Orange

Month of April: The main focus for the orange group during the month of April has been comprehension.  The students have worked on implementing and using several different strategies when reading a story and answering questions. They have underlined important events as they read the text and looked back within the text to answer questions. In addition the students have paid attention to the keys words within questions to assist them as they pick the best answer choice. In addition to comprehension, the students continue to work on following directions with embedded concepts and vocabulary related to the classroom reading curriculum.

Weeks of 2/25/2013, 3/4/2013, 3/11/2013, and 3/18/2013: The orange group has worked on vocabulary related to their reading unit each week.  They have successfully completed cloze activities where they need to select which of their vocabulary words completes a target sentence. After the appropriate vocabulary word is selected, the group members take turns stating the definition of the word or providing a synonym for the target word. The group has also worked on reading passages and answering questions or completing graphic organizers related to the comprehension skill of the week and the main selection in the classroom. This skills addressed over the past four weeks have been: comparing and contrasting; explaining what happened in a story; describing details after reading the author's description of people, places, and events; making predictions; and using story clues to better understand events and characters.

Weeks of 2/4/2013, 2/11/2013, and 2/18/2013: The orange group continues to work on answering questions, providing definitions, and self-generating sentences related to the chapter vocabulary each week. They have also worked on answering a variety of comprehension questions and citing text based evidence as they do so. In addition the group has worked on grammar when selecting the appropriate pronouns to place within a sentence as well as determining the appropriate use of articles, conjunctions, nouns, verbs, and adjectives to use in a sentence to work on appropriate structure.

Weeks of 1/21/2013 and 1/28/2013: The orange group has worked on answering cause and effect and main idea and detail reading comprehension questions. They have also worked on identifying the meaning of target vocabulary words and placing each of these words into sentences. The group members have also practiced writing down a skill that each of them can take from their language session and apply back into the classroom.

Weeks of 1/7/2013 and 1/14/2013: The orange group has been working hard on listening and following a directions with a variety of conditions.  The skills of answering questions using information from non-fiction texts have also been addressed. 

Weeks of 12/10/2012 and 12/17/2012: Over the past two weeks the orange group has worked hard on identifying vocabulary words and practicing grammar skills when analyzing sentences. Activities involving listening and following directions with embedded concepts (e.g., position, sequence, function, etc.) have also been addressed. On our last group before break we completed a holiday cloze activity where the students were asked to select various holiday vocabulary words from a word bank and use these to complete a sentence.

Weeks of 11/26/2012 and 12/3/2012: Over the past two weeks we have continued to work on inferencing when reading stories, vocabulary, understanding of the meaning of similes, causes and effects of a variety of events in a story, and identifying the action words in a series of sentences.





Weeks of 11/5/2012 and 11/12/2012: Vocabulary has continued to be an area of focus as well as the skill of inferencing. The students were asked to make inferences about a series of pictures, then they made inferences about one to two sentences read out loud, after that they made inferences about a short paragraph that each student read to them self. The grammatical skill of possessives was also targeted. 

Weeks of 10/22/2012 and 10/29/2012:  Since the grade level reading skill has been sequencing for the past two weeks, this was one area of focus for our group.  The students read a variety of stories, answered questions related to the order of events, and then worked to retell each story using appropriate sequencing vocabulary (e.g., first, then, next, and last). The week's vocabulary was also reviewed using a vocabulary map. Each of the students needed to select synonyms for the target vocabulary words. Then, each of the vocabulary words were placed into a sentence with the all of the synonyms corresponding to the target word. For example: Broken means damaged, cracked into pieces, or torn.

Weeks of 10/8/2012 and 10/15/2012:Over the past two weeks the students have continued working on vocabulary, making predictions, inferencing, and selecting logical answers using their own knowledge and background information. Test taking strategies were also discussed. Each of the students like to cross out the answers they do not think are correct and they were reminded to do this away from the beginning of the question where the various letter choices are in order to make sure they are only getting credit for the one answer they have selected. 
Week of 10/1/2012: This week the students worked on vocabulary, making predictions, and grammar while playing a review game and acting out word meanings.

Week of 9/24/2012: This week the students worked on vocabulary by playing a game of Dominos. The cards were sent home for additional practice! Making predictions about a variety of stories and illustrations was also targeted.

Week of 9/17/2012: This week the students worked on identifying main ideas and details related to short stories.  They also discussed strategies for selecting answers when given a series of choices. The vocabulary for next week was also previewed.

Week of 9/10/2012: This week the students worked on synonyms and antonyms. The identified words that meant the same as a target word and words that had a different meaning from a target word. The group also worked on answering various comprehension questions about a short story. The story was sent home on Thursday for additional practice.

Week of 9/3/2012: This week the students continued to work on the short /a/ and short /i/ sounds and reading and spelling a series of words with those vowel sounds. The group placed index cards with the words they had written in alphabetical order. The index cards were sent home this week for additional practice. Story grammar markers (see home page) were also started in order to assist with reading and listening comprehension. The group members selected  symbols they liked to represent character and setting.

Week of 8/27/2012: This week the students worked on reviewing the short /a/ and short /i/ sounds and reading and spelling a series of words with those vowel sounds. The group also discussed strategies for placing words into alphabetical order and completed activities where they selected a series of words from a word bank and put them in alphabetical order.

Week of 8/20/2012: This week the students worked on completing writing assignments about their summer and on a way in which they could show responsibility.  The students also worked on a vocabulary activity where they needed to select the appropriate summer vocabulary word and place it into an appropriate sentence.