Annie's 100-Word Challenge post was showcased! Read and comment on it here. So much writing in our class is students' choice - and a few of our students are choosing to participate in the 100-Word Challenge on their own. lso, Tyler & Matt started geocaching as a result of my own Genius Hour project inspired by a fiction book. We even have a GPS to loan out now (sign it out here), thanks to Mrs. Stocco! Another celebration is that some students (not all - yet!) are blogging on their own - PLEASE see your child's blog posts here and comment or share with your extended family. Comments spur these writers to write even MORE! Speaking of writing, we had one more lesson on "focus" in our writing these two weeks, and we started reviewing "showing," as well. We will be choosing our final narrative prompt next week.
We read "Thank You M'am" by Langston Hughes, learned to stop and ask "Why is the character doing that?" when he or she does something unexpected, and then wrote about how this story relates to the proverb "It takes a village to raise a child." (See the entire prompt here.) We also read "Charles" and "The Three-Century Woman" - both tales that made us stop and wonder why the character was saying or doing certain things. (This is a "signpost" we learned and practiced - seen here: Contrasts and Contradictions.) New this week - student-recommended book talks!! See them here!
Another big step - students are now photographers for our movies of the week. Yes, some clips are sideways, and we'll work on reminders for horizontal instead of vertical pictures... And yes, they did use an app on one of them (with permission) - I do love their perspectives. They will be credited for the movies added on this site from now on (of course, I'll still sneak in a few).
Photos from these two weeks courtesy of Alexa, Colin M., Matt, Joe, Om, & Tyler F. THANK YOU!
We read "Thank You M'am" by Langston Hughes, learned to stop and ask "Why is the character doing that?" when he or she does something unexpected, and then wrote about how this story relates to the proverb "It takes a village to raise a child." (See the entire prompt here.) We also read "Charles" and "The Three-Century Woman" - both tales that made us stop and wonder why the character was saying or doing certain things. (This is a "signpost" we learned and practiced - seen here: Contrasts and Contradictions.) New this week - student-recommended book talks!! See them here!
Another big step - students are now photographers for our movies of the week. Yes, some clips are sideways, and we'll work on reminders for horizontal instead of vertical pictures... And yes, they did use an app on one of them (with permission) - I do love their perspectives. They will be credited for the movies added on this site from now on (of course, I'll still sneak in a few).
Photos from these two weeks courtesy of Alexa, Colin M., Matt, Joe, Om, & Tyler F. THANK YOU!