Weekly Preview: 9/3-9/6, 2013

I hope everyone had a nice long Labor Day weekend.  Now it's time to get back to work, and we're actually on a regular schedule this week!  Here's what's happening this week in room 101:

5th GOAL:  Students are gathering their words of wisdom which are due at the end of the week.  We're also getting to know each other by playing some games that get us talking and thinking.

6th GOAL, 7th GOAL, 8th GOAL:  Words of Wisdom projects are due at the beginning of class on Wednesday.  We'll spend Wednesday in the computer lab embedding those projects in our blogs so we can share the wisdom with the world.  We'll be back in the classroom for the rest of the week, presenting the projects so the rest of the class and I can view the work each student has completed.

English 8:  This week, we're beginning our short story unit.

Welcome Back!

It's the first day back to school!  I'm so excited with how things are changed up in room 101 this year.  First of all, I'll be having 5th graders in GOAL this year for the first time.  I think we're all going to have a blast together.  Additionally, I'm co-teaching English 8 with Mrs. Kaska for one period, and I think we're going to be a total dynamic duo.  I've missed teaching reading and language arts so much... I'm glad to be back in the game!

Here's the scoop for the opening week in room 101:

5th GOAL:  I actually won't start seeing these kids until next Monday.  Just an FYI:  Mrs. Lyon's & Mrs. Eeling's classes will come on Mondays and Thursdays.  Mrs. Copeland's, Ms. DeMoss's, & Mr. Philips's classes will come on Tuesdays and Fridays.  We might add Wednesdays with everyone together later on in the year.

6th GOAL, 7th GOAL, & 8th GOAL:  We're starting with a project called Words of Wisdom based off a book called Live and Learn and Pass It On by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.  Students will be interviewing relatives, friends, teachers, and community members to develop their own compilation of words of wisdom.  Next week, we'll be making sure everyone has a Goodreads account to document their independent reading, and we'll be blogging for the first time this year.  Words of Wisdom projects will be uploaded to their blogs.

English 8:  We'll be starting with a short story unit... stay tuned for details.  Hope everyone had a great first day... I know I did!