Mastering Reading Comprehension (5th & 6th Grades)

Improve reading comprehension skills while learning test taking strategies and gain confidence on standardized reading tests.  This ongoing course will prepare your child for standardized reading tests by learning test taking tips, while focusing on a Common Core Reading Comprehension skill each week. Students will learn and strengthen reading comprehension skills by using them in authentic ways, and then integrating those comprehension and test taking skills together, so students not only become better test takers, but better life long readers.  

We will use a variety of materials in weekly classes, such as high interest reading passages, visuals, or short films to apply the reading skill of the week.  The format of the class will vary based on the skill for that week.  Later in the course we will apply the comprehension strategies learned while completing practice reading test passages.  At the end of each day's class we will practice the skill we learned that day with a fun game of Blooket or Gimkit to solidify skills in an engaging way.

*Note: Classes do not build upon the prior class each week; students may join class at any time.*

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SCHEDULE FOR FALL 2024-SPRING 2025 MONDAY CLASS:
April 21 - Character change
April 28 - Point of view
May 5 - How setting affects characters
May 12 - Mood and tone
May 19 (Last class) - Test taking strategies with fiction passages


SCHEDULE FOR FALL 2025
Week of 9/7 - Inferencing
Week of 9/14- Summarizing
Week of 9/21 - Character Change/Development
Week of 9/28 - How an Author Develops a Point of View
NO CLASS WEEK OF 10/5
Week of 10/12 - Compare and Contrast Two Themes
Week of 10/19 - How Visual Elements Contribute to Meaning and Tone
Week of 10/26 - Test Taking Strategies with Fiction Passages
Week of 11/2 - Nonfiction Central Idea
NO CLASS WEEK OF 11/9
Week of 11/16 - Nonfiction Summarizing
Week of 11/23 - Author's Purpose
Week of 11/30 - Author's Reasons and Evidence
Week of 12/7 - Context Clues
Week of 12/14 - Test Taking Strategies with Nonfiction Passages

SCHEDULE FOR SPRING 2026
Week of 1/4 - Inferencing
Week of 1/11 - Summarizing
Week of 1/18 - Point of View and How Point of View Affects How a Story is Told
Week of 1/25 - How a Setting Affects Characters
NO CLASS WEEK OF 2/1
Week of 2/8 - How a Setting Affects Plot
Week of 2/15 - Test Taking Strategies with Fiction Passages
Week of 2/22 - Figurative Language
Week of 3/1 - Figurative Language
NO CLASS WEEK OF 3/8
Week of 3/15 - Poetry
Week of 3/22 - Poetry
Week of 3/28 - Test Taking Passages with Poetry


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Each weekly class will be structured as follows:
Introductions/Ice Breaker
Review of skill 
Modeling of skill as we begin to read the text/short story/short film of the day
Guided and Independent Practice of skill while reading the text of the day
Blooket or Gimkit game to review skill to end the class (As time permits/if applicable to skill)