Today in 8th grade English, Mrs. Hamacher (a parent) came in to give a 15-minute book talk. She shared three of her favorite reads and encouraged students to read...read...read. I agree that reading expands our vocabulary, invites us to try on new perspectives, and allows us to experience the joy of reading. We were grateful for Mrs. Hamacher's presentation. We will write thank-you notes to her.
Later in the class, partners shared information about the "old man" ( main character from The Old Man and the Sea) supported with textual evidence. We will analyze his character development as we near the end: static or dynamic main character? Students are to read up to p. 63 for tomorrow.
In Geography 7, we read about the composition of our planet Earth. Students will be making their own paper-model: crust, mantle, outer core, inner core. We also talked about how this information has been gained through the use of technology.
A small group of us went to read with Mrs. Uhrling's first grade students. We had fun and got to know some these students better. Thank you Mrs. Urling and students for making us feel so welcome.
6th Grade Math students reviewed the steps of division through a mnemonic device: Does (division) McDonalds (multiplication) Serve(subtract) Cheese (check your anwer) Burgers (bring it down)? I stopped at McDonalds to get some logo-wrappers, etc. for the "division" posters that we will make in the future. Recent assignments indicate that students need more practice with double-digit multiplication and division.
For History the 6th graders continue to work on their hunter/gatherer visuals. It is fun to anticipate the questions that will be raised and how students will problem solve. This hands-on project has not disappointed me; students are taking ownership.
8th grade students used the last period to read, make thank-you cards or work on spelling. Vocabulary is due tomorrow and students will do the weekly spelling test.
If you have read any good books that you would like to share with my students, please be in touch. Word-of-mouth advertising works. I stopped by to put my name on the Vaughn Library list for one of Mrs. Hamacher's recommendations.