~Language Arts~
~ 4th grade is a remarkable year for language arts! Children share their interests, respond to literature, and create stories in their writing. It's a time when we want to encourage students to explore a variety of reading genres, because there's such an abundance of wonderful children's literature at their fingertips.
~ Our reading anthology is called StoryTown, in which students will read many short stories and focus on strategies such as character development, story mapping, cause and effect, compare and contrast, and summarizing. We explore these same strategies with our classroom novels, using award-winning novels to enhance the children's reading experience and growth in comprehension.
~ Every September, I ask my students to begin work on an annual reading log where they read from a broad spectrum of literature over the course of their entire 4th-grade year. Such an assignment gives each student a wonderful variety of books to experience of many genres, from historic fiction to fantasy, picture books to Newbery Award winners.
~ I also start the year off requesting that children read 25 minutes or more every night of a chapter book as a way of strengthening their language skills and discovering this wonderful world of literature. We call this WEB Reading, which stands for "Wonderfully Exciting Books." For those who enjoy reading more than that, I give out weekly "Reading Champ" awards to those students who read 45 minutes or more three times a week (weekends count!). Every child can be a reading champ, and every week we start anew. It's a fun way to reward those students who love to read and encourage those who are often reluctant.
~ Quite often, I ask that my 4th graders read aloud to their parents each night for 5-10 minutes as a way to increase their oral reading fluency (which improve their comprehension abilities by leaps and bounds). This is included in the regular 25 minutes or more a night of WEB reading. As a parent, if you enjoy reading aloud to your child, please do so! There's something quite wonderful about sharing a book with your child and the bonding that comes with it (as well as the modeling of a love of literature). Anytime you read aloud to your child, it counts as their WEB reading requirement. Please see that your child fills out his WEB log each night and sign or initial it. If your student forgets his or her log that night, a simple note is all I need.
~ Throughout the year, we'll be practicing writing detailed sentences that begin in a variety of ways, using action verbs and colorful adjectives, and adding similes, dialogue, and adverbs wherever possible. This leads to the creation of paragraphs and stories that are filled with a variety of detail and often quite entertaining. There's something quite wonderful about witnessing budding writers grow in their skills and fluidity. 4th grade is a remarkable year for children's growth as writers, and it's a joy to be a facilitator in that process.
~ Our reading anthology is called StoryTown, in which students will read many short stories and focus on strategies such as character development, story mapping, cause and effect, compare and contrast, and summarizing. We explore these same strategies with our classroom novels, using award-winning novels to enhance the children's reading experience and growth in comprehension.
~ Every September, I ask my students to begin work on an annual reading log where they read from a broad spectrum of literature over the course of their entire 4th-grade year. Such an assignment gives each student a wonderful variety of books to experience of many genres, from historic fiction to fantasy, picture books to Newbery Award winners.
~ I also start the year off requesting that children read 25 minutes or more every night of a chapter book as a way of strengthening their language skills and discovering this wonderful world of literature. We call this WEB Reading, which stands for "Wonderfully Exciting Books." For those who enjoy reading more than that, I give out weekly "Reading Champ" awards to those students who read 45 minutes or more three times a week (weekends count!). Every child can be a reading champ, and every week we start anew. It's a fun way to reward those students who love to read and encourage those who are often reluctant.
~ Quite often, I ask that my 4th graders read aloud to their parents each night for 5-10 minutes as a way to increase their oral reading fluency (which improve their comprehension abilities by leaps and bounds). This is included in the regular 25 minutes or more a night of WEB reading. As a parent, if you enjoy reading aloud to your child, please do so! There's something quite wonderful about sharing a book with your child and the bonding that comes with it (as well as the modeling of a love of literature). Anytime you read aloud to your child, it counts as their WEB reading requirement. Please see that your child fills out his WEB log each night and sign or initial it. If your student forgets his or her log that night, a simple note is all I need.
~ Throughout the year, we'll be practicing writing detailed sentences that begin in a variety of ways, using action verbs and colorful adjectives, and adding similes, dialogue, and adverbs wherever possible. This leads to the creation of paragraphs and stories that are filled with a variety of detail and often quite entertaining. There's something quite wonderful about witnessing budding writers grow in their skills and fluidity. 4th grade is a remarkable year for children's growth as writers, and it's a joy to be a facilitator in that process.