In language arts we will be reading novels starting with Maniac Magee and learning a reading comprehension strategy involving post-it notes. Students will be making connections during the reading. They will be making text- text, text-self, and text-world! We will also be picking out examples of figurative language as we read. Students will gain an understanding of foreshadowing and many more concepts. Ask your child to see their bookmark. This strategy will be helpful for future comprehension and give students a better understanding of the texts that they read in their future reading groups. Grammar: Generally we will have short grammar lessons and students will have morning work to practice skills. Grammar skills are also worked on in their independent writing journals. Reading Book: We will most likely do a story a week. We will be working on sequencing, character traits, and making inferences. Writing: Students have a creative writing journal. I work independently with each child on correcting grammar, structure, and word choice. Each child is at a different level and this helps me attack the needs of each student. We will begin more structured writing assignments shortly. Each child will have a writing portfolio that will be kept in the classroom. We will keep assignments in the portfolio all year so that they can see their progress at the end of the year.