Language Arts

This past month, the week of glorious CircOrchard reigned supreme. In the afternoons, the students continued their early US History. We wrapped up our Spanish conquest studies, while focusing on cause and effect. We are now focusing on the beginnings of the 13 colonies, while working on the skill of discerning specific research information from a large text. 

The students begin each new unit with a learning goal. At the end, they reflect on their learning and decide if they met that goal. If not, I check in with that student to support their understanding. 

We have learned about the earliest settlements, including their work on The Lost Colony at Roanoke.

We labeled colonies and studied their history and geography. In groups, they read and discerned information about one of the three colonial regions, then “puzzled out” amongst their peers to teach about their region; and learn about the other two. 

To take it a step further, they each researched 1 colony, then taught the entire class about its history and their understanding of important “notes.”

This last week before break, we are finishing up our early colonial studies by focusing on the importance of religion. The students have been note-taking, reading, and writing on this topic. 

A student who at first noted he had “not yet” made his learning goal. After clarifying with me, he was able to change his response to a “check” 

Current learning goals