Language Arts

Since winter break, we have focused on California native peoples. We continue our literary and historical analysis of the Island of the Blue Dolphins; and have delved into comparing different native California cultures. We enjoyed an awesome field trip to the SC Mission, which focused on the cross-cultural impacts between the Ohlone and Spanish. A big thank you to Bear, Shannon, and Jess for leading learning stations on that trip.

We have spent much time learning how to read and write informational text, using native Californians as a vehicle for these language arts skills. 
As examples-After practicing all together about ‘shell money’, the children worked in groups to read, take notes on, and present about various modes of transportation and housing. On the field trip, the kids were able to touch and analyze shell money!
They used their Word Books to assist them in spelling dictation sentences about the key themes we have read about and discussed. Various lessons focused on the concepts of the vocabulary words “territory” and “dialect.” Later, they read and wrote about these topics, citing evidence from their reading.

During Valentine’s week, we focused on poetry. They picked their own topics, and also wrote about Karana, the protagonist in Island of the Blue Dolphins. It was great for them to express their understanding of the story in a poetry format. Specifically, they learned how to create a cinquain poem. This 5-line poem not only reflected their knowledge of the book, but also reviewed various parts of speech such as verbs, adjectives, and synonyms.

The Poetry Projects are awesome!! Come check them out all together in the rug room. Highlights include the multitude of Shel Silverstein projects and the various pop stars who (gasp!) write their own music. Many of the students chose to read these poems aloud at our annual Valentine’s Day poetry jam. All kids have been sharing their projects in class, while the other students listen actively by taking structured notes during the presentation.

We are grateful to have Katy and Matt working with us every Tuesday. This day, we work on fine tuning our reading and writing skills in a smaller setting.