April 23-27

Well this week has turned out to be a little crazy. I ended up having a stomach virus last week and was out Wed-Fri. Due to being out for so long, we've had to make a few adjustments.  This week we are looking at text features (bold print, graphics, pictures, captions, italics, sidebars, etc.) and how they are used to help readers follow the text.  In order for students to get familiar with all the different types of features, we started out with a scavenger hunt in our science books.  Students had to find a page with the different text features and identify them. 

For the rest of this week and the beginning of next week, students will be creating a magazine using text features. Here is the write up they received.

Make a Magazine:

Using computer paper you will be creating a magazine. The purpose of this magazine is to show that you understand text features. Using your text features chart you will choose to include the following:

·         3 well written articles. Each article needs to be at least a paragraph in length. These articles will be used to help your magazine flow and to help you come up with information for your graphic aids. Grammar and spelling errors will count against you. (20 points)

·         2 Print Features: You must have a table of contents and one other print feature.  (20 points)

·         2 Illustrations: You must include two illustrations in your magazine. They can be drawings, pictures, or magnifications. (20 points)

·         8 Organizational Aids:  You must choose 8 out of the 10 organizational aids to use in your magazine. They need to be used throughout and not all on one page.  (20 points)

·         3 Graphic Aids: You must complete 3 graphic aids to help you with your written articles. Use your aids to help your reader understand certain information. (20 points)

Next week we will finish up the magazines while also working on Compass Odyssey. Compass is a great way for students to review all skills we have taught over the year to get ready for PASS testing.

**PASS TESTING IS SOON!! May 8-10 students will be tested on ELA (Tues), Math (Wed), and either Social Studies or Science (Thurs).

In order to help students review for PASS testing, they should be bringing home notes to study for 15 min and get signed. This homework is going in a a minor grade when checked.