READING Students will continue to develop their reading skills through a variety of lessons and activities that promote the use of CAFÉ reading strategies focused in the following areas:
Comprehension—” I can understand what I read.” Accuracy—”I can read the words.” Fluency—”I can read accu+rately, with expression, and understand what I read.” Extend Vocabulary—”I know, find, and use interesting words.”
Most of the CAFÉ strategies are used in all grade levels; however, as students’ reading skills develop, the skill use will become more sophisticated and the texts will become more complex. In my classroom, CAFÉ strategy instruction can involve whole group, small group, or individual lessons and practice. Sometimes we will use a reading book for whole group strategy instruction, and then students will apply the strategies with books in their individualized levels. Other times we will venture out into chapter books or into non-fiction books that correlate to our science or social studies curriculum. ALWAYS… I will be using assessments (tests, class performance, AR, and observation) to determine what students need to work on individually and then develop lessons accordingly
SPELLING Spelling words will come home on Monday and a test on the Spelling City website will usually be given over these words on Friday. Word lists will begin with a review of short and long vowels. As the year progresses, so will the complexity of the spelling patterns. Students should practice words at home as needed. Students can log on to their Spelling City accounts at home for extra practice.
WRITING Michigan's Standards focus on the following writing genres: Narrative, Opinion, and Informative. They also focus on the development of grammar skills, writing conventions (such as capitalization and punctuation) and the use of legible handwriting. In the beginning of the year, students will begin learning cursive. They will not be expected to write in cursive with a degree of fluency until the second half of the school year.