Friday, October 4, 2013

A Busy Week


          We have lots of hard working students in our class!  The kids were working hard to get their first “seed story” completed in writing.  It is amazing to see that the writers are taking what they are learning and trying it out in their stories! 

          In reading, we are asking question, after question, after question!  The kids have gotten a lot of practice asking thick or talk-worthy questions while reading.  Asking these types of questions will help to get students to go back into a story to support  their thinking with “evidence” from the text.    Earlier in the week we read The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg.  The kids had some different thoughts about exactly who the stranger was.  They had to use many clues in the story to help them figure it out. 

          In social studies we learned about Ellis Island in New York as we take our journey across the Northeast Region of the United States.  The kids were shocked at how people were treated when they arrived in America.  We created a “Word Splash” as a class about words that came to our minds after learning about Ellis Island.  Then they started to write a journal entry about what it was like immigrating to America. 

          At the end of the day on Friday we continued to work on our Genius Hour Project.  This is a project that the students are very excited about.  Each Friday, students who have turned in their homework completed and on time, get to work on a project where they get to learn about whatever topic is of interest to them.  It is really a privilege to work on this project.  They will end up finding out information about their topic of choice.  Then they will think of a way to “teach” their information to their classmates.  We have a wide range of interests ranging from studying the country of Brazil to learning about outer space.  The classroom was buzzing at the end of the day with excitement about the Genius Hour Projects!

          I introduce the Character Costume Book Report to the class today.  The packet of information should have come home with your child today.  At the back of the packet there is a calendar to help you and your child “plan out” the project.  Many of the kids couldn’t wait to get started on this!  J

          Please don’t forget to sign up for conferences!   I look forward to talking with you at your child’s conference next week.

Have a great weekend!

~Mrs. Lewis

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