Journalism and sentence structure project, Mad Libs and Oceania myths

6th: Today we began class by learning about a Mad Libs project that we're starting. Students learned about the project- see right sidebar- and what their responsibilities would be with this project. We wrote stories to use for our mad libs in class and made sure that we labeled the necessary parts of speech in these stories. If students did not complete this in class, it is for homework. From there, we got together with our Oceania myth groups and read our stories and began to work on the graphic organizer. Some groups started to work on their teaching poster. We will continue to do so tomorrow.
Homework: Read and record. Complete mad libs story and labeling parts of speech in story.

7th: Today we began class by recalling what it means to annotate a text. Ms. D. modeled annotating an article and then walked students through the steps of how to summarize the article and then answer the project reflection questions about the article. From there, we had time to search through the huge bin of journalistic articles to find 3 that we would use for our project and then we began the process of annotating, summarizing and reflecting. Due tomorrow: one article that has been annotated, summarized and reflected on. From there, we did a writing prompt, writing only in complex sentences. We edited each others' work. Homework tonight- choose one of the 3 stories that you have started this week and figure out which one you like the best. Rewrite it tonight, skipping lines and fixing all of the edits your partner made.
Homework: Read and record. Bookmarks due tomorrow. Article w/ annotation, summary and reflection AND a re-written story, skipping lines.

Purpose of myth, mythology project, mad libs & Journalism and sentence structure projects!

6th: Today we began class with some Mad Libs work in order to practice our parts of speech. We learned that later this week, students will be starting a Mad Libs creation of their own! From there, students had more time to work on figuring out the purpose of the myth they read yesterday in their group. They created their posters and presented their findings to the class and we revealed the 6 purposes of myth:

1. To explain natural phenomena or an occurrence.
2. To explain the creation of the world.
3. To teach people moral lessons.
4. To explain some historical event.
5. To explain some ancient religious practices.
6. To reveal the common hopes and fears of mankind.

From there, we discussed the upcoming Mythology reading project and Ms. Devine told students their groups, the title of their myth and named team captains, or material keepers. From there, we visited Mr. Fine's class museum on the Aztec and Inca. Thanks for sharing with us!
Homework: Read and record on bookmark.

7th: Today we began class by talking about journalism. We got our Analyzing Journalism reading project and began to discuss different types of journalism including: news, columns, feature and lifestyle. We did a "centers" activity where students bounced around the room looking at different articles and trying to figure out what type of journalism the articles represented. Then, we shared out. We also reviewed the other types of journalism that we did not get to view today: investigative, reviews, celebrity, sports, business/finance and photojournalism. From there we discussed WHAT students would have to do for the project: annotate, summarize and analyze 3 different articles that represented 3 different types of journalism. We will begin this process tomorrow. At the end of class, we responded to a writing prompt and wrote all in ALL COMPOUND sentences, for our sentence structure project. Then, we met with peers to double-check to be sure that we wrote only in compound sentences and reflected on the difficulty of this activity.
Homework: Read and record on bookmark. Bring in at least 1 article for your journalism project.

Preposition assessment, myth time & Sentence assessment and project

Ms. D. was out sick yesterday.

6th: Today, we began class with a review of prepositions before taking the the preposition assessment. Then, Mr. H. worked with students to read the myth of Persephone and students reflected on what makes a myth different from a regular fiction story. It's time to study myths! From there, students began a task to figure out the 6 purposes of myths. Students broke off into groups, each group reading a different myth and were tasked with summarizing the myth, drawing scenes from the myth and brainstorming what they believed was the purpose of the myth.
Homework: Read and record on bookmark!

7th: Today we began class with some sentence type practice. Students used the sentence type flipbooks they made last week to help them on the test. From there, we introduced the sentence structure project- it's portfolio eligible- and students began the project in class, composing a story of just simple sentences. We will do this again WED and THURS using compound and complex sentences. We exchanged papers with a peer to make sure we had only simple sentences in there and then we reflected on writing the story- was it difficult? We will continue with this tomorrow.
Homework: Read and record on bookmark! Tomorrow, we'll start being journalists. Bring in any magazines or newspapers you have around the house for us to use in class!

Mao trial, sentence types, prepositions & Rabbit Proof Fence

6th: Today we began class with preposition practice. We learned how prepositions can sometimes be like adverbs and we learned how to distinguish the difference. We have preposition work to do over the weekend. The entire packet of preposition work is due on Monday. From there, we continued to watch Rabbit Proof Fence, about race relations in Australia.
Homework: Read and record on your new bookmark. Work on preposition work, due MON.

