The units definitely spiral; it looks as though there are several different units focusing on reading strategies and non-fiction writing. I am curious if there is an equal focus on non-fiction and fiction texts? I think it will be a change focusing on non-fiction or another area for an entire month. Right now, we do a lot of changing topics and focuses week after week.
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LeeAnne Peterson
4/29/2013 06:39:37 am
I agree with Brittany. You can see where the units will build and spiral around. I think this will help solidify learning. I like the idea of focusing on a particular unit of study for a longer period of time. I wonder where all the books I love will fit in?
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Ashley Phinney
4/29/2013 07:08:27 am
I am noticing that the topics come back again and are focused on for a longer period of time. I think this a great opportunity for teaching deeper comprehension and reinforcing strategies so that students do not forget about them. The first paragraph on pg. 2 has a great point about reminding students to not forget the topic that is NOT being focused on at the time. This layout provides support in that area instead of changing everything week after week as Brittany mentioned. One difference for me will be the addition of dramatizing characters and reading clubs.
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Bethany
4/29/2013 07:11:03 am
I think Calkins does a great job of spiraling and spreading the units out throughout the year. Even though it spirals, the content goes deeper as the year progresses. This ensures students engage in the HOT that we want. Nonfiction is definitely a focus in Calkins and CCSS, but it walks hand-in-hand with her writing units.
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Kayla
4/29/2013 07:21:22 am
The units do a great job of spiraling. In the past these have aligned well with the writing units of study. I am curious if this will still be the case with the new units of study in writing that will be coming out. There is a good blend of nonfiction/fiction in these units. It seems that there is a bigger focus of nonfiction but with all of the character studies the fiction focus goes deeper in that realm.
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Kimberly
4/29/2013 07:25:32 am
The order of topics seems to teach our students to become more independent readers. At the beginning of the year in order to meet our students' needs we do need to start with where they are at by helping them "build good habits." As the topics build so do their stamina and independence and they are able to handle more challenging skills. Our teachers have been using their resource throughout the year so we are all familiar with it.
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Laura Happel
4/29/2013 07:26:18 am
I feel that Calkins does a great job of spiraling and building on each topic. I personally think this is great! This allows teachers to go deeper into more complex concepts as the year progresses. Spiraling also helps students not forget concepts that were taught previously.
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Kelly Dunn
4/30/2013 02:20:43 am
Calkins does a great job at spiraling throughout the year. She begins the first unit of study by building a concrete foundation that you build upon with each unit of study. It really helps the students be able to connect to what they already know if they have studied it in previous units instead of jumping all around. I feel like there will be more of a headstrong focus in the direction that we need to go for reading next year.
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Maria Monier
4/30/2013 04:15:14 am
Caulkins does a great job building upon skills in reading in order to teach children to become more independent with their learning. It seems like their is a good balance between fictiion and non fiction skills that are introduced and taught.
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Whitney Rand
4/30/2013 07:05:29 am
It seems as though Calkins has worked hard to make the units build on one another. I like how each unit adds a different aspect of reading while encouraging students to not forget what they have previously learned. We have started to integrate science and social studies topics into reading and writing. Calkins supports this practice in Unit 8 where she encourages students to become experts on a particular science topic through reading nonfiction texts. This promotes independent research and scientific inquiry skills.
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Dana Beck
4/30/2013 07:18:03 am
I've always had my students alternated between fiction and non-fiction, but this will put more of a focus on non-fiction unit of study. Also Calkins seems to encourage students to become researchers while learning to read and write.
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Debbie Harden
5/1/2013 02:40:07 pm
The spiral of the units will keep kids learning and maintaining skills throughout the year. There seems to be a good balance of work on fiction and nonfiction texts.
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Lori Sevon
6/17/2013 09:18:55 am
Calkins does a good job of spiraling the units. The units are definitely more rigorous and following this spiral will push our students to the level of rigor that is necessary for the CCSS.
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Shelly Williamson
6/18/2013 04:01:12 am
I like the idea of being able to focus longer on a certain area. This allows for deeper comprehension. I feel Calkins does a good job of spiraling the units. This is great for practicing and maintaining the skills learned throughout the year.