Language Arts Block - I teach 5th lang arts all day. I have four groups. I see each for 55 min. Not enough time--I totally hear you!! Well, here is what I do to TRY to fit everything in...
First, each period as the students come in there is a "daily bite" on the board. This is a grammar and editing activity that the kids seem to enjoy. I put three incorrectly written sentences on... source
Language Arts in 75 Minutes - I taught only LA last year to 8th graders and I had 75 min. each day, so I can relate. The way I did it included:
I had D.O.L.s that they did when they first got to class (2 sentences with grammatical errors). Then they did a journal entree, also. These were both posted on the board, so I could take role (using a seating chart) and any other paperwork. I had one student designated from each class to pass out graded papers when they finished their journals (I had them in stacks by classes on the counter). Then I would go into... source
six trails - There really is a lot of overlap--are you reading GRW right now? In my school we focused on one trait every 4-6 weeks or so, so during that time the MLs I had in WW that had to do with quality writing would go back to whatever trait we were on at the time. I basically am teaching the 6 traits lessons. I tend to pull back on the extensive whole-group activities from the 6 traits material and just condense things into... source
AR computer - I have used AR with my 4th graders for 2 years, and up until now, we've had the 1 computer per room set up. What I do is have my kids all take the STAR reading test during the 1st week of school to find their ZPDs. As soon as we're done with this, ... source
AR tests - Sandra,
I also have only one computer in my classroom which makes scheduling tests for AR tricky. If I have more than one student ready to test, I hate to make them wait. I simply send them to another classroom and have them ask the teacher if they would allow them to take an AR test and print out the results.(assuming the computer is available.)All of our classrooms are hooked up to this system. We also have computers in our library and our librarian is very helpful about allowing them to take tests during this class period. She simply prints out a copy of the results so I can mark them on my AR chart in class. If I read a novel to the class that is an AR book, when I finish, I type and print out the questions. Then I copy if for the whole class to take at the same time instead of having each of them schedule computer time to take it. This saves me some time. source
Changes in Reading Assessment - (ARTICLE) Short hyperlinked article reviewing the shift to performance-based and authentic assessment in reading and language instruction source
ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication - Providing educational materials, services, and coursework to everyone interested in the language arts source
General - Purpose Learning Strategies; Memory - An excellent source for information pertaining to how our memory works. Learn why your students are good at retainign information on one subject but not another source
Handbook of Effective Instruction in Literacy - General suggestions for effective literacy instruction. Download the entire 79 page handbook in rtf format. Click on source for table of contents source
Language Arts Ideas - An assortment of language arts activities and ideas source
Reading Online - An online (and free) journal published by the International Reading Association. There are discussion forums to accompany each article source
Tips to Improve Reading Comprehension - Tips and suggestions for improving reading comprehension. Could be used to help parents and students who are looking for ways to improve comprehension source