7th: Today we began class with some practice on fragments, comma splices, run-ons etc. Practice students have a packet to work on over the weekend- due MON! "Moving on" students have a CREATE teaching presentations on MON. Be ready! For the rest of the class, we had our trial of Mao Ze Dong and he was ruled innocent! It was an intense trial...we had a great time. So many wolf bones to give out on MON.
Homework: Read and record on your new bookmark. Work on sentence packet work, due MON.

Sentence time, Mao trial prep, prepositions & Rabbit Proof Fence

6th: Today we began class with some preposition work. Then, we spent some of the class period finishing up the AUS/OCEANIA geography activity from yesterday. We learned a lot about the geography of Oceania! From there, we began to watch a movie- Rabbit Proof Fence- about how the aborigines of Australia were treated during the early 1900's. We will finish the movie tomorrow.
Homework: Read and record. Do any preposition work that you need to. It is due on MON!

7th: Today we began class with some sentence types practice. Students who were working on the CREATE project worked on their teaching presentation for their classmates. Those who were working on the practice packet continued to do so. The practice packet is due on Monday and teaching presentations are on Friday and Monday. For the last part of class, we worked on our Mao trial prep. Mao trial is tomorrow!
Homework: Read and record on bookmark. Make sure you are all ready for the trial tomorrow.

Intro to Oceania, prepositions, sentences and Mao trial prep

6th: Today Ms. D. was in a meeting for a large portion of class. Students worked on prepositions for most of the class period. Each student began their preposition work at the level assigned to them based on pretest results. Afterward, students began their study of Oceania with a KWL. From there, we reviewed what we already know and what we want to know and then began to use atlases to dive into a study of geography of this region.
Homework: Read and record.

7th: Today we began class with sentence types practice. Then, Ms. D explained how grammar work would be working this week. Students who were previously practicing with simple, compound and complex sentences have now moved onto run-ons, fragments, comma splices and ramble-ons. Those who did this work last week are developing a teaching presentation (due FRI and MON) to teach their classmates about an assigned topic. After working on sentence work for 1/2 the class, we worked on trial stuff. The trial will be FRI. Are you ready?
Homework: Read and record. Are you ready for the trial on FRI?

Role discussion, prepositions, Asia food day and Mao trial prep

Miss Devine was out yesterday and was very sick...:(

6th: Today, Mr. H. taught most of the class. Students took an adverb assessment and then participated in their role-based discussion on exploration. Students spoke from their roles based on the discussion questions that Mr. H. presented. From there, students watched a prepositions rock grammar video in order to introduce prepositions. We will beginning our preposition work tomorrow.
Homework: Read and record on bookmark!

7th: Today we had Asia food day- it was delicious. Thank you to everyone who brought food. From there, we began discussing and preparing for our trial of Mao. Students received their roles for the trial and met with their teams to begin preparing for their roles.
Homework: Read and record. Do any work needed for your Mao trial role at home.

RAFTS, PALS and grammar work!

6th: Today we began class with adverb work. All remaining adverb work should have been taken home to complete this weekend and is due on Monday. Renette did a fun activity to help us practice our adverbs- thanks Renette! Then, we worked on our RAFTS and did PALS. Rafts are due on Monday- make sure yours is done!
Homework: Read and record on bookmark. Make sure grammar packet is done on Monday and completed RAFT is done as well. Don't forget: Latin America food day on Monday!

7th: Today we began class by revising and/or publishing our RAFTS. Final RAFT is due on Monday. Then, Miss D gave students 30 minutes to work on the sentence packets- due on Monday. For PALS, we adjusted and gave out some new PALS partners and new books.
Homework: Read and record on bookmark. Make sure grammar packet is done on Monday and completed RAFT is done as well. Don't forget: Asia food day on TUESDAY!

RAFTS, adverbs and sentence types

6th: Today we began class with adverb practice. We had some time to work on our adverb activities and learned that all adverb activities are due on Monday. From there, Mr. H. worked with the class on completing the RAFT. Students will have a little class time tomorrow to work on completing the RAFT but the final RAFT is due on Monday. Remember: Latin America Food Day on MONDAY!
Homework: Read and record. Work on RAFT!

7th: Today we began class by working on drafting our communism RAFTs. Several students finished drafting and moved on to revising. First drafts of those RAFTs are due tomorrow at the start of class. We will revise/edit tomorrow and final drafts will be due on Monday. For the second part of class, we worked on sentence work. Those students who had done well on the sentence types assessment moved on to work on a packet on run-ons, fragments, comma splices, ramble ons and compound-complex sentences. Those students who need more practice with sentence types worked on a practice packet. All grammar packets are due on Monday. REMEMBER: Asia Food Day on Tuesday!
Homework: Work on grammar packet. Read and record. Rough draft of RAFT due tomorrow- is yours ready?

