We have been busy these past five weeks of school.  Students have been acclimating themselves to our classroom and creating a community of learners.  Students established reading and writing notebooks, which include notes, graphic organizers/rough drafts, reader responses, and vocabulary.  I have been providing students with a word of the week (myriad, impeccable, arduous, plethora, etc), and students create meaning for the word- definition from sentence use, part of speech, and a graphic or connection to help remember it.  In addition, students have to find three unfamiliar or interesting words from their independent reading for the week and complete that same activity for one of the words found.

We have been exploring the question:  What distinguishes childhood from adulthood?  Students have read short stories and poems dealing with problem solving and growing up.  Furthermore, students have been discovering what inspires authors to write.  Currently, students are beginning to research an author of their choice and learning what inspired the authors to write some of their novels .  Some of the authors students picked are as follows:  Suzanne Collins, Mike Lupica, Sharon Creech, Jeff Kinney, Gary Paulsen, Kate DiCamillo, JK Rowling, and Rick Riordan.  Not only are students finding out what inspired their choice author to write, but also learning how to locate credible and reliable information when conducting research.  This includes understanding what are valid sources, including web sites like .org, .edu, and .gov.  and how videos can enhance or limit understanding of a piece of text.

Students are in the mist of writing their own piece inspired from a memorable event from their own childhood.  The assignment is attached: Memorable Moment Expectations.

The school year is off to a great start-  enjoy this wonderful fall weekend!