TORCH Test-Have Elise's Reading Skills Improved?

The Giver-all doors in the community unlocked? What's the deal with this?
Personal novels-time with a fine book of choice.
TORCH test-let's see. Did we become better readers for comprehension over grade six?

Homework-construct a blog entry based around the following choice. Like in The Giver, you are given a choice in your hear and now life-you may ask anyone a question and receive an honest answer, or, you may lie. What's your choice and why? Select a graphic for your post that fits your choice and reasoning behind your decision

Yash-Birthday Boy

The Giver-onward, deeper into Jonas' selection. Is this a good thing?
Advertising-the looking at the graphics of others, reflecting, and maybe making some quick changes. "Oh, now I get it."
Journal entry-15 minutes getting thoughts down, either on blogs or paper journals. Our usual weekly composition.
Sustained Silent Reading-after missing our time after lunch, we did our best to make it up.

Homework-nothing tonight. Teacher apologies all around.

Stuart's Battle With Technology

Advertising-
1) Target audience
2) Deconstructing ads chosen by students
The Giver-so what does this assignment mean?
Private novels-nothing better than reading time

Homework-
1) write a 5 sentence journal entry as if you were Jonas after today's reading from our book. What does this 'selection' mean? Apart? Pain?
2) bring journal for our 15 minute writing

Instructor T. Zolkowski checking for student skill acquisition

Advertising-
Clio Awards
Blog post deconstructing an award winning advertisement, using the 7 elements from our textbook
The Giver-Jonas receives his long awaited assignment, but what is it really?
Library visit-
Return all books and materials
Borrow one book if desired
Pillow time for reading

Homework-finish advertising blog post deconstructing an ad from the Clio awards website

Advertising-The Beginning

A Story-we heard today of how a native American group, the Apache, traveled south to the Pima tribe, and there apologized for their ancestors raiding the ancestral lands of the Pima. A group today apologizing for deeds done over a century ago? What's the lesson here?
Advertising-we began our unit with reading and discussion of advertising itself. We focused on-
What is advertising?
What is a target audience
Individual novels-we had 15 minutes to spend between the covers of a favorite novel. This is always a quiet time, with the silent buzz of students completely engaged.
The Giver-we moved to the house of the old where Jonas volunteered to help bathe the old, but at which he got some very information on the release of an older citizen, Roberto.

Homework-
1) Finish an advertisement using active, pursuasive language to sell a car to a selected target audience
2) Bring journals to class tomorrow so we can do our 15 minutes of writing.

Hero Day Character/Birthday Girl?

Begin our advertising unit-ran out of time due to shortened block creating space for our ESP reunions at the end of the day. Will charge on it Monday.
Library book exchange/personal novels-we made it to the library, the bookstore where all the books are free, for an exchange of reading materials. While there we spent pillow time with the novel of our choice. Always a quality reading experience.
The Giver-our reading took us further into the idea of group rather than self, assignments that may sound strange to us, and the addition of the Newchild with the strange, clear eyes.

Homework-
1) Read two times
2) Have a plan for how to get books for the last bit of school when the library will be trying to reclaim their borrowed materials

Our Library-The Ultimate Comfort

Library book exchange-we spent time in the middle school library checking out material for the weekend and reading comfortably in the pillows. Does it get any better than this?
The White Mountains-Will made his getaway, yet had an up front and personal encounter with the tripod attending the tournament.
Definitions by sound-the final part of the period was again working on trying to find sounds that would define words. This is proving more difficult than expected, though not necessarily because students don't know the definitions...its finding the correct sound to match.

Homework-spend two times reading a good book, preferably once on Saturday and once on Sunday.

How About This Batik?

The White Mountains-Will seems to have fallen under the spell of luxury and ease. He appears to be willing to stay behind, enjoy the promised rich life of the castle, and allow Henry and Beanpole to proceed alone. Hmm...
Journal entry-we did our weekly 15 minute free write.
The Giver-Ms. Marrello's group began our study of Lois Lowery's award winning novel, The Giver. It doesn't seem so long ago Ms. Lowery was here in person discussing her writing with JIS sixth graders. It was very interesting to listen to her story of creating the piece, one we are oh so familiar with.

Homework-work on the ESP journal, getting it ready for submission on Friday.

Modern Day William Tell

The White Mountains-Will discovers more about those who are caring for him. He is slowly seduced by what appears their opulent lifestyle supplied by the Tripods. Will he escape this temptation?
Mystery stories-students chose which two pages to receive the highest level teacher editing. Sixers looked for the parts of their stories that seemed particularly well written.
The Giver-we began our last big English unit, the study of the giver. Not only will English skills be developed, but we will be contrasting the governmental styles evident in The Giver, Hunger Games, and The White Mountains.
Tech exploration-we've defined words by using pictures, but can you define words using sounds? That was our area of discovery today. Some successes claimed, some frustrations experienced. Let's see where this goes.

Homework-
1) finish letter to grade 5 buddy
2) read 20 minutes

Mystery Writer Tobin Z. Hard At Work

Change seats-always a highlight of the first school day of the month, students moved to a new seating arrangement, acquiring new table mates.
The White Mountains-the boys walked out of what must have been the ruins of Paris, only to fall ill and be captured/helped by others.
Elements of the mystery-students reviewed their mystery story, highlighting the elements that belong in all, or most, mystery stories.
Letters from buddies-homeroom Q2 received the long awaited letters from Mr. Martinez's class of fifth graders. They will be visiting us on Thursday, and this written introduction is a crucial part to that experience. It was obvious the Fivers spent much time and effort on their written work.

Homework-none today