Weekly update:
This week in English Language Arts, our fourth and fifth graders began Unit 5 in Savvas MyView, where we officially kicked off our poetry unit. Poetry encourages creativity, strong vocabulary use, and deeper thinking about language, and students were excited to explore it in new ways.
Below is a snapshot of what your child worked on this week:
📘 Fourth Grade – Unit 5, Week 1
Focus: Introduction to Poetry
Fourth graders learned what makes poetry different from stories and informational texts. We explored poems together and discussed how poets use words to help readers imagine, feel, and hear what is happening.
Skills we practiced:
Identifying elements of poetry (rhymes, repetition, line breaks, and stanzas)
Understanding the speaker of a poem
Determining the poem’s message or theme
Using descriptive word choice to create imagery
Vocabulary words:
vivid
reflect
murmur
glisten
pattern
Writing focus:
Students began writing their own poems using sensory details and strong word choice. They drafted short poems and practiced revising to make their writing more expressive.
📕 Fifth Grade – Unit 5, Week 1
Focus: Analyzing and Writing Poetry
Fifth graders went deeper into poetry by analyzing how structure and figurative language help convey meaning. Students read and discussed poems closely and supported their ideas using text evidence.
Skills we practiced:
Analyzing figurative language (similes, metaphors, personification)
Understanding how poem structure affects meaning
Identifying theme and tone
Comparing ideas across poems
Vocabulary words:
symbolize
contrast
imagery
interpret
structure
Writing focus:
Students planned and drafted original poems, focusing on showing emotions through imagery rather than simply telling. They worked on revising their poems to improve word choice and flow.
✨ How You Can Support at Home
Ask your child to read a poem aloud and explain what it means
Encourage them to point out words they find interesting or powerful
Invite them to write a poem about something they enjoy or notice at home
We look forward to continuing our poetry unit next week as students revise, publish, and share their work. Thank you for your continued support!
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