Welcome to 5th and 6th grade Reading Language Arts!
Even though we are a classroom full of young adults, we will spend a good bit of time learning from picture books. This is a great way to express the idea of the lesson of the day while having whole group discussions. Lessons demonstrated through picture books will be carried back to the individual learner's chapter book for application purposes.
We will spend a lot of time in partners, small groups and large groups. Students learn so much when they are able to collaborate with each other and hear how their peers think and process.
One of the favorite genre studies of the year is biography. The students love to read about a person's true life and then dress up like that person and present to the class in first person. "Becoming" this person is always a treat for the kids.
During our opening unit of study, we will decorate a Writer's Journal (composition book) that the students will use for the remainder of the school year during writing lessons. The students are asked to decorate their book as a reflection of who they are and what their interests are. It is always nice to see the student's take pride in future writing assignments because of their vested interest in the notebook they created.