Wednesday, September 16, 2009
8th Grade Newscasts
We are currently reading short stories and reviewing their major elements: setting, plot, characterization, and theme. In our first story, "A Mother in Mannville," we focused on setting. The students picked out descriptive details that helped to make the setting come alive and incorporated them into a newscast. They wrote the script and performed the newscast. Each story or feature had to relate to the literature story in some way. I think the kids did a great job! Check them out!
Monarch Metamorphosis
This has nothing to do with the subjects I teach, but it was an awesome learning experience that I couldn't pass up. My daughter and I caught a monarch caterpillar this weekend (the second one of the season), and I brought it to school today in hopes of catching it go from caterpillar to chrysalis. We were very lucky and caught the incredible event! My class was able to watch it live while I recorded it. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch the monarch emerging in two weeks. I'll share then too!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Weekly Update
Wow! Our year is off to a great start! The kids seem extremely respectful and hard-working.
During the first two weeks of the school in Religion class, the students wrote prayers to use when leading the school body in prayer in the mornings. I asked them to find a Psalm or Proverb that was particularly meaningful to them and then write a prayer to go along with it. Additionally, we have begun looking at the Gospels and have discussed why they are all a bit different.
In Literature class, we have been reviewing the four major elements of short stories: plot, setting, characterization, and theme. The first story that the students read was called "A Mother in Mannville," and focused on descriptive details that made the story come to life. Currently, the students are working in groups to write scripts for newscasts that they will perform in class that use these descriptive details. I plan to video record these and will post them later this week on this blog.
Finally, in English I taught the students how to summarize newspaper articles, which will be a skill they use in their Current Events projects in Mrs. V.'s class. We are now beginning to look at writing persuasive papers. This is a skill that they will also use in History class after they participate or witness a class debate about a current controversial issue.
During the first two weeks of the school in Religion class, the students wrote prayers to use when leading the school body in prayer in the mornings. I asked them to find a Psalm or Proverb that was particularly meaningful to them and then write a prayer to go along with it. Additionally, we have begun looking at the Gospels and have discussed why they are all a bit different.
In Literature class, we have been reviewing the four major elements of short stories: plot, setting, characterization, and theme. The first story that the students read was called "A Mother in Mannville," and focused on descriptive details that made the story come to life. Currently, the students are working in groups to write scripts for newscasts that they will perform in class that use these descriptive details. I plan to video record these and will post them later this week on this blog.
Finally, in English I taught the students how to summarize newspaper articles, which will be a skill they use in their Current Events projects in Mrs. V.'s class. We are now beginning to look at writing persuasive papers. This is a skill that they will also use in History class after they participate or witness a class debate about a current controversial issue.
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