Jose'! Born to Dance

                                 Jose'! Born to Dance 
                                                      by Susanna Reich

Essential Question:
What does it take to be a great performer?

Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart andwith all your soul and with all your mind and withall your strength.’

This week is all about creativity! We will

explore the question “What does it take to

be a great performer?” In the biographical

selection José! Born to Dance, we’ll read

about a man who learns to express himself

through dance. We’ll also read the poetry

selection Dance to the Beat, about dancing

and rhythm.

Vocabulary

debut

stubborn

permission

hauling

mournful

towered

triumph

discouraged

 toured 

border

Spelling

learn

dirty 

worn

sore

thirst

burn

record

cure

board

course

worth

early 

return

pure

world 

search

worse

thirteen

sport

current

Target skills

Author's Purpose

Simile and Metaphor

Grammar

Pronouns

Dear Mr. Winston

Dear Mr. Winston

from When I Went to the Library

This week students will explore the question "What are some different way to do research?"

"Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

2Chronicles 1:10

In the realistic fiction selection "Dear Mr. Winston," from When I Went to the Library, students will read a letter of apology that conveys more than the simple message "I'm sorry for bringing my snake into the library!"

Spelling

spark

prepare

cheer

tear

scarf

scare

repair

earring

scarce

weird

sharp

rear

spare

gear

hairy

compare

alarm

harsh

upstairs

square

Vocabulary

fault

borrow

reference

fainted

genuine

local

apologize

proof

slimy

insisted

Target Skill 

Conclusions and Generalizations

Grammar

Compound and Complex Sentences

Me and Uncle Romie

by Claire Hartfield

                       Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue

Big Question: How do an artist's experiences affect his or her art?
Proverbs 15:30 -Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart and good news gives health to the bones.

This week we'll explore the question "How does what an artist experiences affect his or her art?" IN the realistic fiction selection Me and Uncle Romie, students will read about a collage artist Romie Bearden. 

Spelling
aloud
bald
hawk
south
faucet
proud
claw
tower
stalk
couple
howl
false
dawn
allow
drown
pause
fault
cause
amount
cloudier

Vocabulary
glorious
studio
concerned
model
smeared
ruined yanked
streak
schedule
feast
Target Skill and Strategy
Understanding Characters
Visualize

Coming Distractions 

Questing Movies

Informational 

Text

Big Question:
How are movies a form of communication?
"And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." 
Heb. 13:16

This week we’ll ask ourselves “How are movies a form of

communication?” We’re going to read the informational text Coming Distractions: Questioning Movies, about the methods filmmakers use to express ideas and influence an audience. We’ll also read How Do They Do That?, an informational text about the use of special effects in movies.

Spelling

bloom

cookbook

tool

shampoo

put

wool

stool

proof

prove

group

brook

foolish

bush

crooked

booth raccoon

hook

groom

roof

soup

Vocabulary

entertaining

promote

focus

advertise

jolts

critics

target

thrilling

angles

generated

Comprehension Skills
Fact and Opinion

Grammar
Verb Tense

The Power of W.O.W.
by Crystal Hubbard

Wow! Your children love to learn! We had a great week of learning about how children receive an education in remote places.This week we will answer the question “Why might people raise money for a cause?” the play The Power of W.O.W.!, students will read about how a group of children help

raise money for a worthy cause.

Big Question: Why might people raise money for a cause?

Col 3:23 " Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,"

Spelling Words:

block

shown

oatmeal

wrote

fellow

scold

coast

odd

locate

slope

throat

host

online

shock

solve

known

remote

stock

boast

globe

Vocabulary Words:

assist

burglaries

innocent

scheme

regretfully

misjudged

suspect

favor

speculated

prior

Comprehension Skill:

Theme

Comprehension Strategy
Analyze/Evaluate

Grammar:

Fragments and Run-On Sentences

                   My Librarian Is a Camel
                                                      written by Margriet Ruurs

Your children are wonderful learners. Last week they made lots of text/text and text/self connections with our story. This week they will investigate and answer the question "How are books and libraries important to people and communities?" In the informational text My Librarian Is a Camel, students will read about the unique ways librarians deliver books to communities in remote areas around the world..

Big Question: How are books and libraries important to people and communities?

"Blessed are those who find wisdom , those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold." Prov. 3:13

  

Target Vocabulary:

Isolated

virtual

devour

remote

impassable

access

obtain

preserve

extremes

avid

Spelling:

skill

crime

grind

tonight

brick

flight

live

chill

delight

build

ditch

decide

witness

wind

district

inch

sigh

fright

remind

split

Grammar skill:

 Quotations

Comprehension Skill:

Cause and effect - tell how events are related and how one event causes another

Comprehension Strategy:

Visualize- use text details to form pictures in your mind of what your are reading

Lesson 24

                                                                         
                                                              Owen and Mzee

This week, we’ll ask the question “How can animal behavior be like human behavior?”

In the narrative nonfiction selection Owen & Mzee, we’ll learn how environmental

changes led to an unusual bond between two very different animals. We’ll also read

the informational text Sea Sanctuary, about what we are doing to protect endangered

underwater habitats.

