Writing

 We have been working since the first week of school on how to write our thoughts down concisely onto paper. This is easier said than done! I have been working them up to our process of writing using the format RACES. This stands for:

Restate

Answer

Cite evidence

Explain

Sum it up

When students write this year I am looking for ALL of this! We have been writing opinion pieces so far, and it did bring up the question of how you don't need the "c" for cite evidence for something about yourself. However, if your evidence comes from something else, like a story, you must cite it. 

Example using RACES for the question, "How did Alice Coachman persevere?"

Restate: Restate the question in your sentence. "Alice Coachman persevered in many ways."

Answer: Answer the question. "Alice didn't stop running even when her father wanted her to stop, Alice didn't quit when people treated her differently because of her race, and Alice worked hard even when her teammates lost."

Cite Evidence: "According to page 33, it states that Alice's father wanted her to quit running. The text says, "...."

Explain: "When Alice decided not to quit, she won a gold medal. It proves that persevering pays off."

Sum it up: "That is how Alice Coachman persevered during the hardships she endured trying to do what she loved."

This is a really thorough example, but I am working up to them being able to do this. I want them to write down the information that they read and synthesize, then cite their sources from the text. It is a delicate balance! Some children want to only pull out quotes from the text, and others only want to write down what they read and comprehended, with no direct text evidence.

Why RACES? Why does it matter? When students take the ACAP at the end of the year this is what is expected. We want them to be successful. This also prepares them for middle school and beyond!

EXTRA RACES WRITING PRACTICE:

Vocabulary Help

 While your child is reading we want them to comprehend and think deeply about what is read. Vocabulary is a huge part of this process! This year I will be working hard on getting students to pause on unknown words. You can help your child with this at home by talking about complex words you notice with them. This can be while you are watching a show, listening to a song on the radio, or reading. "Hey, did you hear them say 'expeditious'? What do you think that means? What clues did you use to come to that conclusion?" Together you can talk about the roots, prefixes, suffixes, and context. Modeling our thought process on how we pause on tricky words will help them think deeply about the vocabulary in their books and the world around them. We want them to be curious!

Here is a vocabulary word map you can use to help your child work through and dig deeper into the meaning of words. If your child is struggling to figure out what words mean in context or through breaking the word apart independently, this helps walk them through that process. It is a guide that will help them externally until they internalize the process of looking at all the parts of a word to determine the meaning. 

Online Storybook

 To access your child's online storybook, they can do so through their CLEVER which can be accessed via the MCS bookmarks on the Chromebook. 

1. Click "Clever"

2. Click "McGraw Hill"

3. Find our story! :)

Here are the stories we're reading this week from our book:

The Inventor’s Secret: What Thomas Edison Edison Told Henry Ford

The Marble Champ:

The Track Queen

One Small Step

The Great Serum Race

Hatchet Pt. 1

Hatchet Pt. 2

Monsoon From Myth to Modern Science

Making Waves

Critter Crossing

Salmon Creek

A Year on Bowie Farm

A Handful of Dirt

Island Treasure

Check back next week to see a new story!