their Story Works story to dive deep into the theme of short stories. Adding to that plethora of choices, this week I have introduced the Book Talks, where students collaborate with a partner, working with a picture book, reading the book, completing the graphic organizer on theme, and presenting to the class. During their independent reading time, students have been able to work on the five choices of Daily 5 throughout the week, focusing on a specific goal and sticking their names to their work of choice. After the round is over, we gather back together at the carpet to discuss our progress on their goals. Take a look at the slide show to see the choices and the books for book talks.
For writing, we have introduced the R.A.C.E. method to answer open response questions, after an honest review of their previous work on a classroom reading assessment. After briefly introducing it to my students, I took a step back, shared the resources with them, and working with a partner or in a small group, the students are now using the method to respond to questions for another story. With the R.A.C.E method, students Restate the question, Answer it, Cite evidence, and Explain or Expand the answer. Ask your child how this method is helping them to answer these type of questions.
During math, the students have continued working with multiplication area models, and have been introduced to division with remainders. Students have also presented their models to the class for discussion. Clearly these students know how to be effective collaborators and problem solvers!
Have a fantastic weekend!
​