Spelling

hundred

supply

single

middle

explain

surprise

pilgrim

sandwich

instead

complete

monster

settle

address

farther

sample

although

turtle

athlete

orchard

kingdom

Vocabulary

bond

suffered

intruder

companion

enclosure

inseparable

charged

chief

exhausted

affection

Target Skill and Strategy

Compare and Contrast

Fact and Opinion

Author's Word Choice

Analyze/Evaluate

   

Lesson 23

  Ever-Living Tree 

   by Linda Vieira

Lesson 23 
Genesis 1:29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

Essential Question:   How do forests and trees show change?

This week we ask the question “How do forests and trees show change?” In our informational text The Ever-Living Tree,we’ll compare the growth of a tree to events taking place throughout the world. We’ll also read Towering Trees, a poetry selection about the redwoods.

Spelling

poster

secret

whether

author

rocket

bushel

agree

bucket

ticket

declare

chicken

clothing

apron

whiskers

degree gather

achieve

rather

bracket

machine

Target Vocabulary

resources

dense

evaporate

shallow

moisture

civilized

continent 

opportunities

customs 

independent

Target Skill

Text and Graphic Features

Text Structure

Smilies

Target Strategies

Monitor/Clarify

Lesson 21

                                       

The World According to Humphrey

Essential Question: How can media be a distraction?


"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Luke 16:13


This week we'll begin by asking, "How can media be a distraction?" In the fantasy selection The Work According to Humphrey, we'll read about a pet hamster whol changes a family's leisure habits. We'll also read the informational advertisement Make the Switch, which persuades us to make some changes in our own leisure habits.

Spelling

event humor rapid music relief

planet

detail

unite

frozen

figure

siren

polite

hotel

prtest

punish

defend

relay 

habit

student

moment

Vocabulary

appreciate

blaring

combination

promptly

introduce

nocturnal

feats

effort

suggest

racket

Target Skill and Strategy

Theme

Point of View

Idioms

Summarize

Grammar

Comparative and Superlative

Adjectives and Adverbs

Lesson 19

Harvesting Hope 

by Kathleen Krull

Essential Question: Why is farming important?

Joshua 24:13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

"Why is farming important?" That's the question we'll explore this week. In the biographical selection Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, we'll learn about the man who brought the plight of migrant farm workers to national attention. This week's informational text, The Edible Schoolyard, tells students how to become community leaders by creating a school garden.

Spelling

colorful

weakness 

movement

endless

truthful

illness

cheerful

useless

beautiful

restless

clumsiness

pavement

peaceful

fondness

neatness

speechless

statement

wasteful

penniless

treatment

Vocabulary

overcome

association

capitol

drought

dedicate

publicity

violence

conflicts

horizon

brilliant

Target Skill & Strategy

Conclusions and Generalizations

Problem and Solution

Idioms

Infer/Predict

Grammar

Relative Pronouns and Adverbs

 California Gold Rush!

                                                                                       by Sid Fleischman

"The year is 1849 and the California Gold Rush is on. Together with his butler Praiseworthy, young Jack Flagg sets out to save his pretty Aunt Arabella's fortune. On a ship bound from Boston to the California gold fields, they stow away in potato barrels . . . and their wild, swashbuckling adventures begin."
From the back cover of By the Great Horn Spoon
This book takes a humorous look at the adventure of the California Gold Rush. It is an entertaining historical fiction.
Who is Sid Fleischman?


This week as part of our study of the California Gold Rush we will be reading By the Great Horn Spoon. We will be learning about two characters that set sail from Boston to California to strike it rich! We will be reading and analyzing the story together, along with doing some projects to help us understand the magnitude and effects of the Gold Rush.

What is the California Gold Rush? 
                     
What is Gold Fever?  
n 


How to pan for gold?




Early Mining Methods





Life as a 49er 

Another link

Lesson 16

Riding Freedom

by Pam Munoz Ryan

Essential Question: "What traits do successful people have?"

1 Chronicles 22:13 (NIV)

1 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

This week we'll ask "What traits do successful people have?" In the historical fiction selection Riding Freedom, a young woman faces great obstacles as she pursues her dream of driving a stagecoach. We'll also read about the obstacles faced by a man who drills for oil in the informational text Spindletop.

Spelling
words with /k/, /ng/, and /kw/
risky
track
topic
blank
question
pocket
monkey
junk
equal
ache
public
attack
struck
earthquake
picnic
banker
electric
blanket
mistake
stomach

 Vocabulary
escorted 
swelled
relied
reputation
worthy
churning
situation
deserve
defended
satisfied

Target Skill and Strategy
Compare and Contrast
Monitor and clarify

Grammar
Adjectives

Lesson 12

by Laurence Yep

Essential Question: How do natural disasters affect people?

When natural forces are at work, the result can be awesome! This week we'll explore the question "How do natural disasters affect people?" The first reading selection will be The Earth Dragon Awakes, a piece of historical fiction set during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. We'll also read an informational text, Twisters, which provides interesting facts about tornadoes.

Spelling Words

rising

traced

stripped

slammed

dancing

striped

sinning

snapping

bragging

handled

dripped

begged

dared

skipped

hitting

spotted

raced

dimmed

spinning

escaped

Vocabulary Words

trembles

wreckage

slab

possessions

tenement

crushing

rubble

debries

timbers

constructed

Target Skill and Strategies

Sequence of Events 

Conclusions and Generalizations

Visualize