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READING CURRICULUM FOR THE YEAR

 

This page of our website reviews what your child will be learning each month during our reading period.  This will help you start discussions with your child about what they have been doing in class.  Plus, it lets you know what we are currently studying. The time line is only an estimate (as some topics might take longer than anticipated). Throughout the entire year a lot of focus will be on open-ended responses, writing narrative, and expository pieces. Also, we will spend a lot of time this year on reading paired texts. We will talk about why the two selections were paired together (either based on theme, same topics, etc...)

SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER

During the month of September your child will be looking at fictional stories.  They will focus on different skills each week. Here's a weekly breakdown:

  • Week 1: Making inferences and working on open-ended reponses (Main story: "The Jackalope")

  • Week 2: Making inferences and writing summaries (Main story: "First Day of School")

  • Week 3: Studying character traits and their motivations (Main story: "Jackie Mitchell")

  • Week 4: More work on character traits and their motivations (Main story: "Thank You M'am")

NOVEMBER

During the month of October your child will continue looking at fictional stories.  Here's a weekly breakdown:

  • Week 1: Conflict & resolutions (Main story: "Justin and the Greatest Biscuits in the World")

  • Week 2: Conflict & resolution and Point of view (Main story: "Kai's Journey to Gold Mountain")

  • Week 3: Compare & contrast (Main story: Danitra Brown Leaves Town")

  • Week 4: Compare & contrast (Main story: Different versions of "The 3 Little Pigs")

  • ****During this month your child will start a chapter book as part of their reading take home journal.

DECEMBER

During the month of November your child will be exposed to both fictional and non-fictional pieces. Here's a weekly breakdown:

  • Week 1: Review of all skills (Main story: "Tuesday of the Other June")

  • Week 2: Conflict & resolution (review of all skills) (Main story: "The Gold Coin")

  • Week 3: Character traits & motivation (review of all skills) (Main story: "Game of Catch")

  • START OF NON-FICTION UNIT

  • WEEK 4: Cause & Effect (Main story: "Mimicry and Camouflage")

JANUARY

During the month of January your child will be looking at more non-fictional stories and looking at heroes in different genres.  They will focus on different skills each week. **They will also start their new writing style (expository writing). Here's a weekly breakdown:

  • Week 1: Main Idea & Heroes in Non-Fiction (Main story: "Abe Lincoln")

  • Week 2: Main idea & Summarizing (Main story: "MLK Jr.")

  • Week 3: Heroes in Fictional Stories: (Main story: "Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat")

  • Week 4: Heroes in non-fictional stories (Main story: "Sea Turtles)

  • **During this month your child will start a non-fiction chapter book about Dr. Seuss for their take home journal.

MARCH

During the month of March your child will finish looking at non-fiction pieces and go back to fictional pieces.  Most of the time we will look at Greek Myths. Here's a weekly breakdown:

  • START OF 2ND FICTION UNIT

  • Week 1: Exploring the themes of fables (Main story: Short fables & "The Giving Tree")

  • Week 2: Conflicts in myths & Themes (Main story: "Midas Touch")

  • Week 3: Conflicts in myths & figurative language (Main Story: "12 Olympians: Zeus & Hera")

  • Week 4: Cause & Effect  (review of all skills) (Main story: "Athena & Medusa")

MAY

During the month of May your child will continue looking at Greek Myths while using their skills from our first fiction unit. They will also be doing a week long project to wrap up our Greek Myth unit. Here's a weekly breakdown:

  • Week 1: How "hope" is an important element in stories (Main story: "Pandora's Box")

  • Week 2: Review older stories and see how "hope" played a major role in most of the stories we read

  • Week 3: Start different leveled chapter books (The Fourth Stall, Loser, Ghost Buddy, and Dexter the Tough) and review all of our skills by doing book talk groups called Literature Circles

  • Week 4: Continue Literature Circles

  • ***ONLINE COMMON CORE TESTING WILL BEGIN THIS MONTH

During the month of December your child will continue looking at non-fiction pieces.  Here's a weekly breakdown:

  • Week 1: Cause & Effect (Text structure) (Main story: "Stink Bugs")

  • Week 2: Cause & Effect (Main Story: "Tsunami's")

  • Week 3: Cause & Effect and Point of View (review of all skills) (Main story: "Tracking Tornadoes")

FEBRUARY

During the month of February your child will continue looking at non-fiction pieces.  We will especially focus on the topic of Jackie Robinson. We will read many different types of resources about Jackie Robinson and write a detailed expository piece about him. Here's a weekly breakdown:

  • Week 1: Review of all skills (Main story: "Jackie Robinson Biography: Time For Kids")

  • Week 2: Review of all skills (Main story "Jackie Robinson Play" & Jackie Robinson Wikipedia)

  • Week 3: Finish reading all of our sources and write our expository piece

***During this month, your child will be doing a biography project on any famous american person. They will end up doing research both in and out of school and make a cool poster on their person (along with a cool Prezi presentation using our computers). Most of the poster work will be done outside of school.

APRIL

During the month of April your child will continue looking at Greek Myths while using their skills from our first fiction unit. Here's a weekly breakdown:

  • Week 1: Review of all skills (Main story: "Athena & Arachne")

  • Week 2: Motivation in characters & Review of all skills (Main story "Persephone & Hades" & "12 Labors of Heracules")

  • Week 3: Motivation in characters & How mortals can be heroes too (Main story: continue Heracules & "Achilles" & "The Trojan Horse")

 

***During the end of March/beginning of April, your child will start a fiction chapter book titled, "Heroes In Training." It's a great series that I'm sure your child will want to read all 11 books in the series!!!!!

JUNE

During the month of June your child will finish the year by reading their chapter books for Literature Circles and reading different historical fiction that goes along with our CT history unit.

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