September 11, 2015
Good afternoon!
This week our class continued our discovery of what we want our reading lives to look like. We set some goals for reading which included when/where/how we planned on reading. It also included how many pages and books we planned to read over the next 6 weeks. It is with great pleasure I, again, say how wonderful it is to have students who love to read. They are committed to reading every week in ELA for 75-100 minutes. I hope they can find time to read out of school so that they learn what environments work best for them. We also began annotating as we read. So, if they are reading at home, encourage them to use their purple bookmark and take notes on stickies or on their iPads.
Speaking of iPads... :) So far the students are doing a great job managing the iPad. For now, I have no problem if they read using their iPads. They know that if that becomes an issue, they will no longer get that option. I showed them how to access my Google Classroom to turn in assignments and write book reviews. They also should have this page (Jenkins 7 ELA) saved in their bookmarks.
Today we did some reflection on specific lives lost during the 9/11 attacks. We read excerpts from the book The Legacy Letters. Students were then asked to reflect on either someone they have lost and what that person's legacy meant to them, or they could write about what they hoped their legacy would be. I let them know that this was an emotional day, and it was okay to be sad. There were a few tears. But what I hope they took from it, and what I exaggerated to them, was that we have the decision to move forward and try to find "light in the darkness" as one of the legacy letters mentioned. Feel free to discuss this with them. I looked forward to reading what they wrote in their notebooks. This paired perfectly with our classroom theme of "you are the captain of your own ship".
Next week we will begin lessons more centered around writing. I look forward to seeing their writing and perspectives on our topics.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. You all have a wonderful weekend.
--Mrs. Jenkins
Good afternoon!
This week our class continued our discovery of what we want our reading lives to look like. We set some goals for reading which included when/where/how we planned on reading. It also included how many pages and books we planned to read over the next 6 weeks. It is with great pleasure I, again, say how wonderful it is to have students who love to read. They are committed to reading every week in ELA for 75-100 minutes. I hope they can find time to read out of school so that they learn what environments work best for them. We also began annotating as we read. So, if they are reading at home, encourage them to use their purple bookmark and take notes on stickies or on their iPads.
Speaking of iPads... :) So far the students are doing a great job managing the iPad. For now, I have no problem if they read using their iPads. They know that if that becomes an issue, they will no longer get that option. I showed them how to access my Google Classroom to turn in assignments and write book reviews. They also should have this page (Jenkins 7 ELA) saved in their bookmarks.
Today we did some reflection on specific lives lost during the 9/11 attacks. We read excerpts from the book The Legacy Letters. Students were then asked to reflect on either someone they have lost and what that person's legacy meant to them, or they could write about what they hoped their legacy would be. I let them know that this was an emotional day, and it was okay to be sad. There were a few tears. But what I hope they took from it, and what I exaggerated to them, was that we have the decision to move forward and try to find "light in the darkness" as one of the legacy letters mentioned. Feel free to discuss this with them. I looked forward to reading what they wrote in their notebooks. This paired perfectly with our classroom theme of "you are the captain of your own ship".
Next week we will begin lessons more centered around writing. I look forward to seeing their writing and perspectives on our topics.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. You all have a wonderful weekend.
--Mrs. Jenkins