Ready to share a journal entry!
I couldn't believe it when our team leader told us that it was already time to send home conference scheduling forms. It seems like yesterday that I was meeting my new batch of students at open house, and here we are scheduling first quarter parent-teacher conferences. Time certainly can move on you like that. That being said, a big thank you to those of you who have already sent your blue conference form back in. I will do my best to coordinate with other teachers in the building if you have another student at Horizon. Hopefully we will be able to save you a trip. The earlier I can get those forms back the more flexibility I have in making conference schedules that work for you. So please send them back as soon as you can!
On to the kids ~
In the computer lab the past couple of weeks, students have been working with two different forms of technology. They have been creating Glogs (interactive blogs) about themselves as a way to prepare for their personal narrative and using Inspiration as a way to visually show their brainstorms about I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have To Kill You, our guided reading book. Both Glogs and Inspiration will be used later in the year, so exposing the kids to the technology now in a non-graded format pays dividends later in the year. I will post some links to the kids Glogs once I have sifted through and approved them.
Social studies has brought us to Mesopotamia, the land between two rivers. Located in present day Iraq, Syria, Israel, and Kuwait, it owns the nickname 'The Cradle of Civilization.' The kids have been learning about what it was like to be a person in ancient Sumer, Babylon or Ur. We have explored Mesopotamia through our books, Kids Discover magazines, video's, and soon, skits. That's right, skits! In lieu of a final test, the kids have been placed in groups of 4-5 and are working on creating short skits about what life would be like for a boy or girl growing up in Sumer, Babylon, or Ur. The kids are picking up that life as a kid in ancient times was a lot more work than they have now. After all, having to farm after school isn't quite the same as coming home to a snack and the television.
Finally, our writing. Author Bruce Hale visited our school (well, PHS technically, but we just walked over there) and talked to us about dreaming big and never giving up on your dreams. He had the kids laughing and dreaming throughout the whole presentation.
Our students will receive their first writing circle piece back this week. They have all been graded by me, but instead of writing the goals for the kids myself they will create their own goals based on where they think they can improve the most. Our next big writing piece will be a personal narrative about an important or memorable event in their lives. These are always fun to read!
Until next time!
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