5th and 6th Grade MUR:
This week our focus was on poetry. We started a unit on T.S. Eliot's "cats". I am always interested in student's reaction when we begin a new unit. Many were hesitant about this unit saying things like, "I don't like cats" or "Why aren't we doing a unit on dogs?" But, as the week has gone on the comments have changed to "why are we only reading one poem today?" and "I could do this unit all year!" As a teacher, these are the words we dream of hearing. Eliot's characterization of these cats is amazing and has drawn all of us in. We have looked at the way he has taken human traits and conflicts and applied them to cats in such a unique way. Along with this we have focused our attention on structure, rhyme scheme and pattern. Next week we will compare the poems to Andrew Loyd Webber's "Cats".
3rd and 4th Grade MUR:
This was an exciting week for us as we began our first novel. A Murder for her Majesty is an exciting way to begin our mystery unit. Students began the unit by defining the various genres of fiction. As we embark on the book, students have labeled the book historical, action adventure, mystery fiction. We discussed at length how books can crossover into numerous genres. We will continue this novel for the next few weeks focusing on foreshadowing, flashback and point of view.
***Reminder: Reading Rodeos are DUE: Wednesday, October 31, 2012!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
A Murder for her Majesty
Please click on the link below to view the movie on the Choir Boys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL4Zsmqqh68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL4Zsmqqh68
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
October 15-16
Just a reminder to parents there is no school Wednesday, Thursday and Friday due to MEA. It was wonderful to see so many of you at conferences last week and share all the exciting things that are going on in our class. If I did not see you last week, I looking forward to meeting with you on Wednesday.
What a quick week. We packed a lot in to a short period of time. Highlights from this week are:
5th and 6th grade MUR:
Students presented their Dragonwings projects to the class. There were some exciting new modes of transportation!
3rd and 4th grade MUR:
After a long study of folktales, students wrote their own fairy tales. Make sure your child shares their story with you!
Finally, there is no homework this week! Have a great break. We will be starting new units when we return on the 22nd.
What a quick week. We packed a lot in to a short period of time. Highlights from this week are:
5th and 6th grade MUR:
Students presented their Dragonwings projects to the class. There were some exciting new modes of transportation!
3rd and 4th grade MUR:
After a long study of folktales, students wrote their own fairy tales. Make sure your child shares their story with you!
Finally, there is no homework this week! Have a great break. We will be starting new units when we return on the 22nd.
Friday, October 12, 2012
MUR October 8-12
MUR 5th and 6th Grade:
This week we almost finished our unit on Dragonwings. We spent the first part of the week talking about point view. We discovered the book was written in first person limited and talked about why the author might have chosen to write the book in such a manner. At weeks end we discussed the different types of conflict found in novels. We were surprised to find that Dragonwings has all four types of conflict. Students broke into groups and listed events of conflict on chart paper. We will finish the story next week and view student presentations.
MUR 3rd and 4th Grade:
We are nearing the end of our first unit, folktales. Students have spent the past few weeks evaluating myths, legends and fables from around the world. This week I asked students to bring in their favorite fairy tales. Numerous students have brought in and shared their favorites. After each one we composed a list of elements belonging to that tale. Next week students will begin writing their own fairy tales!
This week we almost finished our unit on Dragonwings. We spent the first part of the week talking about point view. We discovered the book was written in first person limited and talked about why the author might have chosen to write the book in such a manner. At weeks end we discussed the different types of conflict found in novels. We were surprised to find that Dragonwings has all four types of conflict. Students broke into groups and listed events of conflict on chart paper. We will finish the story next week and view student presentations.
MUR 3rd and 4th Grade:
We are nearing the end of our first unit, folktales. Students have spent the past few weeks evaluating myths, legends and fables from around the world. This week I asked students to bring in their favorite fairy tales. Numerous students have brought in and shared their favorites. After each one we composed a list of elements belonging to that tale. Next week students will begin writing their own fairy tales!
Friday, October 5, 2012
MUR October 1st - 5th
5th and 6th Grade MUR:
This week we continued our study of Dragonwings. We spent a lot of time discussing the steps one takes when making new friends. We used these ideas to compare how Moon Shadow and his father became friends with the Whitlaw's and through this friendship both parties where able to break down the walls of prejudice, overcome cultural misconceptions and find common ground in being human.
This concept paired nicely with our Spelling/Vocabulary lesson for the week. We began with the Latin phrase "Humani nihil a me alienum puto." "I think nothing human is alien to me." As we continued our study of All or Nothing, students were able to relate this weeks spelling words to our novel study.
3rd and 4th Grade MUR:
This week we read the Russian folktale "The Little Humpbacked Horse." As this was a very long story it took us most of the week to read. We will move into our question and discussion session next week.
We began a new lesson this week, writing quality topic sentences. We spent much of Thursday's class looking at what makes up a quality topic sentence. Students made a "do" list to help them create quality sentences. We discussed how to use a thesaurus and what type of words one should interchange to help build our vocabulary. This was a new adventure for our 3rd and 4th grade students. We will continue to work on this skill through out the year.
In Spelling/Vocabulary we worked on Wordly Wise lesson 4. The student's are showing tremendous progress in this area and even identifying their words in literature and around the classroom.
This week we continued our study of Dragonwings. We spent a lot of time discussing the steps one takes when making new friends. We used these ideas to compare how Moon Shadow and his father became friends with the Whitlaw's and through this friendship both parties where able to break down the walls of prejudice, overcome cultural misconceptions and find common ground in being human.
This concept paired nicely with our Spelling/Vocabulary lesson for the week. We began with the Latin phrase "Humani nihil a me alienum puto." "I think nothing human is alien to me." As we continued our study of All or Nothing, students were able to relate this weeks spelling words to our novel study.
3rd and 4th Grade MUR:
This week we read the Russian folktale "The Little Humpbacked Horse." As this was a very long story it took us most of the week to read. We will move into our question and discussion session next week.
We began a new lesson this week, writing quality topic sentences. We spent much of Thursday's class looking at what makes up a quality topic sentence. Students made a "do" list to help them create quality sentences. We discussed how to use a thesaurus and what type of words one should interchange to help build our vocabulary. This was a new adventure for our 3rd and 4th grade students. We will continue to work on this skill through out the year.
In Spelling/Vocabulary we worked on Wordly Wise lesson 4. The student's are showing tremendous progress in this area and even identifying their words in literature and around the classroom.
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