4th and 5th Grade Newsroom

Introduction to Empty Books (by Mrs. Lind)

Newsroom is a language arts class. Language includes reading, writing and oral communications. It is an art because although there are rules, it is a hugely creative endeavor crafted uniquely by your heart and mind. There are 500,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary and over one million when you include new and technical words. The average educated person knows 20,000 words and uses 2,000 in a week. Can you imagine the number of ways even those 2,000 words can be combined?

The purpose for exploring language arts is to focus our attention on the craft of combining written words, to more fully appreciate what we read and hear, recognize the elements and style used, and to be able to more clearly express our thoughts.

We are going to begin this exploration with a unit titled Empty Book. It is just the beginning of a process you will continue to develop the rest of your life. It is a process you will also use in other areas of learning using the skills of noticing, exploring, reflecting and applying.

You will select pieces of literature from a variety of genres – fantasy, historical fiction, humor, poetry, non-fiction, newspaper articles, to name a few. You will share your selection with the class and explain why you chose it, how it affected you, what you noticed, liked or disliked. You will sample a variety of styles and elements of writing that you will reflect on and critique. You’ll also try out styles and elements of well written pieces. You’ll be filling your Empty Book with these pieces, including your own writing to further the journey of increasing your knowledge, skills, and creative talents to best put your thoughts and ideas on paper.

This will be a very fun unit where students will learn to read like writers and grow as authors!