mrsjaffe14

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Language Arts

Since completing a unit on point of view in fiction, my reading class is finishing our second core book, Number the Stars. I never tire of reading this book! It is such a beautifully told story of a family’s compassion and a child’s bravery. Since the setting of the book is World War II, students are learning a lot about a period of history that is unfamiliar to them. Also, students are fascinated by the efforts of Resistance fighters to help their Jewish friends and neighbors escape persecution.

We will finish the book this week, and then students will work with a partner to create a “story map” summary of the text. This will be used later in the spring to compare and contrast story elements of two books we will have read this year.

Following that, students will start a project about Number the Stars. They will work with a partner to write and perform a skit about the two main characters meeting 10 years in the future. This will expose students to the format of a new style of writing and also assess their understanding of the book’s themes.

 When this project is completed we will turn our attention to MCAS preparation. The reading MCAS is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, April 14 and 15. In the month ahead we will read a variety of MCAS passages and work on strategies for answering questions and constructing written responses.

In writing, students are working on a research project. In recognition of Black History Month (February), students have chosen an African-American inventor whom they will research. They will practice note-taking skills and then develop their notes into a report to describe and explain this inventor’s life and accomplishments.


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