This year you will be participating in a Reading Workshop. It may be unlike classes that you have had in the past...and may even be different from other classes you take this year. As you grow, it is important that you be given the chance to make decisions, to learn responsibility, and discover a style of organization that works for you. Hopefully, in addition to improving your reading skills, you will have the opportunity to do those things -- and more --in this class. I look forward to a wonderful and rewarding year with you. In order to make it as profitable as possible, I have prepared the following explanations about some of the aspects of this class. I hope it will help you and your parents to better understand what is expected, but if there are any questions, see me any day at silent reading time, or make arrangements to see me before school, at lunch, or after school.
Reading Workshop begins with everyone in his or her seat and reading at the tardy bell. Everyone reads silently until journals are passed out. Students then have the option of continuing to read, writing in journals, checking out books from the class library, or going to the media center to check out books. During this time the teacher is participating in similar activities, but it is also an excellent time to meet one-on-one for students who have questions or need that time with the teacher. Only one person is allowed at the teacher's desk at a time so that conversations can be private. After this twenty to twenty-five minute period, the teacher usually reads aloud to the class. This is a transitional time and students are asked to finish up whatever they may be working on so that they will be ready to devote full attention to the mini-lesson following the reading aloud. The mini-lesson is so-called because of its length. The lesson does not take the entire period, but it covers the skills that readers of this age-group should be developing. Note-taking is not usually required, but could be very useful as students are expected to put into practice those skills taught. Some skills will even be tested. There are times when we will alter this agenda, but we always start the class with reading. Be sure to bring a book every day.
Earlier it was noted that this class gives you a chance to make decisions, and this is one area in which you will practice that. As long as the books are written on your level and meet the requirements above, it is up to you and your parents as to what books you will read. Talk to your parents about the books you are reading or plan to read. Listen to their input. They have valuable advice to offer--and it is usually free! In this class you do not have to finish every book you start. You also have to make decisions about when to abandon a book. We'll talk more about that in class.
On the next two pages are listed the requirements for this class. If you ever have any questions about what you are expected to do in this class, you must ask. There is plenty of opportunity, and it is important that you understand so that you can do your best.
Your journal is a place for you, me, and your friends to talk about your books, reading, authors, and writing. You'll be talking about literature in letters to me and friends; we'll write letters back to you. All our letters will stay here together, arranged chronologically, as a record of the thinking, learning, and reading we did together. In your letters, talk to us about what you've read. Tell what you've noticed. Tell what you've thought and felt and why. Tell how you read and why. Tell what the books said and meant to you. Ask questions or ask for help. And write back to us about our ideas, feelings, experiences, and questions. As a bare minimum you must write at least one letter and two responses in a three-week period. Two will be to classmates, and one will be to me. When you write to a friend, give your journal to that friend. When a friend gives you his or her journal, you must answer within the class period or ask for an extension until the next day. If there is ever a problem about getting a response, let me know immediately. Journals will be graded every three weeks. The dates will be noted on your "Keeping Track of Reading Grades" sheet and on the calendar which will be posted at the beginning of each term. Journals will be graded as follows:
Minimum requirements of one letter to classmate, one response to the teacher letter, and at least one response noted on the response log (as long as letters are about books) is 70 out of 100.
To earn above a 70, you must show higher level thinking in your entries. Summaries of the book are fine, but the writing also needs to go beyond that level, telling what you THINK. There will be mini- lessons and handouts to explain this further.
If minimum requirements are not met, the grade will be less than 70, and will be based on how close you come to meeting the minimum requirements.
Each term you will take your journal home so that your parents can see the work you are doing. There will be a form for them to sign along with a chance for extra credit when you write them a journal letter and they respond. Except for this designated weekend, the journals should not leave class unless you have brought in a note from your parents requesting that you bring it home and saying they will be responsible for its return the next school day. Of course, journal letters can still be written at home and added to the journal when you come to school.
