December 17-21

MUR:
  How time flies!  I cannot believe it is time for winter break.  The kids have worked so hard this year and really deserve some time to play and be kids! This week we finished reading Charles Dickens Christmas Carol.  The students were able to make so many connections to movie versions they have seen and were surprised to learn the symbolism and depth that lies within the story.

  The new year will bring many exciting adventures in reading!  I am looking forward to all the wonderful units we have planned!

Enjoy the break!
  Mrs.Gordon
 

December 10-14

     This week both classes began a study of Charles Dickens. We spent a few days reading about his life and the events that inspired his writing.  We went to the computer to research life in Victorian England. Students were amazed at how proper life was back then. I heard comments like, "Mrs.Gordon, did you know that people were not aloud to leave their bedrooms in pajamas?" or "Kids only saw their parents for one hour a day."  After completing our research the kids tried their hands at Survive Charles Dickens England, a great video game that allows students to learn more about the life and times of Dickens.
   For the next week we will be reading A Christmas Carol and applying what we know about Victorian England, Charles Dickens and literary techniques to this unit.

December 3-7

What an exciting week!

5th/6th Grade MUR:
     This week we continued to read The Porcupine Year.  It is great to see the children connecting to Native American culture and the appreciation that has developed through reading this novel.  Jacob and Nick presented their author studies of Louise Edrich. We learned so many interesting things about her life and writing. We will be finishing up our unit next week and moving on to A Christmas Carol.
    In vocabulary/spelling, we changed our prefix study to focus on words relating to "travel". We discussed the Latin phrase Sic transit gloria mundi.

3rd/4th Grade MUR:
    This week we concluded our study of A Murder for Her Majesty. The kids LOVED the book and were literally jumping out of their seats as we reached the climax of the story.  Our focus for this unit was written responses.  All of the kids have made fantastic progress in written responses to literature.  We finished out our week with Charles Dickens. Each student read a short biography on Dickens' life and took notes on important facts. On Friday, we spent time in the computer lab learning about Victorian life.  The students were surprised to learn how proper people of the time were. Please feel free to click the links to the right and see what the kids were up to in the computer lab!
   In spelling/vocabulary, we continue to work in Wordly Wise.

Charles Dickens Biography

Please click the link below to learn more about Charles Dickens!
http://www.biography.com/people/charles-dickens-9274087/videos

November 26-30

5th and 6th Grade MUR:
   This week we began the Porcupine Year.  It is wonderful to see the students enjoying the book so much.  Numerous students commented on the maturity of the characters and their ability to understand the world in such a unique and detailed way.
  In Spelling/Vocabulary we continue our study of Classical Roots.  Our theme this week was creativity.

3rd and 4th Grade MUR:
   We continue to work our way through A Murder for Her Majesty.  As we near the climax of the book students are making connections and predictions as to the outcome of our main character's fate. In our packets students are working on clear topic sentences to their higher level thinking questions.  We have completed our character sort and Alice's Daily Schedule.
    In Spelling/Vocabulary we completed Wordly Wise Lesson 10.  Students need to continue working with their spelling word meanings.