Today's lesson was about what the world was like during Medieval Times, prior to Marco Polo heading off to China and discovering all the amazing inventions and wonders there. A running theme of our discussion was how land = money and money = power....and at this time the leaders in Western Europe (and the Pope) were all obsessed with becoming the most powerful. However, also in Western Europe at this time the people there had turned there back on just about anything that wasn't Christianity- it was all god, all the time. At the same time, however, over in the Middle East the Muslims were making huge advancements in math, science, medicine, etc. It is important that the kids understand how in the dark the people living in Europe were during this time, so that they can then understand just how eye opening Marco Polo's discoveries were and how this eventually leads to the competition among kings/countries of who can amass the most land/resources/people.... during the Age of Exploration.
Homework: Native American project due MONDAY!!!
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Today was a reading day- so we used Harry Potter as our base for our lesson today on how Point of View and Perspective impact the story. I was explaining to them that when they are thinking about how POV and perspective impact a story just spitting out the definition of that point of view isn't going to work. Instead, what I am asking them to do is think about how it impacts the story for you as a reader...so in Harry Potter, we talked about how the story would be different if it was told from the perspective of Draco Malfoy instead- the kids were able to come up with some very specific differences of how the story would be different. We also talked about ways the story would be different if instead of being told in 3rd person limited, it was 3rd omniscient and we knew all along what Snape, Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, etc were thinking and feeling- it would take away much of the mystery and suspense!
Homework:
Today we learned about the Vikings- our first famous European explorers- the Arbour homeroom read from the textbook and watched a brainpop. Newton homeroom students were already slightly ahead of the other class so we were able to use this period to get the class all set up for the baby shower/party (which was a HUGE success!!).
Homework: Native American project due on Monday! Today was a writing day- our lesson focused on point of view and perspective- and how it is important to be describing events in the story as they happened and from the correct perspective.
Incorrect: My sister picked up the phone. It was my mom telling her that she had been to the doctor. Correct: My sister picked up the phone. I heard her say, "What'd he say?" and 'Did he give you anything for it?" After she hung up she said, "That was mom. She's been to the doctor." There was no way for the main character in the first version to have any idea who was on the phone or what was said because they were not the person who answered the phone. Therefore in the second version it was rewritten to SHOW what happened- the reader finds out who was on the phone at the same time as the main character. Homework:
Today we began class with some necessary bookkeeping...I wanted to make sure that all students planners were up to date so we wrote in both the LA and SS homework- including the projects. I informed kids that grades close a week from tomorrow so any missing work or re-dos need to be completed by next Tuesday at the latest. Lindsay and I made sure the spreadsheet of missing/re-do necessary assignments was up to date- so I printed it and stapled into their planners their list of assignments (if applicable). Also, because grades close in a week I wanted to make sure they were aware of how they were doing in all of their classes- not just mine and Mrs. Ely's, so I also printed off a copy of their current grades for each class and stapled this into their planners as well- you will notice that I highlighted any subject where the student currently has a B- or lower because these are classes where they either have missing assignments or work that can (and should) be redone.
Once we were done with all of that housekeeping we then set up our social studies notebooks for our next unit: Age of Exploration! We have 5 essential questions for this unit...I informed the kids that we will be writing a 5 paragraph research essay on this unit and they will be using 3 of our essential questions as the topics for their 3 body paragraphs- so it will be important that they always are up to date with their notes. Essential Questions:
Today we talked about being aware of our thinking as we read and as we learn more about the story and our predictions/opinions change we need to be aware of what evidence in the story changed our thinking. I explained how all writers make choices about everything they write (and don't write!) so when we are reading we want to ask ourselves why we think the author made these choices. After the mini lesson I read aloud for 10 minutes (we have finally met Hermione and have just arrived at the front door of Hogwarts) and then provided them with the 3 prompts they could choose from (see below). Students wrote in their readers journal for about 10 minutes and then we had class discussions about the first two questions (we will get to question 3 on Wednesday)....I was very impressed with the thinking that the kids were able to do today!
Yesterday in LA we began with Harry Potter- no matter how many times I read this book I love it as much as I did the first time! After reading, we talked about letter writing- we brainstormed as a class the proper format of a letter and the type of information that one puts in. Afterwards, students wrote rough drafts of Thank You letters in their writers journals. Today the kids and I read Harry Potter for the majority of class (after watching some Thrilling Theatrical Thursday...today's video was Carpool Karaoke- broadway edition!).
Yesterday in Social Studies we began class by watching CNN Student News which was all about the results of the election and how news companies are able to project state and national winners. Afterwards we had a class discussion about the presidential election- I wanted to acknowledge that there are a lot of strong emotions around the outcome of this election- both positive and negative depending on who one wanted to win- and that it is important to be respectful of how people feel- regardless of if you agree with them. Both classes had a great open respectful discussion! Today in class we finished up our Thank You letters that we started in LA yesterday. LA Homework: Theme book talk! Due 11/28 SS Homework:
Today we had a current events day- focusing primarily on the Dakota Pipeline out in Standing Rock. We were able to make connections between what we have been studying about geography and Native American history and what is currently going on today. We tried to look at the issue from both sides in order to understand what the pros and cons are surrounding the issue. At the end of class we watched CNN Student News.
Homework: Native American Projects due Monday 11/21 (see checklists for each project choice on the Important Notices page on this website) Today begins a crazy week between election day tomorrow and Veterens Day on Friday! In LA today we began class with Harry Potter and then students spent the rest of class working on their Theme Book Talk. While the class worked I was able to finish up the final Newton September book talks (I am almost done with the Arbour/Ely book talks- should wrap them up in WIN on Wednesday).
Homework: Theme book talk due Monday 11/28, read 20 min, get caught up on late/missing work (see the planners!) no ixl this week! Today we continued our discussion about what good writers about reading do- as a class we brainstormed a list of types of thinking and traits of a good journal entry...then the students wrote entries about Harry Potter (which we also read at the start of class).
Tomorrow students will take a quiz on this weeks IXL skill: Verb Tense Review (J1-J4) |
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