English & Language Arts
I believe that Language Arts education should weave together the skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening so that students develop various modes of communication that will be integral to their academic and personal lives.
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Therefore, ELA time in my classroom will focus on developing literacy through explicit instruction, writing blocks that teach students how to produce and publish quality writing, and continued practice with listening and speaking for phonological awareness and fluency.
Genre
Student will learn about genre as it pertains to their own writing and reading. Knowledge of the wider genres of literature, as well as the common genres for elementary writing (opinion, personal narrative, and non-fiction) will be explicitly taught and practiced throughout the year.
Language & Spelling
Students will have the opportunity to focus on writing craft, as well as spelling and mechanics. Mechanics are an integral part of the revising and editing process, and so it is crucial student have the tools to make their writing publish-ready. Students do not need to be able to spell to write, but phonics and language are still an important part of what we will learn to be great writers.
The Writing Workshop
The Writing Workshop is a process in which students go through multiple weeks learning new writing skills in the form of mini-lessons. Following each mini-lesson, students have either conferencing (direct feedback) or independent writing time, during which to apply new skills. The last two mini-lessons are about editing and revising, after which students type and publish a final piece! On the left, you can see an example of s a student piece during our publishing party, where students can give and receive compliments on their work, and we celebrate all of their hard work!