I Can't Think of Anything to Write About!!

Has your child ever made the statement above when given a writing assignment? The toughest part of narrative writing is deciding on a topic. We have been discussing how the problem isn't actually finding an idea (we have a ton up in our brains), it's really PICKING which idea to write about!

Our focus this week was to learn strategies to help us generate and select ideas. First, we collected memories from home to serve as an "idea file" to inspire writing topics. Next, I modeled two strategies; "timelines" & "objects". For the timeline strategy, students think of an event in their life and plot it out. This helps them to think sequentially as they reflect back on a special moment. We discussed how the entire timeline can become a narrative, or just one piece can be "stretched out" to become its own story! The objects strategy involves students taking something special (a ticket stub, a trinket, etc.) and listing everything that is triggered when they look at it. All of those "triggers" can potentially become a narrative piece! After students had the opportunity to practice both strategies, they zoomed in on one area and wrote about it. This writing will serve as a "narrative seed" as we move further into the genre!

Literature Circles!

Literature circles are student led groups in which all students have a specific role to play. Students are assigned chapters of a novel to read independently and work on their assigned role throughout the week. On Fridays, students gather in their literature circles to discuss the novel. Students determine their specific circle expectations (using hand signals to add on or ask for clarification, etc), grade their own participation and work completion, think of ways to extend the conversation beyond the scope of the assigned roles (discussing theme development, tone, what they are noticing, etc.), and reflect on what went well and areas/strategies for growth. The students have worked all year on their discussion and communication skills in both Math and Lang & Lit....what a great opportunity to highlight their growth! 

Currently, we are reading The Jacket by Andrew Clements. The students are loving the novel! Each "part" ends on a cliffhanger which leaves them wanting to read MORE! Ask your child about their assigned literature circle roles thus far and what they enjoy about the story!

Diving into Narrative Writing!

It is time to begin our FINAL writing genre of the year; narrative. We began by discussing with partners what makes a story GREAT. Students reflected on the texts and novels we have read throughout the year and compiled a list of the elements that made the stories enjoyable. 

Our next step was to unpack the narrative rubric with a partner.This process helps us to understand the language of the rubric by reworking each section into our own words. It also helps us understand what will be expected as we begin each mini-lesson. Finally, we identified what we could already do (sentence structure, mechanics, transitions, paragraphing, and elaboration) and what was new with the genre (craft, lead strategies, word choice). Next up, identifying memory triggers that inspire ideas for narratives!

Putting our RADCAB Strategy to Work!

Today, we began to look for online resources that could be used for our government research next week in Individuals & Society. Students selected a country in the Western Hemisphere to focus on and used RADCAB to analyze websites connected to it.

After going through the RADCAB process, students used their judgement to determine if the website was suitable based on the information they collected. If the website passed the "test", they posted it to Google Classroom to share with their peers.

Getting Back into Gear with a Genre Study!

I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break! In order to get our minds back in the swing of things, we participated in a genre study to help us review our Lang & Lit terms from the year! After a group discussion about important elements, text organizations, features, titles we have read, and author's purpose of each genre; students worked with partners to analyze a variety of text examples. The students didn't skip a beat and worked extremely hard. You would never have known we were on break for over a week! Great work kiddos!

Using the RADCAB Strategy to Evaluate Online Information and Sources

Our next research topic in Individuals & Society focuses on finding information on the government structure of a different country in the Western Hemisphere. Up to this point, students have been relying on databases and trusted resources for much of their research. Now, it's time for them to find their own resources to supplement their research! Due to the fact that there is endless information and websites out there, it is very important for students to learn and practice specific strategies to help them determine if the information they come across is relevant, appropriate, detailed, current, has authorship, and to be aware of bias when necessary. That's A LOT to consider!! We began our discussions this week with a great book:

Next, students were given sample websites and asked for what they thought made the information trustworthy or untrustworthy. Even though this was very early in our discussion, the students demonstrated that they already had some background knowledge in this area to help them make informed decisions. 

Then it was time to really dig into the RADCAB strategy itself! We ended the week working on "R"-Relevancy and "A" Appropriateness. Relevancy teaches the students to determine if the information is directly connected to their research topic. They can test this by coming up with focus questions and keywords based on their topic and using the search tool on a website to identify what is presented. We explored websites on pets and the students found some really relevant sites  and some "not so good" ones too!

Appropriateness teaches the students to ask themselves the following questions:

*Can you understand what is written on this website?
*Who do you think this website is intended for?
*Does this website match my values?

After break, we will continue to work on the RADCAB strategy which will set us up for our government research!!

Analyzing Historical Documents!

In Individuals & Society this week, we analyzed the words and phrases of both the Preamble and The Bill of Rights. At first glance, we determined that both documents contained complex language that was really difficult to comprehend! We worked with partners to break down portions of both documents into kid friendly language. The students used each other as well as their resources to support their work. So many "A-HA" moments as we went along!!