The Rennicorns filled their bowl!  Our PJ celebration was well deserved!

Student Blogs

We've been blogging!  Scroll down to the bottom of our page to check out some of our work! What's most impressive is to see the students in action, helping each other, teaching how make each other's blogs more interactive and interesting.  Some have even set up there sites to be read any any language (using Google Translator)!

Argument Writing

We've been busy this trimester writing arguments.  It's a fun process to dig into a controversial subject, look at the pros and cons of each side, and then pick a side to write an well-crafted argument.  We have thought about if schools should serve chocolate milk in schools, despite concerns about added sugar.  We've looked at the environmental impact and waste of disposable water bottles and weighed that with the convenience and portability they provide. Also, students placed themselves back in America in 1776 and debated reasons why the colonists should or should not break away from Great Britain.

One of the first obstacles is sifting through lots of information given through several articles/websites.  One strategy we used was to read small sections, decide the main idea, and then add a word, phrase, and a picture in the margin.  If we come across a similar main idea in another article, we used the same phrase and picture.  This is called annotating the text.

Then, we had to synthesize all of the information and focus in on three of the most compelling reasons for our argument, followed up with the BEST possible evidence to prove our thesis. 

Another strategy we used, was to write out evidence from different articles, cut them into small chunks, and try to group similar ideas together.

Once we have our reasons and evidence, then we worked as writers to get beyond "cut and paste."  In other words, we didn't just rearrange the information, we explained how it connected and added our own original thoughts about the information.
This gives each writer's paper its own voice!

Book Talks

Students have been meeting their independent reading goals.  One routine we really enjoy is giving book talks.  This is an opportunity for students to buzz about books, create excitement, and polish those public speaking skills!

Getting Things Done and Having Fun!

We've been working hard, getting things done, and taking time to still have some fun! Our class set a goal to increase our level of cleanliness and personal organization - As you can see from our chip bowl, we rocked! 

Here's a picture of our class celebrating the success of our school-wide goal. Don't they look great with mustaches and beards?

Upon completing our last goal, the students wanted to celebrate by having a 20 minute nap...and yes, some students actually fell asleep!

Writing!

Our class has been writing personal narratives.  Starting off, it's helpful for students to understand that real writers often get writers block, and they use strategies to come up with story ideas. We have been using strategies to generate story ideas. Example: Think of someone important to you.  Think of small moments in time you have spent with this person.

With many story option to choose from, students have been at work drafting and redrafting, using all of the strategies and skills they know of to write great personal narratives.  

After writing some pieces, students started coming up to me and asking, "How does this measure up?" What a GREAT question!  What's important is that the students themselves have some idea of what to look for in quality writing.  We brainstormed some ideas, and here are some of the traits they came up with:

Great narratives give the writer an experience-not a summary.

Great narratives don't try to tell the entire story using only dialogue. 

Great narratives include a lot of interesting details.

They're on the right track! Great narrative writing should have an emotional impact on readers and be full of much imagery and sensory details. 

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This week, we planned how we could deliver such an experience to our readers.  We came up with a story line that we would all use to apply a new strategy: Little Billy becomes unhinged when his mother buys him an apple at the ice cream stand.  We wanted our reader to INFER that Billy was mad - to FEEL his anger.

...People don't plan to fail.  They fail to plan. We planned ways that characters reveal themselves: by what they say, think, and do.   Also we discussed how 90% of what we communicate to others is non-verbal, so we planned body clues (like balling up his fists or veins popping out his neck) for the piece. 

With the planning complete, students went to work drafting their pieces.  

After we were done, we used different colored pencils to circle sentences containing one of the four categories:  Say, Think, Body Clues, Actions

Students then analyzed their work to see how they were able to use different types of details to make their character dynamically alive!

Finally, students went back to their own personal narratives and did the same type of analysis.  Many students had an "a-ha" moment and became aware of a practical strategy that could help them bring their narratives to life.

Example of student work (written by Zach):

One beautiful Sunday afternoon, Billy and his mom were out for a walk when Billy saw an ice cream stand. "Mommy, can we get something?"

"OK, but don't spoil your appetite!" 

Billy's freckles shined as he showed his missing teeth.  I hope they nave cookie dough! Billy thought.

"Hi, can I get an apple?" Billy heard his mom say.

Who's getting an apple? Billy thought.  Is this a joke?

"Here you go, Billy," said his mom, handing him an apple.

Oh, you're going to pay, Mommy, thought Billy. All of a sudden, he threw the apple on the ground and said, " I HATE YOU!  AHHHHHH!" Billy had smoke coming out of his ears, and veins were popping out of his neck.  With his bright red face and slanted eyebrows, Billy looked sort of funny.  With growing rage, he shouted, "Give me ice cream, NOW!" Everybody was staring as he started jumping on the table.  Suddenly, he kicked his mom in the face and shouted, "THBBTTHH" as spit fired like a machine gun out of his mouth and on to his mom.  

"BILLY! The apple was for ME! I just wanted you to hold it while I order you ice cream. NO ICE CREAM NOW!" His mom said full of anger.  

"Oopsies," said Billy quietly. 

Homework

Students and Families,

Please look for next week's homework that came today (with many other notices-including picture day forms).  Take some time to look over the homework policy at the bottom, and let me know if you have any feedback. The same cover sheet will be used each week and will allow you to keep track of your child's progress in meeting their first trimester goals.

HOMEWORK  Policy:

•          Assigned Friday: Due following Friday

•          H.W. should take about 50 min per night (4 nights per week). Students missing school work will have more.

•        There’s no expectation that students work on H.W. over the weekend; however, this provides some flexibility for families with hectic evenings full of extra-curricular activities.

•         Completed packets are the expectation every week. Students may ask for help Mon-Thurs, but there’s not time on Fridays.  Plan ahead: look through the pack early in the week.

•         Packets are discussed and corrected as a class and are not sent back home. Use the H.W. cover sheet to help you track progress each week.