Take a Peek at Our Week!

In writing this week, we worked on adding counterclaim/rebuttal statements to address the other side of the argument for our chocolate milk debate. We discussed ideas for where to place these statements within our essays as a way to strengthen our arguments. Students used the statements as hooks, final thoughts, and transitions between body paragraphs.

 At the end of the week, we self assessed our chocolate milk essays using the argument rubric. Students scored themselves for each section of the rubric and then met with a peer so that they could get additional feedback. Students were extremely honest with themselves and critically reviewed their writing to look for areas needing growth. Next, students selected two areas from the rubric to focus on and revised their essays accordingly. Next week students will be selecting their own debatable topics for their second argument essays!

In lang & lit, we worked on analyzing multiple resources for a debatable topic. We explored analyzing different types of resources (charts, graphs, etc. ) as a way to view evidence differently. Students then responded in writing using our RACCE strategy to express where they stand based on the evidence collected. This week, we added elaboration to our RACCE responses to explain our evidence more clearly.

We also worked on sharpening our accountable talk skills this week. First, we practiced in small groups to discuss several debatable topics and kept track of how many accountable talk statements we used. Next, we had an "electronic chalk talk" using Padlet to practice the same skills. The students did a fantastic job!

In individuals & society we began to discuss our rights and the U.S. Constitution. We started by having a chalk talk in which students discussed rules/expectations in our classroom, rules/expectations across the school, what a good citizen in our school looks like, and what rights every student deserves in our classroom. There was one area that was "CLOSED" during the chalk talk-"making changes or additions to the rules/expectations to our classroom". This was done purposely to help students understand the importance of having a voice (voting), and being able to make changes to the structure and daily operations of our classroom. Next week, we will finish this discussion by making connections to the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution.

A few reminders:
*Report Cards are now live on the Infinite Campus parent portal. I posted the links earlier in the week to help you if you encounter difficulties!
*Tuesday, March 12th is a half day-dismissal @ 11:10.


 Have a great weekend!!!