We are culminating our Rules, Rights, and Responsibilities units this week coming up and the kids have gotten a great concept of the social studies unit of why we have rules, who makes the rules, what are rights, and how responsibilities impact rule following. We also bridged the concepts to laws and we will move right into American symbols/citizenship. The best part is we really focused on teaching the opinion and informative text types in writing in this unit (with heavy focus on opinion). Even though our set writing block was narrative, the kids were able to navigate both. I think it worked because we clearly defined the text types and kept referring to them on our writing wall, which displays all three text types (across one topic). I also feel it worked because we teach informative text reading (social studies or science) and fiction reading (narrative text) in two blocks. The narrative text was Bud's Day Out, which was a story about a dog who did not follow the rules. The informative text was a mix of the Rules and Rights articles/mini-books from the unit and the Social Studies text. Again, the connecting texts help the kids make meaning and cement it. In the Rules, Rights, Responsibilities unit we also read mentor text opinion pieces. This was great because usually kids don't get a chance to really read opinion text. We just expect them to write it. The kids wrote yesterday about what they felt the most important rule was, and I was really amazed at how they had internalized the parts of opinion. Yay! If interested in the unit, below is a link. I'm trying to get the narrative unit out too... I'll keep you posted!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rules-Rights-Responsibilities-Common-Core-Close-Reading-Unit-1335960
-Valerie
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