IMPORTANT DATES:
• Cape Cod Trip: Tuesday, June 3rd
• Field Day: Thursday, June 12th
• Send-Off: Thursday, June 12th
• Visit to NMS: Friday, June 13th
• Freedom Trail: Monday, June 16th
The school has provided each fifth grade student with a 7-pocket organizer. We are expecting students to use these folders to transport materials (Agendas, homework assignments, notices for parents, etc) from classroom to classroom and from school to home and back. The organizers have been labeled and set up for the students.
Homework: w/ending 6/06/08
Language Arts:
• Grammar Assessment ~ Thursday
• Study Guide for Grammar Assessment ~ Due Wednesday
Science:
• Project ~ Due Friday, June 13th (see assignment packet for all details and rubric)
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Math:
• Math Boxes
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Social Studies:
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Other:
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BOOK TALK LETTER........... (students have a copy of this to take home for parents)
Dear Parents
At our Curriculum Night, the fifth grade teachers briefly discussed a plan for an alternative to standard book reports. We have since finalized our ideas, and are about to introduce the students to the assessment pieces for the Independent Reading portion of our Balanced Literacy program. The model will involve two separate methods of monitoring what the students are reading, and it is our hope that students will become even more engaged in their independent reading as a result. We will be reviewing the guidelines to both methods with the students in class, but we also wanted to give parents an overview.
The first component of the model involves an oral presentation. The fifth grade English/Language Arts classes will soon be launching into the exciting world of "Book Talks". During the last week of every month, eight or nine students in each class will be presenting a Book Talk to their peers. Each student will present THREE Book Talks per year. The Book Talks should be approximately five minutes in length. Rather than a simple regurgitation of plot, characters, and minor details, the purpose of a Book Talk is to share a bit of information about a good book and to try to entice others to read it. Since literate adults often discuss books they have read and recommend them to others, by asking students to present in this fashion, we are modeling what adult readers do. We will be filing all the Book Talk pages by genre in a binder and storing it in the classroom so all readers will have access to it, and will perhaps use it when they are looking for a new book to read. Attached you will find a Book Talk presentation schedule, a Book Talk page and a rubric. Of course, students may complete additional Book Talk pages whenever they wish, and those pages will be filed as well.
The second component of the model involves independent "center"-type activities on which students will have the opportunity to work during Independent Reading time as they finish their books, and on other occasions when there is Academic Choice time during class. There are a variety of activities from which to choose, and the number of required activities will be set at a pace deemed appropriate for each individual learner. Assessment sheets will be sent home as each activity is completed.
It is our hope that this new model will eliminate the stress for students (and for parents) that standard book reports can induce. By having the students present in a way that models what adult readers do, the students will be engaged in a more real-world experience when sharing what they are reading for pleasure.
As always, if you have any questions, let us know. Thank you!
clip art from The Print Shop
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