Former Washoe County School District teacher Paige Ernst helped us with our Mother’s Day gifts this year. It proved a great experience and we hope everyone likes the final product. Happy Mother’s Day!
Creating Mother’s Day Gifts
Act I, Scene 1: Students start reading Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
We’ve been rehearsing lines and we discussed iambic pentameter. Today was a chance to move through Act 1, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Despite all of the challenges, the kids persisted with the tasks and were able to identify the exposition, rising action and conflict in what we read.
Our Visit to Donner
The weather cooperated and we were able to complete our visit to Donner Memorial State Park. The day included a walk around the park, a scavenger hunt in the museum, a short film and lunch on the grounds.
Spring Break 2018
Great to see what the students are up to and how they are enjoying their time off. Parents, thanks for sharing the pictures!
Stronger and Clearer Each Time
We were visited by Dr. Amy Salgo who introduced the students to Stronger and Clearer Each Time. The instructional approach was developed by the Understanding Language Project at Stanford University and has students engage in multiple rehearsals of a problem or question before coming to a final answer.
Dr. Salgo asked the students if fractions are numbers and the students ultimately arrived at the conclusion, yes!
Fishbowl: Service Animals
We used a sample Smarter Balanced Test item to get ready for a persuasive essay on service animals. We read through three texts, annotated for evidence and then rehearsed for our writing using a Fishbowl.
In a Fishbowl, students sit in a circle with several students in the middle. Participants share ideas around a topic and if someone in the middle needs help or has run out of ideas, they will replace themselves with someone from the outside.
Cowriting and Sharing Persuasive Letters
The students spent part of the last two days sharing persuasive essays. Following the model in the children’s book I Wanna Iguana, students wrote back and forth to each other in their “Writing Coaches” corresponding journals. The writing was terrific and students stuck to our model of Claim-Evidence-Reasoning-Closure.
Students wrote from the perspective of pillows, tennis balls, favorite pets, celebrities, and family members.
