Monday, February 29, 2016

Leap Day, Essays, and Playlists

We started this week in English class, with Leap Day.  To commemorate this day, we started by looking back at where we were four years ago and how far each student has come since the 5th or 6th grade.  Then we looked ahead to the next four years to make predictions of where we might be.  After that, we were ready to write to inquire and explore this topic.  Each student worked independently to consider what might be happening for them in four years and what may have already happened.  It's pretty exciting to think about!  We shared some plans and agreed that even if the plans change, having a plan is a really good way to have a direction in life.

In other class activities, the tenth graders worked on writing an interesting thesis statement and worked on their compare/contrast essays.  Those are due tomorrow and as always, I have loved seeing the depth of ideas evolve throughout the writing process for them.  We have some excellent writers in this class and I'm glad they are pushing themselves to improve!

In ninth grade, we started working on Protagonist Playlists today.  This was really a fun way to bring in character analysis, theme analysis, plot analysis, and comparing a text with a song, which is a form of poetry.  The students are each responsible to find three songs and then will put them in order of the events of the book with their group.  They will add a visual element tomorrow and be ready to share their work on Wednesday in class - a fun way to wrap up our reading on the theme of courage!

We are ending the third quarter, so make sure your child keeps reading and keeps working hard on these last few assignments of the quarter.  Everything counts!  Have a great week!  

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