Transcript 6th Grade English Language Arts

5th Grade
Humanities
Joanna Drusin
About Me
• This is my 9th year teaching in the NYC Public
School system
• Previously, I taught at the Bergen Upper School in
Prospect Heights for one year and then NEST + m
for seven.
• At NEST + m I taught 6th grade ELA to 150
students.
About Me
• I’m very excited, as you can imagine, to work
with only 84 students and get to know them
as readers and writers. 
• I love creating art, and have taken a number of
painting, sewing and collage courses in the
past few years.
About Me
• I’m a native New Yorker (I grew up in
Manhattan)
• I have a deep love for the outdoors—camping,
hiking, gardening. I worked on an organic farm
in CT a few years ago and loved that
experience
About Me
• I love to travel. My husband is also a teacher
and we’ve had wonderful adventures in
Thailand, Alaska, Italy, Costa Rica and biking
on the Pacific Coast Highway!
Justin Weinblatt
• Justin is the Humanities TA and will be
working with all 5th and 6th graders this year.
About YOU
• I would love to learn more about you! If you
didn’t get a chance to fill-out my online survey
(emailed on 9/19), please complete it within
the next few days. I have only received 41
responses out of 84!
• Let me know if you didn’t receive that online
survey and I’ll send it to you personally! (Be
sure to leave me your email address at some
point tonight)
About YOU
• If you have any questions now or as I go
through the presentation, please write them
on an index card along with your name and
email address. I will do my best to answer
questions at the end.
Humanities Curriculum
• This year, I will see each 5th grade class for 6
class periods a week. They will have 9 periods
each week, total:
Sustained reading and Library/Book Club
time have been built into their schedule at
other times in the week, which allows us
to cover more content in my class period.
• We have also moved the classroom library into
the three homerooms, so students have daily
access to a library.
What will Humanties look like?
• Humanities will be a place where students will
develop their skills in reading, writing,
speaking and listening, as well as Social
Studies content.
• We will be reading both fiction and nonfiction
and writing in a variety of genres.
Here is a basic overview of the
curriculum:
Major Assignments or Activities
September • Developing stamina as writers
• Starting a daily practice of 30 minutes of daily writing in
Writers’ Notebooks
• Building our community norms and establishing routines
we will use all year
October
• Start of our first read-aloud, Tuck Everlasting, from which
we will practice identifying, discussing and evaluating
many fictional elements.
• This will also be a time to practice class discussion norms
and we will hold a Socratic Seminar
• We will embark on our first inquiry unit as we study and
write both pure and personal essays
Here is a basic overview of the
curriculum:
Major Assignments or Activities
November- • Our nonfiction unit will provide an opportunity to look
December
closely at the way that NF is organized, the range of topics
and the reading skills we need to read NF successfully.
• We will also work on writing two essays during this unit and
will study the essay genre as well as the differences
between a personal and pure essay.
• During this unit we will also look closely at human rights
issues, both current and historical. Students will have a
chance to practice researching and analyzing sources.
• December will also bring an opportunity to study
language systems. We will look closely at grammar and
punctuation.
Major Assignments or Activities
January-February
• Inquiry teams will research a specific time period and
ultimately create a multi-media presentation
• As we study Historical Fiction, inquiry teams will closely read
a variety of HF texts
• Our shared reading text will be Number the Stars, by Lois
Lowry
• The Human Rights unit will continue with ongoing research
March
• Our Test Sophistication unit will help students strategize
through problems and work independently.
• Students will draft Literary Essays and look at ways to
synthesize their text analysis in coherent and fluid writing
• We will study the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and apply it to first-person narrative accounts of human
rights violations.
Major Assignments or Activities
April
• We will meet in book clubs and challenge each other to
provide text evidence for our theories
• In our inquiry study of Commentary, we will study the genre
and publish our own Commentary pieces
• We will study the structure of the US Government including
the three branches and the differences between the local,
state and federal branches
May-June
• We will study activists from different periods in American
history who expressed themselves through poetry and song.
Students will write their own pieces in multiple genres.
• We will extend our study of US Government and apply it to a
study and analysis of current events
• 5th grade trip to Washington, D.C.
Grading Policy
• Students will be assessed throughout the year and
we will focus on their reading, writing, speaking,
listening and language skills.
• The most significant assignments will be more
heavily weighted, especially published pieces and
in-class quizzes.
• Students will also have daily homework in their
Writers’ Notebooks and occasionally other
additional assignments. Students will also be
responsible for participating in class discussions and
group work.
Humanities Curriculum: Writing
• Many students struggle with writing. Many others who
enjoy writing, struggle with meaningful and thorough
revision.
• We will spend a lot of time doing writing this year, and I
hope to impart the message that it is a process—and
requires patience.
• It has been my experience that by reading excellent writers
and emulating their style, students try new things and take
wonderful risks in their writing.
• I am very excited to use Google Drive as a platform through
which I can give students individualized feedback and
through which they will eventually work in writing
partnerships to help each other grow as writers!
Daily Reading!
• While I am not requiring 30 minutes of daily
reading (as there already is an assigned 30
minutes of writing in WNB), I would strongly
suggest that your child always has a book and
makes time to read.
Daily Reading!
• Please remind your child to keep his/her
reading log updated, so I can monitor his/her
progress and make helpful suggestions
• While we will NOT be placing any public
emphasis on reading levels (nor will you see
that information on PR’s), I will be working
with a few other teachers to continue
monitoring students’ reading levels in order to
help steer them toward great books.
5th Grade Reading Log
(Include ALL books you read! This log should stay in school so we can review it, update it and celebrate it
throughout the year!)
Student Name:
Title
ex
Harry Potter and the Goblet
of Fire
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Class:
Author
(last name)
Total
Pages
Genre
Rowling
734
Fantasy
Date
Borrowed
OR
Date
Started
9/4/2014
Date
Returned
OR
Date
Completed
9/21/2014
BSI book
or your
own book?
Rating
(?/10)
BSI book
10/10
Scholastic Book Orders
• Since over 80 students share the 5th grade library, we’re always
looking for book donations. Every time a parent places an online
order, we receive money towards books.
• Here are two ways to order:
• 1) Fill out the paper form and send it in with a check made out to
Scholastic. (NO CASH, PLEASE!)
• 2) Order online at Scholastic.
• On the parent page, click the “REGISTER” button under “First time
here,” then register for your own user name and password.
• When prompted, enter the one-time activation code code
(L8LBM). This code ensures that your orders are sent to our
class. I will deliver the books in class, as soon as they arrive (1-2
weeks)
Ways to contribute to our class:
• I would love parents, especially those who are
involved in publishing, to speak to the class about
their writing process, especially demonstrating
the transition from drafting to publishing
• Amazon.com wish list: I’ve created a list of books
which students would like in our classroom and
supplies which we can use. I’ve posted that link
on our BSI class page. Thank you for your help!
• Thanks for joining me tonight! I look forward
to meeting each of you.
• I am going to take a few questions and then
this presentation will be starting again from
the beginning!