The end of February is here and hopefully it will be a week without snow and a five whole days of school!
Here's what's going in language arts:
Small Writings continue; this week is free choice and next week (due on March 4th) is a narrative. An expository essay is due on March 11th and a persuasive essay will be due on March 18th. There is no small writing due on March 25th, as we will be on our spring trip to Washington, D.C.
We are reading Tiger, Tiger, by Lynn Reid Banks. This exciting novel takes place in ancient Rome, which coincides with our social studies unit. I am reading the book out loud to students who are interested; other students who prefer to read independently are given that choice as well. The students have been given several questions (10) related to the multiple themes in the book-- humans' relationships with animals, thinking for yourself, doing the 'right thing'-- and will choose 4-6 questions to answer. They will also respond to each other's writing.
Although it may seem uncommon to read out to middle school aged students, it's actually a beneficial practice. It meets the needs of auditory learners and allows for students to work on their active listening skills. Below is a link to an article by Donalyn Miller, author of The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child, about why reading out loud is still important.
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/book_whisperer/2009/03/never_too_old_reading_aloud_to_1.html
Students: the first two people (CS students!) to comment on this blog will recieve a book of their choice from the next Scholastic book order!
