We started going over appositive phrases with our Sassy Sentences (Mentor Sentences). Here are the notes for this page:
Appositives interrupt the sentence to provide more information.
They always rename the noun they are next to.
They usually come after the noun they describe, but can sometimes precede it.
Students received Article of the Week #3 and we went over chunking, roadblocks, and the main idea in class. We discussed the overall message behind the article in preparation for writing the reflection. This reflection is due on Wednesday on Google Classroom and the annotating, highlighting, and chunk summaries are due in hard copy on the same day.
Tuesday 2/27:
We continued working on appositives with our Sassy Sentences.
Students watched an example of a Literature Circle and completed a double entry journal. The left side is “What I Heard/Saw” and the right side is “What It Means.” Students wrote down observations and used them to draw conclusions about student participation.
Students also received the Literature Circle Unit calendar. This tells them what we will be doing every day up to Spring Break. Students are also expected to have parents sign that they acknowledge the fact that there are 6 MANDATORY meeting dates that students cannot miss.
Wednesday 2/28:
Students found 3 examples of appositive phrases in published works and wrote them into their mini-books.
Students were placed in their groups, received their books, and broke the books into 6 chunks, 1 for each literature circle meeting that we have on our calendar (see above).
Thursday 3/1:
Students came up with their own examples of appositive phrases using any of the structures we had practiced for the remainder of the week. Students had to come up with these using the photos posted on the board.
Students used the rest of the time to start reading and filling out their role sheets. The first literature circle is on Monday 3/5.
We went over looking at transitions and their functions in order to determine chunking.
Students were asked to finish solving roadblocks, talking to the text, highlighting essential details, and summarizing chunks for Tuesday.
Tuesday 2/13:
We began a new bellwork routine using Mentor Sentences to diversify sentence structure. See me ASAP if absent in order to get the materials.
In pairs, students completed a graphic organizer comparing and contrasting our AOW to “The Danger of a Single Story,” a video we watched in class last week.
We also completed a survey in order to rank the four options for literature circle novels. Students are to rank from 1 (most interesting) to 4 (least interesting) so that I may place them in groups according to preference. The survey may only be filled out ONCE, so be sure to rank carefully!
Using the compare/contrast graphic organizer, students need to complete their AOW reflections in CER form based on the following prompt: Compare and contrast the message/delivery in this article to “The Danger of a Single Story.”
Remember to use direct quotes from the article!
This must be turned in on Google Classroom under the assignment titled “AOW #2 Reflection.”
Wednesday 2/14:
Happy Valentine’s Day! <3
Class started off by continuing with our next two examples of mentor sentences in our “Sassy Sentences” booklets. Students should have the first page completely filled out at this point.
We started reading “Salvation” by Langston Hughes with a partner. We practiced the “Say Something” strategy to start conversations about the story and also went over the “Insightful Identifier” role in which students identify interesting or confusing words and passages from the story. Students will be expected to complete this role when they are in their literature circles after break, so this short story is an opportunity for us to practice this.
Thursday 2/15:
We continued on with preparing for literature circles by going over the “Question Commander” role in which students come up with open-ended discussion questions to guide conversations about the text. Students used question stems to come up with these questions that were included on the handout.
Friday 2/16:
Today students did a practice literature circle using the “Insightful Identifier” and “Question Commander” roles. Students then completed a reflection on their performance to use for goal setting once we return from the break.
Students were informed about which literature circle books they were assigned so that they could purchase said books over break if they wanted to get their own copies. Getting their own copies will provide students with the opportunity to write on the pages themselves and keep the book once we are finished with the unit. Click here to view the lists of which students received which books for each hour.
Have a wonderful, restful, and safe mid-winter break!
Here is “The Danger of a Single Story” if students should need it:
