Your child will be enriched academically through a balanced literacy program.  Balanced literacy includes a variety of components, which create opportunities for your child to experience reading and writing in a risk free environment, and guides them towards success.  The following experiences are important to your child's literacy development.  Together, we will build  a community of learners.

Our 5th Grade Program Consists Of:

Reading: Students will be provided with a rich collection of fiction and nonfiction texts. The following are the various methods the students will continue to enrich their reading.

• Read Aloud provides me the opportunity to model reading comprehension strategies, fluency and enthusiasm for reading.

• Guided Reading allows me to work with the children in groups. These groups are small and flexible and the students are grouped according to their strengths and needs. Instruction is provided through mini lessons. Guided reading promotes the development of reading strategies, encourages independent reading, increases comprehension and strengthens your child’s thinking skills.

• Literature Circles are small, temporary groups of students who choose to read the same text. Each member of the group takes on specific responsibilities for the group's discussion. Literature circles offer your children an opportunity to become literate. They will begin to think actively and critically about what they are reading.

• Independent Reading is encouraged on a daily basis. Research shows that daily silent reading is an essential part of any literacy program.

 

Writing: Students will be provided with numerous opportunities to

develop their writing skills in a variety of ways.

 

Writing:  Students will be provided with numerous opportunities to develop their writing skills in a variety of ways.  We are currently using Empowering Writers strategies in class.

What is Empowering Writers?

~Writing instruction that builds consistency across and between grade levels in our school~

  

Writing lessons focus on specific skills that all good writers possess.  Skill lessons build upon one another in a logical sequence.

  

What does a writing lesson look like in our classroom?

 

The first step is introducing each skill through the use of literature.

I model (author’s thinking) the application of the skill.

The students write in “guided practice” situations practicing the skill.

This practice is followed by or in conjunction with writing workshop to blend together the skills into a fully written piece.

 

 

What are the writing skills?

 Specific Skills   ~ Narrative Writing

• Organization
• Crafting Entertaining Beginnings
• Elaborative Detail
• Suspense
• Fully Elaborated Main Events
• Satisfying Extended Endings

 

Specific Skills   ~ Expository Writing

• Organization
• Main Ideas
• Supporting Details/ Citing and explaining text evidence
• Introductions
• Conclusions 

 

This curriculum model uses authentic literature to identify and discuss author’s technique and craft.  It includes, teacher directed modeling of specific skills, offers students opportunity to practice those skills, and ultimately empowers students to apply the skills learned when writing.

 

• Writer’s Workshop engages the students in modeled and shared writing. Writing workshop gives students the opportunity to write within the school day and to provide appropriate, intensive targeted instruction to the whole group, small groups and individuals. It will help them to develop an understanding of the writing process (brainstorm, draft, edit, publish), improve writing skills and strategies, and learn how to write in different genres. During writer’s workshop, I will provide explicit teaching through mini-lessons, conferring with students, model examples of writing, and help facilitate discussions between students and their writing.

 
• Journal/Response Writing provides your child with frequent opportunities to write in journals. The Reader’s Response Journal provides your child with the opportunity to respond to literature.

• Integrated Writing provides the students with meaningful writing experiences. Writing is a natural outgrowth of reading and is integrated into all curriculum areas including math, science, and social studies.

 

Word Study/Spelling:

• Spelling will be addressed through the students’ reading and writing. They will learn about spelling patterns through regular mini-lessons and be expected to apply what they learn during reading and writing activities. Students will be encouraged to use spell check or Grammarly.

• Word study activities will be incorporated on a weekly basis in order to build students’ vocabulary. The students will engage in activities such as word maps, word sorts, and making words that are related to books the students are reading and units they are studying.