January 25, 2007
Thanks to the parent teachers, we had a great class with plenty of help for the little people. I will attempt to publish a weekly update so you know what we did in class. Here was the day:
- rhythm sticks–syllable review
- student introductions–focus on voice projection and eye contact
- read a wide variety of alphabet books, noticing unifying themes
- brainstorm themes students could use for their own alphabet book–trains, bugs, England, fun things to do in California, plants, the Renaissance, oceanography, anything you are already studying and want to review
- start writing and be ready to share next week; it is not expected that the whole book would be written in one week, but it should be finished by the time of the project fair; students are allowed to co-author a book if they agree on a theme; younger students can use the template, but they don’t have to; any size or shape book can be made. http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson982/template.pdf
- pass out books: “Because of Winn-Dixie” for younger kids and “Out of the Dust” for older students; parent alert: both books are easy reading but deal with difficult issues–death, desertion, alcoholism, poverty; no assignment was given in class, but we will start discussing them next week; students who read the first three chapters will be more than ready for class. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4411769998751922010&q=Dust+Bowl
