Gr5 Important Dates, Scholastic Books, Amazon List.

By , 09/14/2018

Dear Grade 5 Families,

FYI Important upcoming school dates to put in your calendars:

Mon. Sept 17 Curriculum Night 4:30 – 7:30 pm (hope to see you there!)

Wed. Sept 19 Schools Closed – Yom Kippur

Sat. Sept 22 BSI PTO Event Ice Cream Social 2-4pm @school

Wed. Sept 26 BSI PTO Meeting 6:30 pm @school

Mon. Oct 8 Schools Closed – Columbus Day

Wed. Oct 10 BSI Picture Day (eclectic outfits!)

Fri. Oct 26 Family Friday 8:30am (all families are invited to join in classrooms!)

Scholastic Information:

Class Code H882F

Link to order https://clubs.scholastic.com/

Scholastic orders will be placed on the last day of each month. Your child will bring home book magazine flyers on Monday, but he/she can also access the flyers electronically here. Our class code is H882F. When you sign in to the Scholastic Book Clubs, you can find 1) class book wish list 2) recommended reading for students book list that I have created.

You can find lots of great books at a cheap cost across many interests/topics/genres. Please continue to foster a rich home library with diverse reading experiences, for your child. Books written in different styles or perspectives, books from different cultures or backgrounds, books from different time periods or historical events, narratives, non-narratives, informational texts, essays, short stories, poetry, study characters in a series collection, young adult novels etc.. While entertaining books are fun, please continue to encourage your child to read books that are not only fun, but books that make them think, feel and learn (more critically + analytically) by collecting/making meaning of new words as they read and reflect, and by having book talks together, regularly. Encourage your child to slow down to read more with empathy and cognizance. The goal in 5th grade reading is to move from literal thinking to more inferential (beyond the text) interpretive thinking. I will share open-ended reading questions to prompt effective book talks to have with your child. You can begin with some of my questions below:

What do you notice? …What does that make you think?
What are you thinking?
What are you wondering?
What questions do you have?
How are you thinking about this part?…..
Talk to me about what’s happening so far?
Talk to me about your theories about what’s happening (or what will happen next?)
How do you know….? (Prove your thinking with textual evidence)
Why do you think that? (Reasoning when reading)
Are you noticing any patterns? … What patterns are you noticing?
What are you feeling? Why?
Talk about characters actions/behaviors (why is the character acting that way? which character do you connect with most, and why?)
Talk about themes (what is a big take away/message from this? what do you think the writer wants you to take away from this text?)

Read books around social issues, books with diverse themes around…identity, friendship, change, loss, family, love, death, conflict, empowerment, loyalty, war, fear, courage, beauty, overcoming, vulnerability etc..(literary themes are endless)

Teaching children (not what), but how to think matters. Your child’s ideas matter! Feel free to grow ideas and enjoy reading together! We have been exploring our READING IDENTITIES in our learning community together.

Who am I as a reader?

Why do I read?

Where do I get books from?

Where is my favorite place to read?

What do I love in the books that I read? (Plot, Suspense etc.?)

How do I feel about reading?

What kinds of thinking do I do when I read?

What is my favorite book, and why?

What do I want to work on as a reader in 5th grade?

Feel free to check out the recommended book list from this month’s books when you log-in.

Also, here is a link to our Amazon Class wish list, if you’d like to donate any items.

Amazon Wish List