Adverbs, RAFTS, and more!

6th: Today we began class with some adverb practice. An adverb is a word that modifies a verb- and sometimes another adverb or even an adjective. 90% (or something like that) of the time adverbs end in -LY! Think: frequently, slowly, dangerously, cautiously, coolly, etc. Tonight, students have homework to complete one of their leveled worksheets on adverbs and bring it back tomorrow. From there, we continued to work on our RAFT. First draft copies of the RAFT due tomorrow- be ready for peer revising!
Homework: Read and record on bookmark.

7th: Today we began class by going over the homework from last night- the reverse outline of the example persuasive letter and the 6 examples of persuasive tactics for the communism RAFT. From there, we reviewed communism and brainstormed some of the pros/cons of communism to help us with our RAFT. Then, we got together with our communism research group in order to plan out the hourglass outline for our RAFT and then began drafting the RAFT.
Homework: Read and record on bookmark. Tomorrow you need to come to class with a completed hourglass outline for your letter and at least 5 sentences of your letter draft.

Exploration RAFT, adverbs & Persuasive strategies

6th: Today we began class by watching a video about Hernan Cortes's conquest of the Aztec people in order to have a better understanding of indigenous and explorer perspectives for our RAFT. By the end of class, each student should have had an opinion statement with 3 reasons and a chosen role, audience, topic and format. From there, we worked on our study of adverbs. Each student found out where they would begin in the adverb study and we watched the adverb rocks video to create our definition of an adverb.
Homework: Read and record on bookmark.

7th: Today we began class by taking notes from a powerpoint about persuasive strategies. We learned about:
-using big names
-pathos (emotion)
-kairos (react now!)
-logos (numbers)
-ethos (trust me)
-using research

From there, students brainstormed about how they would use each of these persuasive techniques in their RAFTS. They were to come up with an example for each strategy. From there, we looked at an example persuasive letter and reverse outlined it, noting the role, audience, topic and format and the persuasive strategies used. Then we completed a reverse outline for the letter.
Homework: Read and record. Complete reverse outline of ACMS uniform letter and 6 examples for YOUR RAFT for the persuasive techniques.

Exploration RAFT and Communism RAFT

6th: Today Mr. H. began class by introducing the RAFT exploration project. For the project, students got their roles and began to brainstorm opinion statements and reasons to support the opinion. Those who did not complete the opinion statement and 3 supporting reasons will do so for homework. From there, students took an ADVERB pretest which will be used to judge where students will begin with adverb work tomorrow. Then, we did PALS.
Homework: Read and record. Opinion statement and 3 supporting details.

7th: Today we began class by writing thank you letters to Mr. Clark for his visit on Friday. Then, we did some PALS- paragraph shrinking. From there, we reviewed combining sentences and took a sentence types assessment to review what we remembered from the start of the year. The assessment will be used to determine where students will start in terms of sentence types work tomorrow. From there, we worked on our RAFT and each student created an opinion statement and suggestion, based on their role.
Homework: Read and record.

European explorers, RAFT and Peace Corps speaker

6th: Today Mr. H taught the class about European explorers who came to the Americas- we did some reading, listened to a great picture book and then took an assessment. Afterward, students worked on PALS- prediction relay. Homwork this weekend is attached below.
Homework: Read and record and complete the weekly reading check in.

7th: Today we began class by checking out all of the things that we could observe about Nepal in the atlas so that we could have questions prepared for our Peace Corps speaker. From there, Miss D introduced the Communism in China RAFT writing piece that we will be starting. Students brainstormed and decided their role, audience, format and topic for their piece. We will continue to work on these on Monday. For the rest of the class period, we had a returned Peace Corps volunteer visit the class to discuss his experience working as a teacher in Nepal. Students had lots of questions and really enjoyed the presentation. Thank you, Gregory.
Homework: Homework: Read and record and complete the weekly reading check in.

Learning about Tiananmen Square, PALS & Exploration

6th: Today we began class with Mr. H. teaching us about exploration. We spent some time discussing what exploration is and various exploration that has taken place throughout time. He will continue this tomorrow. For the rest of the class time, we practiced PALS.
Homework: Read and record, bookmarks due tomorrow.

