Part+3.+Unpacking+the+Standards


 * What we are doing in class this year! **

== What do students need to know this year? All our teaching and learning in this classroom is connected to state standards, known as GLCE’s, teachers call them “glicks or glicky’s.” for short. The reason for them is to help all of us to decide how to work smart for student success. Sounds great, right? Well it is, but there are some problems with GLCE’s. First, there are a lot of them, and they are written in a way that makes them hard to understand. Experts recommend that we identify a few important GLCE’s, make it very obvious what they mean, and set some targets for what this will look like. We will spend the first week of school getting to know what all this means, so don’t worry about remembering all of this new information today. It will be available on the classroom website. ==

We will be focusing on two types of standards in English Language Arts (referred to as “ELA” for short). ELA is all the reading, writing, and spelling we do. I will be sharing two lists of information to start: a short list of standards, and long detailed list to help the shorter list make sense.

How I’m Sharing These Standards
I am writing out this list as detailed as possible. I also have shared lessons from the studyisland.com website. That is a great resource for practicing test items and checking progress toward fifth grade goals.

First, I have written out the standards in a way that makes sense, with the standard number (such as** R.NT.05.01) **. Second, any examples will be contained in the paragraph. Third, I have included the actual wording of the GLCE in //italics//. That way, we can all compare our new definition with the actual GLCE.

Narrative Text

 * R.NT.05.01 ** We will be reading and listening to a lot of books this year in many different genres. We will study “fiction” books, also called narratives. Many students come into fifth grade thinking of these books as “not real.” We would like to extend this thinking to include think of it as realistic, because it is real in the author’s mind, and it may be based on many things that the author has lived around. Students will have the opportunity to read stories that are considered classics, and some that will expose them to different points of view. Another great thing about fifth grade is how many award winning books we have access to. An important task will be to read these books to figure out what really makes them great, or not so great.
 * This genre is called Realistic fiction. ** This genre has characters with normal human powers are set in the real world. Realistic fiction contains characters that behave in ways that cause readers to say, “She/He acts just like I do.” Imaginative writers weave stories about characters who could live next door to the reader, but who become interesting because the reader becomes involved in their cares and concerns= // analyze how characters and communities reflect life (in positive and negative ways) in classic, multicultural, and contemporary literature recognized for quality and literary merit. // =


 * R.NT.05.02 **Students will know that **narrative genres** are types of writing that tell a story. There are many different ways an author can tell a story. Below is a list of narrative genres we will study this year.


 * Historical fiction** is a fictional story that is based on a time, event, or series of events that have taken place in history. The players or characters in the story are either entirely fictional, or they are based on a real person or persons in history. The novel Johnny Tremaine is an example of historical fiction because it is about a young boy who gets caught up in the American Revolution.


 * Fantasy** stories ask the reader to believe things that he or she normally wouldn't. Usually, the characters are transported to an imaginary world that is different from ours. Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz are examples of fantasy fiction


 * Science fiction** is a story about the future, based on guesses of how the author thinks the future will be. Most science fiction stories focus on themes like outer space, technology, and time travel.

A **mystery/suspense** story puts the character in charge of solving a crime or figuring out what's going on. The old Sherlock Holmes series is an example of mystery/suspense.


 * Fables** are short moral stories that try to teach a lesson. Fables often have animals as its characters.


 * Legends, myths, folktales, and tall tales** are stories handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical. These types of stories often attempt to explain why things are the way they are now. For example, a myth might try to explain why the sky is blue through an interesting story. A legend might explain why bears hibernate in the winter (Study Island, 2008).//=// // analyze the structure, elements, style, and purpose of narrative genre including historical fiction, tall tales, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. //

=References=

Conley, M. W. (2005). //Connecting standards and assessment through literacy//. Boston: Pearson.

Michigan Department of Education, (2005). MDE-Grade level content expectations. Retrieved June 15, 2008, from Michigan Department of Education Web site: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/5th_ELA-Intro_Ltrweb_135113_7.pdf

Silverstein, S. (1981). //A light in the attic//. New York: Harper Collins.

Stiggins, R. J. (2008). //Student-involved assessment for learning//. New Jersey: Pearson

Study Island, (2008). State testing at study island: State assessment tests, no child left behind. Retrieved June 20, 2008, from Study Island Web site: http://www.studyisland.