A book talk will be due around the eighth week of each term. You are expected to "sell" the book you have read through an oral presentation accompanied by a CREATIVE project. You are encouraged to be as creative as possible and there is no limit as to what could be used for a project--the more unique, the better. Examples of some projects used in the past include dressing as a character in the book, cassette-taped radio shows, passing out refreshments that fit the book, puppets, dioramas, mobiles, video tapes, and slide presentations. The project should be something that you can incorporate into your speech. You will be told at the beginning of each term what type of book you must read for the book talk. You will be graded on presentation (voice, eye contact, lack of distracting mannerisms, etc.), content (telling enough about the book to "sell" it without telling too much to spoil it for someone else), creativity of project (uniqueness, effort, etc.) incorporation of the project (how well you used your project to enhance the book talk), and knowledge (how well you can answer questions at the end of the talk.) You will also receive an audience grade for how well you listened to your classmates. Fridays (prior to the date of required booktalks) are set aside for students to give optional book or author talks for extra credit. The talk may be about any book you've read this year or an author you have researched. If you are interested, see me to sign up. You must give at least one week's notice. They will be graded the same as the required talk.
Each grading term students will practice the skill of writing a research paper. This class will emphasize the process of report writing rather than the product. We will do some of the work together in class. Be sure to use the "Report Checklist" before turning in your report as this is what will be used to grade the paper.
Other assignments will be given during each nine-week term. They are listed in the "Keeping Track of Reading Grades" sheet, posted on the nine-week calendar, and recorded on the SBAC 24-hour phone line (955-6942 #5202). If you have access, you can keep up with what we are doing in class through my Workshops Web site (http://www.afn.org/~afn48444/workshop.html). There should always be plenty of time to complete any work assigned.
At least once every nine weeks, you will be given the chance to do extra credit assignments. I would strongly advise you to take advantage of this opportunity. Extra credit assignments can only improve your grade, and can make the difference in the letter grade you receive on your report card.
Goals are usually set during the last week of the previous term. I meet one-on-one with each student to determine what would be the best goals to help that student to improve as a reader. Your parents are encouraged to help you to choose appropriate goals. At the end of the term, I meet with you to determine how well the goals are met and set ones for the next term. You will be given a handout on which you will keep a record of your goals and how well you meet them for the whole year. It is important to share this information with your parents so that they can help you with your goals.
You will receive a handout on which you should keep track of the grades you are earning in this class. These are YOUR grades and YOU EARN them. This means that you also have control over what grade you will receive in this class. Grades are based on a total of 1000 points. This is how you earn your points:
In addition, extra credit is offered every term. It is optional, but it can only help your grade, so I hope you will take advantage of it. It includes such things as writing book reviews and doing an extra booktalk on any book you've read this year. I would especially encourage you to study for the extra credit prefix-suffix test each term.
In Reading Workshop, you will not be assigned homework on a daily basis. The due dates for assignments will be listed on the "Keeping Track of Reading Grades" sheet and noted on the calendar which is posted the first day of each nine-week term, with weekly reminders on the 24-hour phone line (955-6942 #5202). You will be expected to meet all due dates. Some students can get all their work done during class time; most will need to do some work at home. The decision and RESPONSIBILITY are yours. You will also need to plan WHEN to do the work. Since it is hardly ever due the next day, you can plan your homework for this class around your other activities.
You can always read at home. Although journals may NEVER leave the classroom unless assigned by the teacher or with a permission note from parents, you can write entries and add them to your journal in class the next day. Some students prefer to do this because they like to type their entries and that is great. Typing is always appreciated in this class. You also will probably want to work on your book talk project at home, and you'll want to spread it out so as to not to be rushing to finish at the last minute.
When you are absent, it is your responsibility to make up work. You may check your "Keeping Track of Reading Grades" sheet, look at the calendar, refer to the agenda, or see me during silent reading to see what you missed. For the most part, you will be expected to still meet deadlines, since these are usually known from the first day of the term. If you are going to be absent for an extended time, it might be a good idea to have your parents call the office and request that your work be gathered together for them to pick up for you.
