We are working on a novel project, Rascal (Spiegel) & Water Buffalo Days (Millar), in class, as well as, at home. The stories are read aloud in class, with students writing a brief summary after the reading. Upon completing the summary, students continue working on a picture summary, vocab definitions, & finding Literary Devices in the book. We have been working on this quite a lot in class over the last two weeks. The novels are worth 1,200 points of their AR Literacy grade, 20% of their grade. Extra paper copies are available for students to check out overnight & at learning lab, in order to catch up if behind or absent.
Aquarium of the Pacific projects
1. Aquarium vocabulary. Students are working on vocabulary definitions that will help them in understanding & completing their Aquarium Scavenger Hunt on their field trip on June 11.
2. Next week, students will be creating a Kelp Project. More info to follow.
3. Students will be doing group work to explore & research the different marine habitats of the ocean. More into to follow next week.
AR Project #5 starts this week, TEST DATE is 12/18/2017 Rules: 1. Must be approved by teacher & at your NEW reading level. Students are required to get their book on their own, out of class time. Due Wednesday. 2. Must be, at least, 200 pages, not counting pages with pictures. Students reading at a lower book level must read 2 books in the same time frame. Test scores from both tests will be averaged into one. 3. A cover index card will be made after taking the test, not before. 4. Note taking is optional, but recommended, if your last book test score was below a 75%. 5. Students who finish their approved book before December 18 will test on their book when finished. Another book must be acquired to read for the remainder of the time period.
AR Project #2 Started this week, 10/4, 10/5 We went to the library this week and checked out new books in each student's reading level. Any student that did not get a book, must do so on their own & bring it to school every day. Students are required to read their book & test on it by October 16th. Notes are not necessary for this book, but suggested, if student's struggle to remember things.
Students have now been taught two different learning techniques, helpful in improving reading levels. The first is called "a quest." This is when students look for their vocab words in the Literature book we use, then write the sentences down while reflecting on the words meaning, how it is used in a sentence, and the pure appreciation for the rich sentences they are reading. This is something students will do with most stories that we read.
With the current novel, they have been given "a mission," to find & write down as many sentence examples as possible of Literary Devices found in their novel. They are to write them down on a piece of notebook paper, number each one, state which LD it is, & include the page number & title of the book they found it in. Stars can be earned for phenomenal sentences found!!!
AR Project #1 Started this week. Students were given their reading levels today & we went to the library to check out a book in that level. Any student that did not check out a book must do so on their own time, then get the book approved by me. Books must be brought to school every day to avoid consequences.
Students were taught how to find number of pages to read each day in order to be done on time for September 20 test date. Look for that information on the bottom of their planner for this week.
Students will be given a Book Report form to be completed & turned in, due on September 28. Reports turned in after that date will receive 1/2 credit only. Rubric for grading purposes will be attached.
Test scores based on books read will be worth 200 points per book. Grade is doubled based on test score taken in class only, through the Accelerated Reader website. If student scores a 75%, they will receive a 150/200 score in the gradebook.
2016-2017 School Year AR Project#7 - due date is May 22nd. Must test by that date also. This project is the same as AR Project #6, however, Literary Devices are part of the project as well. Students have been learning Literary Devices all year, as well as, finding them in their reading. For this project, they must find them in their novel & record them on paper to be added to the folder. All instructions for this project will be covered again this week. Students should begin reading as soon as possible, within their reading level, & approved by the teacher. Weekly progress grades will be taken as they were in project #6. A new rubric will go home this week.
AR Project #6 - read only. Test date is April 24/25.
AR Project #5 - due date is April 6th. Must test by that date also. This project requires more than just reading. Today, 3/6, we reviewed, again, student reading levels & I told them to write them in their planners. Students are required to: * write a brief summary, in sentence or bullet form, on paper provided, for each chapter in their book. (must be at level & approved) * draw & color a detailed picture of each chapter. * attach the above to their novel file, provided. * Test on book All of the above information was given, explained, & demonstrated in class. All supplies will be provided, except for colored pencils & notebook paper for pre-writing summaries. Students will be graded on Test score, effort, neatness, & following directions, as well as, a grade on weekly progress of the project.
Grading Rubric for AR Project #5 400 points (100 weekly) for weekly progress 100 AR Test 100 Story Cover 100 Summaries 100 Pictures 100 Neatness 100 Effort ---------------------- 1,000 Total Points towards Literacy grade
*********************************************************************************** We are now in Second Semester and students have been told to read daily, in class & at home, for AR. Their goals are the same and they were given a new test date that coincides with progress reports. This information was written in their planner, along with their goal, & a new reading level, if appropriate. The deadline for this project, #4, is this Friday, March 3. It has been on the homework website, as well as, discussed in class daily, since February 1st.
End of Semester Goals started December 22nd. All students were instructed to read over Winter break. Several students made my day when they came in and tested today!!! Great job!!! Please remind your child to read as much as possible! Many grades went down again when the AR goal grades were put in during winter break. These goals are set to improve reading levels, so please encourage your child to read. Ask them about what they're reading as well! Every little bit helps! :)
Each student has been given a point goal, based on their individual test level score. This point goal is based on each student's IRL score, (individual reading level) reading up to 60 minutes per day, (including school time) over a 4-5 week period, including weekends. Your child can show you their information in their planner. Students who are not scoring 80% or above (optimal reading growth %) should take notes while they are reading their books.
As discussed in class, all students know & understand that they need to read multiple books & pass each book test in order to earn points towards their goal. At the end of this test period, January 27th, whatever points they have earned will be divided by their goal points to receive a grade for AR. This grade will count as multiple grades, due to the multiple weeks we have been reading towards this goal.
We originally went to the library, learned how to find a book at their level, (info given to them on a book mark) and got the project going. Students must follow the guidelines given to them in class when choosing a book, read it, & test in class when completed. They may NOT test outside of the classroom.
Please encourage your child to read at home, & ask them questions about their book! :-) It's a great way for them to gain comprehension, & they are happy to know you are interested in what they're reading! :-)
We will be re-assessing student reading levels soon & hopefully, all student's will have reached their goal & show growth!