7th: Today we began class by continuing the Communism in China teaching presentations from yesterday. Both groups did an excellent job. From there, we used the rest of the class period to do PALS.
Homework: Read and record, bookmarks due tomorrow.

Indigenous people presentations and Communism in China presentations

6th: Today we exhibited our indigenous people projects in a museum style. Students did great work with their books and their research! I saw some impressive artifacts and displays. Students took notes on each others' exhibitions as they toured the "museum." From there, we wrote summary paragraphs about what we had learned about the indigenous people of the Americas.
Homework: Read and record.

7th: Today we gave our teaching lessons for the communism in China projects. The last 2 groups, presenting on Tiananmen Square, will be presenting tomorrow. Miss Devine will also collect KWLs and notecards tomorrow.
Homework: Read and record.

Preparing for project presentations: indigenous people & communism in China

6th: Today we began class by writing our group's bibliography. From there, we used the rest of the class period to be sure that our pages were made, our artifacts were made and our book was bound for exhibition day tomorrow.
Homework: Read and record. Make sure everything is ready for exhibition day tomorrow!

7th: Today, some of our student received pen pals in Mongolia. How exciting! Ms. Devine met with each research group to check research notetaking. Groups used the rest of the time to prepare for project teaching day, which is tomorrow.
Homework: Read and record. Make sure everything is ready to go for your group's teaching presentation tomorrow!

Indigenous Peoples' projects and Communism in China projects

6th: Today we began class by completing our last PALS training lesson- on prediction relay. From there, we had the rest of the class period to work on our indigenous people's project; we wrote final paragraphs, created book pages and developed artifacts. Exhibitions will be Wednesday. Be ready.
Homework: Read and record. Do any work you need to do at home for your exhibition to be ready by Wednesday.

7th: Today we used the class period to discuss what the communism in China teaching project was all about and then we broke out into groups to continue taking notes on our notecards for our research and then planning out the teaching presentations.
Homework: Read and record. Complete notecards and KWL. Be prepared to conference with Miss D tomorrow.

PALS, communism in China and indigenous peoples paragraphs

6th: Today Mr. H. taught the class about crafting paragraphs with a topic sentence, supporting details and an appropriate concluding sentence. Students began to compose paragraphs on their research, revise each others' paragraphs and then take the final paragraphs and put them on a published page for their book. For the last part of class, we worked on PALS- prediction relay.
Homework: Students need to complete the rough draft of their paragraph(s). Read and record.

7th: Today we began class by making a to-do list of everything that we needed to accomplish for our Communism in China research project. As it stands, teaching presentations are due on Tuesday. From there, we did PALS- prediction relay. The last part of class was used for the project research. Many students completed the research and moved onto planning teaching presentations.
Homework: Read and record.

Communism in China research project & Indigenous people research

6th: Today Mr. H. taught class again. Students learned how to do a bibliography and then did their own, using the sources they used yesterday while researching. Then, they finished notetaking and research. Some students began to write their paragraphs and had their peers revise it.
Homework: Read and record. Bookmarks due tomorrow!

7th: Today we began class by introducing a new project- the communism in China research project. Ms. Devine introduced groups and then topics and then groups worked on a KWL, noting things that they already KNOW about their topic. Then, they worked on creating 10 research questions about their topic and had these checked by a teacher. From there, students read their source packets, highlighting main ideas and points in the text. Groups that completed the reading formatted their notecards and began to take notes on their research questions.
Homework: Read and record. Bookmarks due tomorrow!

Cultural Revolution projects, PALS, and indigenous people research

6th: Today was Mr. H's teaching day. We...made sure we had all of our research questions written down on our KWL chart and then we reviewed how to set-up index cards for notetaking and then...we went to the library to begin our research!
Homework: Read and record.

7th: Today we began class by checking the homework- cultural revolution book project posters. Then, we did a PALS activity- paragraph shrinking- and then we met in jig-saw groups to teach each other about our books. We came back together to discuss- what were some of the common experiences that the characters in our books had living under Mao? We had a good discussion about this.
Homework: Read and record.

Mapping and atlas hunt with Mr. H & Chinese Cultural Revolution project

6th: Today students continued to work on the map exercise they began yesterday with Mr. H. They started their new project on researching indigenous people and began the pre-research process of combing through the atlases to find out where their indigenous populations lived. We will continue this tomorrow.
Homework: Read and record!

7th: Today we spent the entire class period working on our Chinese Cultural Revolution picture book project. Students who did not complete theirs in class must take it home and complete it for homework. Due tomorrow for presentation and discussion!
Homework: Read and record. Complete Chinese Cultural Revolution picture book project.