First Readers' Theater Performance

Ongoing Homework: Students should remember to read for thirty minutes each evening. Remember there are no restrictions on what you choose to read, but please remember to record the date, the title of what you read, and how many pages you read.

Wildcat gave their first Readers’ Theater performance to the 2nd and 3rd graders of Sweet Briar Creek today. The scripts we read from were adapted from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka. The 6th graders gave a spirited performance, reading clearly and with emotion. On subsequent Wednesdays the 6th graders will have an opportunity to buddy up with the 2nd and 3rd graders and work on their own Readers’ Theater presentations.

In Cultural Studies the students continued work on their California Regions Project. The four groups of five students, representing, the deserts, the coast, the mountains and the Central Valley, worked on their reports, skits or posters. As a class, we discussed the importance of having a presentation that was rich with content. At the end of the class we gathered in circle and used our teamwork rubric to discuss how their group interactions were going.

Tuesday, September 29

Ongoing Homework: Students should remember to read for thirty minutes each evening. Remember there are no restrictions on what you choose to read, but please remember to record the date, the title of what you read, and how many pages you read.

Today in Language Arts, the students rehearsed reading for Readers’ Theater. They focused on voice projection and clarity.

In groups of four they worked on creating scripts out of one-page stories that they were given. They discussed among themselves the important characters, the parts of the story they wanted to keep, and the parts they wanted to discard. They created a script that they are going to perform for their classmates.

The students ended the day by working as a class to create a rubric for teamwork. They discussed what effective teamwork looks like, and what ineffective teamwork looks like. They created four main criteria, Cooperation, Participation, Support and Engagement. They then discussed the components that go into each criteria.

Thirty Minutes Reading

Students should remember to read for thirty minutes each evening. Remember there are no restrictions on what you choose to read, but please remember to record the date, the title of what you read, and how many pages you read.

Today in Writing Workshop, the students edited their poems-in-progress. Many of them are working on adding detail and clear imagery to their poems. They are focusing on writing images that are vivid in order to help the reader experience the poem.

In Cultural Studies, the students are working on their California Regions group project. Today we watched the first episode of Ken Burns’ documentary, The West, which focuses on the First People of North America. The students were asked to note the ways in which the environment influenced the culture of the various tribes.

In drama, the students practiced some reader’s theater, which they plan to share with the 2nd and 3rd graders of Sweet Briar Creek on Wednesday.

Technology Form Reminder

Please remember to get your parents to sign and then bring in your technology form tomorrow. Students who have not handed in a signed technology form will not be allowed to use laptops at school. Using laptops will be an important part of our humanities curriculum.

Language Arts Homework, Due Tuesday, September 15th

Please read the Rules and Expectations for Writer's Workshop on pages 3-4 of your Writer's Workshop Handbook.

If you have not yet done so pick out a topic from your writing territories to be the subject of a poem. Come to writer's workshop tomorrow ready to work on drafting the poem.

Language Arts Home Work Due Monday, September 14

Please do a close rereading of the poem, "You Can't Write a Poem about McDonald's" by Ronald Wallace. If you see a phrase or an image that strikes you as being interesting make a note of it. If you are comfortable doing so write a sentence or two about why the image strikes you as being interesting.

Cultural Studies Homework: Due Wednesday, 9, 2009

Please do 10 of the 12 questions in your Interest Survey. Remember to write your answers in complete sentences.