It is your responsibility to come to class each day with paper and a pen or pencil. I suggest that you don't test the fates by coming to school with only one pen or pencil and only a couple of sheets of paper. You will need to supply notebook paper for your journal and replace the journal if it becomes worn. Also in this class, you will be asked to keep a reading folder in which you will keep handouts and graded assignments. This also should come with you to class every day. Of course, in this class you must ALWAYS have a book to read.
Keep this information in your reading folder or a safe place at home so that you and your parents can refer to it all year. And let's make it a GREAT one!
This year you will be participating in a Writing Workshop. It may be unlike classes that you have had in the past...and may even be different from other classes you take this year. As you grow, it is important that you be given the chance to make decisions, to learn responsibility, and to discover a style of organization that works for you. Hopefully, in addition to improving your writing skills, you will have the opportunity to do those things--and more--in this class. I look forward to a wonderful and rewarding year with you. In order to make it as profitable as possible, I have prepared the following explanation about some of the aspects of this class. I hope it will help you and your parents to better understand what is expected, but if there are any questions, see me any day (silent reading time during reading class is best), or make arrangements to see me before school, after school, or during lunch.
Writing Workshop begins with GOTCHA (grammar lesson). As the class begins, part of a continuing "story" will be shown on the overhead. This GOTCHA will have errors in it and you will be expected to write the GOTCHA correctly. I will then correct the GOTCHA while you correct your own paper. On Tuesdays we will start the class with a spelling test instead of GOTCHA. GOTCHA is followed by the mini-lesson. I will teach a short lesson on some aspect of writing each day. You are expected to use the information to improve your writing. The majority of the time spent in Writing Workshop will be spent writing. I will begin this section by taking a "Status-of-the-Class" which means each student will tell me what he or she plans to do that day. Students may use the time to work on any stage in the writing process, which includes conferencing and revising. One day of the week we will have Group Share. At this time the whole class forms a circle and students share their writings or ideas with their classmates in order to get input which will make their writing even better. We will follow this schedule every day except Friday which is when we do Read Around Groups with our Show-Not-Tell assignments.
In this class, you will be given the opportunity, and the responsibility, of choosing what you will write. Your parents and I will be available to help you, but the best writing is produced when the writer writes about that which he knows and wants to write. In order to expose you to different types of writing, one of your pieces must be a certain genre (for example letter, personal narrative, poetry, expository, persuasive, etc.) each grading term. I hope you will try all kinds of writing this year and you will write about many areas that interest you. We strongly encourage students to use Writing Workshop for any and all writing needs. Pieces of writing can be such things as reports for other classes, journal letters for Reading Workshop, or even letters to Grandma, as long as they go through the entire writing process.
The following are the requirements for this class. If ever you have any questions about what you are expected to do in this class, you must ask. There is plenty of opportunity and it is important that you understand so that you can do your best. All assignments and dates due are on the "Keeping Track of Writing Grades" sheet and the nine- week calendar which is posted at the beginning of each term. On the calendar, assignments for Reading Workshop will be in one font and assignments for Writing Workshop will be in another. This information gives you the opportunity to get some assignments done ahead of time.
At the beginning of each term, you will know when all final copies are due for that term. You will also be told which genre we will be emphasizing. One of your pieces should fit in that genre (eg. letter, personal narrative, expository, poetry, persuasive, etc.) Pieces must be in final copy form by the dates given. This means that they were previously edited by a parent or teacher. If you choose a teacher edit, your piece should be turned in for teacher edit at least one week before the final copy deadline to be assured I will have time to edit it and get it back to you in time. If you are in the middle of a piece when the second due date comes, that piece can count on the next grading term. The normal, minimum requirement for this class is two pieces per grading term. Half credit will be given for pieces turned in late.
Every week you will take the "telling" sentence that is assigned and turn it into a "showing" piece of writing. Usually this would be at least a paragraph, but most students turn it into a full piece of writing. Some students even use it later as one of their pieces for grading after they have conferenced and revised. In fact, some students have entered their "SNTs" (after revision) in writing contests! You will bring your SNT on Friday and we will do Read Around Groups, which means your classmates will be reading your piece and you will be reading theirs. You will want to make sure that your piece has lots of good description, that your writing actually "shows" us what happened. Students who come to class without their SNTs will write them in class during Read Around Groups and will receive less credit for them.
