My 5th grade students are very diverse. We come from a variety of social, economic, religious, and racial backgrounds. We speak several different languages, and we perform on a variety of different academic ability levels. We all come to school each day with different gifts and talents, interests and issues, hopes and dreams.
Despite all the ways we are different, we are alike in so many ways.
We are all leaders in our school. We are all excited about learning. We LOVE to share what we know. We are curious, ask questions, and celebrate when we are successful at learning new things. Most importantly, we work hard by using everyone's unique talents to support all of our varying needs in order to succeed. We know our teamwork is what will make our dreams work!
My Project
My students love to read books, but they also enjoy shorter, more current stories. Scholastic Storyworks is the perfect resource for students to explore and learn from a variety of genres of short stories. This magazine is filled with high-interest fiction (reader's theater, poetry) and nonfiction pieces (biographies, opinion pieces). While the content and vocabulary presented challenges students, they are also improving their comprehension by being engaged and making connections to their reading. By using Storyworks magazine in large and small reading groups, students are sure to show growth in utilizing their comprehension strategies.
Making connections with a text is highly important and necessary for greater understanding.
Doing so also hooks children to want to read more! Storyworks Magazine does just this by enabling students to find links/connections to other texts that correlate with a setting, character, or problem faced they have seen in other stories. Students always want to read and learn more when they make connections to real-life people, places, and issues that they may have experienced, or may have coming in their near futures. Exposure through good stories helps them understand, and make senses of, the cultures of their peers, their socioemotional growth, and the greater world beyond.
The variety of information presented also becomes reflected in their writing, since I sometimes rely on these as mentor text to help them grow as writers. Students may be inspired by, or see a style of writing they like, using this literary resource. Scholastic Storyworks can be the motivation my young writers need to find their own voice when they write their short stories, essays, poems, or articles. Hands down, this is one of the best magazines out there that I can provided for my students!
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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