This last week found us beginning work on expository paragraph structure and construction. In contrast to our narrative work so far this year, expository paragraph writing asks the writer to be primarily a teacher, not a storyteller. This requires specific and purposeful planning and structure- a structure that we find repeated into the most complex of expository works in both professional and academic spheres. For this reason we begin with our paragraph work by using color-coding and quick reminder visuals to help student internalize the structures of expository writing. We begun with shared writing experiences based on the maps of the United States that we created during our geography unit. Topic sentences, followed by detail and explanation sentences, were ended with conclusion sentences that help remind the reader of the purpose of the piece. These sentence types are supported by transitional words- sometimes ordinal, sometimes comparative, sometimes procedural. They are also supported by color coding. Green signals the topic sentence as the beginning of the paragraph (“this is what the paragraph is about.”). Yellow requires the writer to slow down and teach something about the topic. Red signals explanations which either expand upon or expelling the detail. We are back to green for the conclusion sentence which restates the purpose of the paragraph in new words.
Over the course of this week we will transition away from shared writing experiences in this genre and towards more independent expressions of the expository paragraph. Writing about the fictional maps they have created and a favorite place in the world will be the comfortable and familiar topics from which to build our writing. In the future, the expectation will be that each second grader will be able to take what they know about a given subject and translate it into a coherent expository paragraph and later into several paragraph essays. This is exciting work and the kids are well on their way.
Please keep in mind that Friday the 30th is the date of our Halloween Parade, followed by the class presentation of “The Ugly Pumpkin”. Students will be at work memorizing their lines during the next two weeks. If you’d like to bring a pumpkin-themed treat please feel free to sign up through our class website.
Hopefully your Rosetta Stone Language work is going well at home. Please let me know if I can help get you set up for home use. For a quick reminder:
Web-based:
1.Navigate to /delmar.rosettastoneclassroom.com/en-US/
2. Enter username as “first name-lastname”. For example, my username would be "andrew-smith”.
3. Enter the same password as Dreambox.
4. Aprende una idioma nueva
App Based:
1. Download app: “Learn Languages: Rosetta Stone”
2. Click the “enterprise and Education learners” button
3. Enter username as “first name-lastname”. For example, my username would be "andrew-smith”.
4. Enter the same password as Dreambox.
5. Enter “delmar” in the online portal section
6. Aprende una idioma nueva
This Week’s Highlights
October 12-16
Phonics and word study focus
Long vowels, Nouns and verbs working together
Reading focus
Comprehension focus: Author Study, Chris Van Allsburg,
Close reading: connections and readers’ questions
Book club individualized strategy lessons: Lessons created for specific skill outcomes based on individual and group needs
Focus books: Van Allsburg, Halloween, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Writing focus
Conventions- Spacing, Feeling ending of sentences, Periods and Capitals,
Writing skill- Showing/Telling, Narrative structure and the writing process
Topical writing- expository, My Fictional land
Math focus
Full Math workshop (mystery number, number decomposition, word problem, independent practice, personal challenge and three math routines)
Math journal problem solving through visual models
Individualized challenges
Computation- Doubles arrays
Social Studies focus
Government
Science focus
Mrs. Minarik’s Science Lab
Homework
Daily reading and homework packet
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