Here is what we are doing this week. Check back every day for updates!
Monday 2/12:
- Article of the Week #2: Best Tips for Spotting Fake News in the Era of Trump
- 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: