Reporting on the Classics

This week the class is working on their second book report which will be presented to their classmates over a few lessons of Language Arts starting on Monday the 8th of December. This is not supposed to be an extensive and detailed project. I was really impressed with the effort the students put into their first report two weeks ago and already many students have read one of the books that their classmate recommended to them. Great stuff 5KP.

Due to the interest expressed by the class in studying Classics, that is what we are focusing on now in reading. Thanks to Jackie for sharing 11 of her Classic Stories with us. I am sure many parents recall hours of joy reading such stories as Treasure Island, Moby Dick and Heidi.

This time no storyboard is required for the oral presentation. Instead you are to complete an A4/A3 sized-poster for the class advertising your book to us, this poster will be used as a visual aid during your presentation. Your aim is to ‘sell’ the book to us by giving us an attractive poster and informative speech that highlights the best parts of the book.

When you do your speech, it is along the same lines as what is on the poster, your poster should complement your oral presentation in the same way your storyboard complemented your recent speech.

Questions you should be answering in your speech and/or poster…

Who is the author?

What else have they written?

What year was this book written?

What makes it a classic, why do you think people are still reading it today?

What were the highlights of the book for you?

Pick a sad/funny/happy/scary/exciting/tragic/dangerous scene and read it aloud to the class.

Homework Reminder

H.O.M.E.W.O.R.K.

There is more to homework than just doing the homework at home.Remember this 5 step process so that you can get the best out of your homework experience.

Step one…

LISTEN WHEN HOMEWORK IS BEING DISCUSSED                                  

Step two…

WRITE DOWN THE HOMEWORK INSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE ON THE BOARD

Step three…

TAKE ALL OF THE REQUIRED HOMEWORK MATERIALS HOME

Step four…

COMPLETE THE HOMEWORK IN A QUIET SPACE IN YOUR HOME

Step five…

BRING ALL OF THE FINISHED HOMEWORK BACK AND HAND IT IN ON TIME

Establishing a regular time and place to complete your homework is a great way to start creating patterns that will help you all through your educational career.

Readers Workshop Oral Presentation

By now you should have all decided on a ‘Just Right’ book to do your class talk on.

You are to present a 4-5 minute speech on Monday the 24th during our LA block.

The speech needs to include the following:

Summary of the book

Details of the main characters

Storyboard of the Plot as a visual aid to your talk with between 8-12 scenes

Rating of the book and why you liked it and who you would recommend it to

Remember the aim of the exercise is to introduce your classmates to new books

Global Native Documents

As well as the following documents being on your wiki I will also add them here for easy access for you and your parents to check them out.

These are all the information sheets required for the Global Native Unit. You should be gathering information on your tribes regulary and reading as much as you can from the in-class books on Apaches, Hopis and Navajos.

global native calendar

global natives project details

global native museum rubric

global natives wiki bibliography rubric

reflection on learning


Space Review

Hello Students

Congratulations on your Science unit on Space. I hope you enjoyed the journey with Bill Nye as much as I did. Tonight or tomorrow night for homework I need you to go to Ms Yick’s blog to continue the review process of the unit.  As we discussed in class today, I want you to write a 200-400 word post about the Space Unit. Now that I have looked at Ms Yick’s blog, I think that by following some of her questions as guidelines you might find this process easier. If not, just stick with the format on the board in class.

“The most exciting/interesting things I learned/know about Space are…”

Science

5KP are loving their Science unit on Space, thanks Bill Nye for spicing it up a little. The students are naturally curious and interested in Space and everything that comes with it…aliens, space-ships, walking on the moon, rockets, astrology…and they know so much! It is wonderful to see how much they enjoy learning about Space. We have a booklet to work on that was developed by Ms Canar, Ms Yick and Mr Howitt and we work through this booklet at home and at school.

Before Friday students, please cut and paste these three questions into your own blog and answer them in as much detail as you can.

1. How long has there been water on the Earth?

2. What are the three states of water?

3. What makes up everything in the universe?

Homework

Hi Parents

Just a quick note about homework, I don’t give a lot of it but I do expect what I set to be completed on time and to an appropriate standard. During this first week I am making a few exceptions as I try and establish some guidelines for the students to maintain throughout the year. I created the following document a couple of years ago and the principles are still relevant.

Homework is multi faceted and it is important to follow the steps we discuss in class which include…Listen… Write…Take…Complete…Bring. If one of these steps are missed out then homework is often counted as incomplete which can affect aspects of a student’s report card and overall success as a responsible learner.

Homework