This week was short, but very productive.
In Writing, we finished up reviewing our 6 Traits of writing, finished reviewing the writing process and it's importance, we reviewed subject and predicate within a sentence and then we fine tuned our dictionary skills. We completed a personal narrative called, How To Survive today as well. Next week we are moving into Informative writing and this will be our first large piece of writing where students will begin conferencing with me. This will take us two weeks to complete and will include the full writing process. This is where writing GETS HARD. This is where we conference and begin the grueling process of revising, revising, revising. They will get more comfortable as time goes on, support them all you can by reminding them that hard word, diligence and endurance are the keys to success.
In Projects, We finished presenting today! The students were given the category of either a President, Supreme Court Justice or Representative. Once they were given this category, they were able to choose the individual they wanted to learn more about. They had guidelines to follow for the information they needed, as well as specific stipulations for their slide creations. The grades for these presentations were not as good as some of the students expected. They have their rubrics with my notes and their grades. They know that this is a learning process and they are not in danger of failing social studies. However, they are a diligent group of young people and so some of them are not happy with the outcome. The bar has been raised, and I am certain they will all be able to reach it!
In Community Service, Mr. Lenon has been teaching the children the parts of the brain and how it all works. The meditate almost everyday he is here as well. They have also gone outside to work on keeping our school grounds tidy. They sure do like him a lot!
In Reading, we have started our first novel called CRASH by, Jerry Spinelli. It is an excellent book for this age group. We will be focusing on theme, character development, symbolism and point of view. We are in reading groups reading the same sections each day so we can have good class discussion about what we read.
We have been working hard, and expectations have been made clear. The real work is just now beginning and I am confident in your children and their abilities. The best example was last week when we went down to our high school friends to listen to their "I Remember" poems. After each presentation, the high school presenter gave us writing tips to think about. I began asking my students which traits their writing tips pertained to- and my class nailed it every time!!
I enjoy your children very much and look forward to seeing them every morning!!
