My Go-To Resources for Homework

When Nicole and Sarah from Carson-Dellosa Publishing contacted me about reviewing a few of their products, I was beyond excited to say yes.  With this being my first time in five years teaching ELA, I needed any help I could get.  And, with teaching an entire literacy block, reading, writing, and grammar, I knew I needed something for homework that could incorporate it all.  The Common Core Language Arts 4 Today is just what I needed.

This format provides daily skills practice for Day #1-#4 with an assessment to go along with it on the back.  Each night, my student have to complete the practice for that day.  On Fridays, I incorporate the assessment into my assessment day.  What I love most about this (besides its organization) is how the focus rotates.  Here's what I have noticed.  Week #1 focused on reading and reading strategies.  Week #2 focused on grammar, and week #3 will focus on writing.  It generally rotates in this pattern which I love because I can address all the needs of my students by having practice for all.  I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in assigning homework in this format.

Reading informational texts and understanding/reading the features of non-fiction text are HUGE in 5th grade.  Even though Understanding Informational Text Features is intended for grades 6-8, I use it with my higher-order thinking students as well as small group instruction for my struggling students.  

This resource addresses just about every need that a reading teacher has for informational texts.  It does a great job of having the students understand how to go about reading text features that may otherwise seem not important.  

I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to add these two resources to my classroom.  I am usually very honest about the products I review, and I am being honest when I say that I love these two books!