Take a Peek at Our Week!

We had a wonderful week! I apologize for the lack of photos this week...my phone decided it was on its last leg and wouldn't cooperate!

In lang & lit, we worked on our next notice & note strategy, again & again. When students notice that the same word, phrase, or situation is repeated, they stop and ask themselves why and make inferences about how it impacts the text. We practiced with a short story (Something Beautiful) and a passage (excerpts from Hatchet). I am so impressed with how quickly students are able to learn these strategies!! In reading groups, we finished up our work with summarizing. We continued to read about individuals who suffered adversity and discussed how that shaped their identity. Next week, we will be working on our FINAL notice & note strategy (contrasts & contradictions) and main idea in reading groups using texts on early civilizations which aligns with our I&S planner!

In writing, I gave students feedback for their summaries from last week and we edited our work. For our second summary, students read the short story, The Penny Tree. After they completed their summaries, we practiced giving each other feedback this time. I am so impressed with the quality of suggestions that students make to each other. They are thinking deeply, reflecting on their own work, and helping their peers to grow. Wow!! We also unpacked the informational writing rubric....it's time to start our first genre of the year! Students worked in groups to discuss each section of the rubric in order to identify what is expected and put the sections into student friendly language. This helps students understand what they need to do as we progress through our lessons for the genre. Students also set goals for the genre and identified what they can already do and what was new to them this year using Google forms.

In individuals & society, we researched the food and homes of our expert civilizations. After each round of research, students were asked to assess their comfort level on a scale of 1-4. Students then paired up with a peer who either could help them or one that they could help and worked together to go over the research, work out challenging sections, and also share quality resources. The students shared at the end of this experience that they felt supported by each other. They also expressed that even though the research was difficult at times, knowing that they would be able to work it out with a friend later helped them persist. I am so proud that we have a classroom culture where students feel comfortable recognizing when they need help and asking for it. Such mature learners!!!

Reminders for Next Week:

*Red Ribbon Week 10/28-11/1:

Monday- PJ Day (no slippers please)

Tuesday-Twin Day

Wednesday-Wear Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

Thursday-Wear Halloween Colors (no costumes please)

Friday-Cadet Pride

*Swimming on P.E. Days 10/28-11/15

*10/31 Early Release Day and Halloween Breakfast

*11/1 D.A.R.E.

Have a great weekend!

~Mrs. Carr