Every day begins with a grammar lesson called "GOTCHA." The lessons for the week run from Wednesday to Monday. The four GOTCHAs will be on one side of the paper. When these are graded, I will look to see that there is a proper heading, that every day's GOTCHA is complete, that each is dated, that each is edited in a different color, and that the number of errors matches the number of corrections you have made. Make sure you spell the days of the week and the month correctly. On the other side of the paper will be the spelling test you will take each Tuesday. You will be given a list of all words for the nine weeks at the beginning of each term. The Grammar/Spelling Test paper will be collected each Tuesday following the test.
At least once every nine weeks, you will be given the chance to do extra credit assignments. I would strongly advise you to take advantage of this opportunity. Extra credit assignments can only improve your grade, and can make the difference in the letter grade you receive on your report card. Although only two pieces are required, extra credit is given if you complete more pieces. (However, quality DOES count, and it is better to do two good pieces than four poor pieces.) Additionally, extra credit is given every time you submit a piece for publication outside the classroom. Even more extra credit is given if the piece is published.
Goals are usually set during the last week of the previous term. I meet one-on-one with each student to determine what would be the best goals to help that student to improve as a writer. Please encourage your parents to help you in choosing appropriate goals . At the end of the term, I meet with you to determine how well the goals are met and set new ones for the next term. You will be given a handout on which you will keep a record of your goals and how well you meet them for the whole year. It is important to share this information with your parents so they can help you with your goals.
In addition, extra credit is offered every term. It is optional, but it can only help your grade, so I hope you will take advantage of it.
In Writing Workshop, you will not be assigned homework on a daily basis. The due dates for most, if not all, assignments will be noted on your "Keeping Track of Writing Grades" sheet and the calendar which is posted the first day of each nine-week grading term. In addition, you may call the 24-hour phone line to hear a recording that tells what we are doing each week. The number is 955-6942. The teacher number for this Reading/Writing Workshop is 5202. In addition, for those who have access, (or you can use the public library) you can visit my Workshops Website (http:;//www.afn.org/~afn48444/workshop.html). Most students who want to earn a good grade find that they need to do some work on their pieces and other assignments at home in order to do the kind of work which will earn them the grades they seek. When you do the work is your choice. For example, some students do their SNTs for the whole term right away and not have to worry about them. Others do one every week so they can learn and improve from the previous week's assignment. The same goes for the work you will do on your other pieces. You may choose to work on the rough drafts and revising at school and do your topic searches or prewriting and final copies at home. Some students prefer to work on final copies at home because they want to type them, and this is encouraged since it makes for a very neat and attractive final copy. Computer usage is recommended if available. Students are also encouraged to read their pieces to parents and family members to get input on how their writing could be improved. This is called conferencing and most pieces are improved when feedback is given from both peers and adults.
When you are absent, it is your responsibility to make up work. You may check the calendar, check the agenda, call the 24-hour phone line (955-6942, # 5202), or see me (the best time is during silent reading in reading class) to see what you missed. For the most part, you will be expected to still meet deadlines, since most of these are usually known from the first day of the term. If you are going to be absent for an extended time, it might be a good idea to have your parents call the office and request that your work be gathered together for them (or a brother, sister, or neighborhood friend) to pick up for you.
It is your responsibility to come to class each day with paper and pen or pencil. For GOTCHA and self-editing, you will need a different color pen or pencil. Also, in this class you will be asked to keep a writing folder for handouts and graded assignments that you bring to class and take home so that your parents can see what you are doing in Writing Workshop. You will need to replace your in-class writing folder if it becomes worn. Although not required, it would be helpful to have white-out for correcting errors, felt-tip markers for making colorful final copies, and stamps for sending off pieces for publishing. Papers turned in must be without a "fringe" so you may want to buy loose-leaf paper or paper that rips out of the folder neatly. For the MAC computer lab you will need a 3.5" HD diskette. And, of course, always bring a good attitude!
Keep this information handy so that you and your parents can refer to it all year. And let's make it a GREAT ONE!