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| An empty classroom on a Friday afternoon. |
The high points this week were reading The Gold Threaded Dress and reviewing comprehension strategies, joining Edmodo and interacting with students' questions and creativity on that platform, engaging with SumDog, making writer's books, and focusing on "learning to learn" mindsets and behaviors through discussion, videos and images.
The class is intrigued by geography, the story of immigration, reading good books, and using tech to learn. With that in mind, I've chosen Letters from Rifka as our next book. That book will take us deeper into the immigrant experience, and challenge students with more complex text. I look forward to the discussions as we focus on story elements and the reading comprehension strategies of visualization, asking questions, retelling, and monitoring for meaning.
Next week we'll begin our writing in earnest with a combination of writer's craft lessons and free write. We'll also continue our focus on close reading as we begin to explore the concept of culture using Time For Kids' online resources and the culture flag project. At the end of the week we'll use our STEAM time to create online composition books as well as some time for science-tech online exploration.
Next week is curriculum night too--a time to share the classroom goals with families, and a time for families to ask questions and introduce me, through a questionnaire, to their child and his/her strengths, challenges, and interests. I'll also offer a parent-child tech morning the following Monday to help families who would like a bit of assistance with all the tech we're using this year.
So far so good. We're on track as the year unfolds.
