Saturday, September 6, 2014

Peek at My Week {9-07-14}

I'm not sure where the past week has gone, but here it is Sunday again which means it's time for another Peek at My Week!
Last week was our first week of school so we spent it learning routines, building community, and getting to know each other.  This week, we will be getting down to business.

I'm really looking forward to writing this year.  Several students have mentioned to me how much they love to write and are eager to begin.  This week, we will begin learning about workshop routines and what it means to be a writer.  I found a great resource online that includes a scope and sequence for the year of writing from Portland Schools.  It is amazing!!  If you do not have a writing curriculum and feel like you need some guidance in teaching writing, this is a must see resource!
Learn to write and write to learn. "Learning to write is learning to think. You don't know anything clearly unless you can state it in writing." - S.I. Hayakawa
Reading workshop will begin this week as well.  We will be reading lots of picture books to review the comprehension strategies and begin working on writing response.  It's always good to have mentor texts to demonstrate what is expected and I plan on using snippets from Spaghetti Book Club and This Kid Reviews Books. These two websites are book reviews written by kids, for kids.  Check them out!

We will also begin using my Word Parts We Know program this week to learn new prefix and suffix word parts.  Each week, students learn five new word parts, working to build their vocabulary up in a slow, but steady way.  I have had HUGE success with this program in the past.  Students vocabularies explode as they are able to decode and understand longer and more difficult words.  This has also helped on assessments such as the MAP test where many of these word parts appear.  I am excited to begin!




Wishing you a wonderful week!

3 comments:

  1. Look at you all up ready to go so quickly! :) I'm excited to start writing as well! Hopefully your kiddos are ready to go. I can't wait to here how it all goes!
    Ana
    Mrs. Bentin's Blackboard

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  2. I LOVE that writing quote! It's perfect for my 8th graders - thanks! :)

    -Lisa

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    1. And I just checked out your "Word Parts We Know" - this is PERFECT for my learning strategies class and is just what I needed! Thank you!!

      -Lisa

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