For next week’s conferences, Ms. Educator' classroom will have a different look.  Your session just might be student-led!  As a mid-semester project students created a portfolio of their writing projects.  These portfolios will demonstrate student strengths and achievement thus far.  Students who accompany their parents to conferences and lead the conference by presenting their portfolios will receive ten extra credit points.  Hope to see you all there!
 
 

Last month we completed the poetry unit.  The unit began with exploration of poetry and writing form poems.  It then proceeded with the introduction of poetic terms and student creation of their own dictionary of literary terms.  Students then practiced analyzing poems, and composing some of their own.  Poems are on display on our Bulletin of Stars.  We then began our 2-week Shakespeare unit which included in-class reading of the play, viewing the movie, and the student final project: acting out a scene
 
 

We all know it. Most students dread reading Shakespeare.  No more struggling.  No more tests. Ms. Educator’s class took a different approach.  Watching the movie and reading the play in class ensured all students understood.  And rather than an exam, students worked in groups to act out scenes from the play. Overall it was a success! Check out student’s favorite parts:

This month we will be filled with fun! We will be completing a fun-filled nature writers unit.  Main authors of study will be Henry David Thorough, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and various nature poets including a brief unit on Emily Dickinson. 

Authors of study: Emerson, Thorough, Dickenson

Planned Activities: Outdoor Writing, Student-led discussions, Free reading/writing

Assignmetns: Individual reading, Reading Questions, Nature writing for portfolio use
Students’ Views

In our poetry unit, my favorite activity was the haiku writing. Here’s my poem:

Wind
Run across the land
As fast as your legs can
You will not catch me.

Here is an excerpt from my literary terms dictionary: 

Simile:  a comparison using like or as.
Examples: Reading is like taking an adventure.  My dad is as tall as a tree.
Metaphor: a comparison not using like or as.
Examples:  My mind is a labirynth

-Jon Jones