Oct. 20th
Our random question was this: "If you were able to win any reality TV show, which would it be and what skills do you have that will help you win?" Thanks for the fun, imaginitive answers.
Next, we worked on our I Am From poems. Our focus was to write them in a more interesting way, rather than directly stating. For example, I changed "I am from Trail" to "I am from black granite rock touching deep blue azure skies." We wrote for about 10 or 15 minutes in concentrated, silent writing and then some of the poets read their answers out loud. Once again, I was super impressed. We ended with some Lockdown. It's just starting to get really good!
Week of Oct. 13th
The random question was about uninvented ice cream flavours. The winning entry was PNE mini doughnuts. Love it! We practiced making inferences and asking relevant questions based on some images we studied. We also read some I Am From poems and looked at them in more detail for lines that we liked for various reasons.
Oct. 8th
The random question was really interesting today: What is one of the most amazing things you have ever seen? Every response really was amazing. After that, I returned your encyclopedias and your Lockdown questions. We also assigned portfolio folders to everyone. Next, we looked at how to improve the encyclopedia write up by adding more detail. Students were then given time to write more encyclopedia entries. We then looked at what it meant to ask a really meaningful question that can enhance our thinking about a novel. We will apply that to our next novel response. We won't meet again for a week, so I will see you next week. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Oct. 3rd and 6th
I was away on Friday, but know that you answered a random question on whom you would have dinner with if you could choose anyone. Thank you for your Lockdown written responses.
Today we shared our ideas on world wide travel (where would you go if you could go anywhere?) I was pleased to hear a response from everyone! We practiced one more sentence adding detail before we started our first written piece. Students submitted one or two submissions for their personal encyclopedia. They were able to use any letters they wanted but had to write 2-4 sentences that met the following criteria:
1. detailed
2. interesting
3. only you could have written it
4. it means something to you.
We will keep working on these in future classes. Next, we continued with Lockdown and worked on asking questions while we read/listened. These questions were supposed to help us think more deeply about the book and should not be questions that we can look up the answer to in the reading.
Oct. 1st
After today's random time machine question, we talked about how to improve our writing by adding detail. Our goal was to get the readers' images in their heads to match the writer's imagine in his/her head. I provided a dull sentence and the class worked right away on improving them. I was super impressed with how we shared our work so willingly and how really beautiful the writing was. After we shared, I showed them the picture my boring sentences were. We had a lot of fun and the work was top quality. We ended by reading Lockdown.
Sept. 29th
We began the class today with a chat about what we were afraid of. Funnily enough, we ended up chatting a lot about bears! After, we tried another timed write and I was blown away that almost everyone broke his/her previous record! Amazing! We read the next chapter of Lockdown. For our responses today, we tried to name three options that the protagonist, Alex, could do because we left him in a very tight situation!
Sept. 26th
After a quick timed write (which was really impressive) we started the novel Lockdown. Before reading, students observed the cover to see what details they could notice. People were really observant! Also, we wrote a sentence about what we thought was the most important event in the story. Good job, all.
Sept. 24th
This is a class that was really designed just to get to know each other. We played two truths and a lie. I was most impressed with some of the students' ability to ask those probing, detective questions to see if they could trip up the storyteller.
Sept. 22nd
I'm pleased to be able to finally welcome everyone back. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. For your reference, a copy of my course outline is included below.
outline_9.docx | |
File Size: | 16 kb |
File Type: | docx |