It was too nice outside to pass up the opportunity to work out in the fresh air.  So, we took our language arts work outside.  In small groups, the 5th graders worked on spelling, reading, and writing.

For spelling, the students are trying out (with sample words this week) the different activities that are in their spelling contract.  These activities will help them to identify the spelling pattern that the group of words demonstrates and practice spelling the words.  The contract gives students lots of options, so the students can choose how they want to learn!

For writing, the students are practicing generating ideas for opinion essays and organizing those ideas into categories so we can group similar ideas together within an essay.  We have been practicing by answering questions like “what is your favorite subject in school?”  “what kind of animal makes the best pet?” and “what is the best outdoor activity?”

For reading, we read our final folktales yesterday, focusing on folktales that describe how some natural phenomenon came to be.  Next, students will be writing their own folktales.  Students will focus on blending some aspects of their family’s culture with traditional features of folktales.  I’m looking forward to how these take shape!