FEBRUARY 24-28

MONDAY, FEB. 24:
*  review main idea (also called central idea)
*  analyze "What Do You Know About Sharks?" Is it a credible source?  A credible author?
*  discuss main idea, author's purpose of "Sharks"
*  look at text features for information
* finish graphic organizers for essay

TUESDAY, FEB. 25: 
*  discuss essential question:  Are sharks dangerous?
*  Discuss evidence--what is it, what counts as evidence--do opinions count?
*  make t chart and record evidence from this article on whether sharks are dangerous
*  essay

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26:
*  add source and evidence to vocabulary notebook
*  Why should we look at more than one source when trying to answer a question?
*  new source "Great White Sharks"
*  analyze author (Peter Benchley of "Jaws") is he credible?  What about his background?
*  essay

THURSDAY, FEB. 27:
*  introduce bias, loaded language, fact and opinion
*  record evidence for essential question on t chart
*  essay

FRIDAY, FEB. 28:
*  add bias and loaded language to vocab notebook
*  discuss loaded language and drawing conclusions
*  answer conclusion question
*  essay

FEBRUARY 18-21

Hello Chalupacabras and parents!  Mrs. Sikes was sick last week, so mostly we just worked on our Mr/Ms SMS essay.  Students should have completed the t chart for three body paragraphs by the end of Friday.  We will check over these Monday to make sure students are on the right track.  Please see last week's blog for reading plans.  We will start nonfiction this week in Reading.

FEBRUARY 10-14

Hello, Chalupas and Chalupa Parents!  In Reading, we are shifting our focus from literary text to informational.  We will be focusing on main idea, drawing conclusions, finding evidence to support a claim and looking at how authors organize information.  We will continue to work with literary text, but our focus is changing to informational. 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10:
*  introduce vocab words for informational text
*  introduce essential questions for this unit of study:  Can you believe everything you read?  Where does this information come from?  How can you tell if an author has a bias? 
*  notes on main idea and how to locate it/infer it in a text
*  work on Mr/Mrs SMS essay

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11:
*  add main idea to vocab notebook
*  read "What Do You Know About Sharks?" together, noticing the format the author chose.  Discuss
*  Discuss main idea and author's purpose
*  Essential question:  ARE SHARKS DANGEROUS?
*  Read author bio.  Can we trust her to provide us with current, relevant information? (source)  Does the date of this article matter?  Have there been other scientific discoveries since this has been written?
*  Look at text features together.
*  work on essay

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12:
*  library
*  Start collecting evidence for essential question (are sharks dangerous?)
*  make chart for evidence, begin looking for FACTS to support or refute the claim
*  work on essay

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13: 
*  add source and evidence to vocab notebook
*  discuss the need to look at mulitple sources for accurate info
*  Do source check on "Great White Sharks" -- is author a credible source?  What do you expect him to say about sharks?
*  read "Great White Sharks" and record evidence on the chart
*  essay

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14:
*SPIRIT ASSEMBLY!  WEAR YOUR TEAM SHIRT! 
*  add bias and loaded language to vocab notebook
*  locate and discuss loaded language in this selection.  Does the author have a bias? 
*  draw conclusion--are sharks dangerous?  What does the evidence say?  Can you support your claim?