did you ever have to make up your mind?

Challenge: Friday we listened to some music that would appeal to the two gangs in The Outsiders. 5/6 hour we also used the "clickers" to log answers to some very very easy questions about the two gangs. I must say that I was very impressed by your answers. I need to expect more from you, because you had such amazingly insightful evidence for why each group would like the songs - without prompting by me! :)

Tomorrow we will be going over the Tungsten and take care of anything we missed on Friday (3/4 hour, that means the "clickers" for you). There will be questions about the novel on think.com, so be on the lookout for those.

Regular: Friday we talked about how the gangs are different (we contrasted them) and then we used the "clickers" for further discussion. It was great and you guys did a good job with it. We kind of ran out of time, so we will do the music portion of it on Monday. I think you will really enjoy it! :)

busy, busy, busy

Okay, I know, I know. I have been really slacking at updating this and I apologize. A lot has been going on and you all need to know it, so I will really try to be better from now on.

This week has been excellent. We started The Outsiders and it is such a fantastic book! Some of you have confessed that you cannot put it down - literally - that you can't help but read ahead. I suggest you find another book to occupy you so that you can stop reading ahead and possibly ruining it for everyone!

Tomorrow we will finish the Tungsten and do a fun activity to compare and contrast the gangs. I think you will really enjoy it!

posters with personality

We have accomplished a lot during the past couple of days! Yesterday the regular class worked on the posters and went to the library for a presentation from the librarians. Challenge classes went over the reading autobiographies and also went to the library for a presentation.

Today challenge classes read The Circuit and we talked about the plot arc. It's great that some of the sixth grade teachers taught it so that we can get into the elements of plot even more. The regular class presented their posters and it was so much fun to learn more about you guys. I loved it!

amazing personalities

Today the challenge classes presented their personality posters. I so loved hearing about your interests, friends, and likes and dislikes. It was fun to hear you guys talk about yourselves! We also read a crazy story called Being Mean by Gary Soto about his childhood and the mean things he did. We talked a bit about the characters.

The regular class spent time working on their posters, which are due Wednesday. I am so proud of how hard you guys worked! All of you were very productive!

short week

We spent a lot of time this week working on the personality posters. Most of you used the time in class very well and I am so excited to see the finished products. Remember - for the challenge classes they are due tomorrow, for the regular class they are due Wednesday.

We also focused on setting and mood this week. We read stories and talked about how the setting affected the mood. Thursday we spent time at stations identifying what sort of story would take place in different situations and figuring out why a story makes you feel a certain way. I feel like you guys have a good handle on setting and mood. Next week we will move on to another literary element.

Friday was a lot of fun. In the challenge classes, we got set up on think.com and played with the site a little bit. In the future, we will be using it a lot to publish our work and to discuss the things we read. In the regular class, we read a story by Gary Soto called Being Mean about his childhood and the crazy things he and his brother and sister did. After that we spent time working on the personality posters.

autobiographical reading

Sorry about the gap, guys. I was sick this weekend and just couldn't get the strength to post.

Today I collected the reading autobiographies. I cannot wait to read them and find out what you've enjoyed reading in the past.

We also studied the effect of the setting on the mood in a story, A Secret for Two. What a sad ending!

Then I introduced the personality poster, which is due Friday for challenge and Monday for regular classes. I think it will be a lot of fun creating them and seeing them. I may not have mentioned that you will have to present them. We will have some time in class tomorrow and Thursday for you to work on them. So, don't fret. :)