Post date: Jan 30, 2017 3:11:44 AM
Happy Sunday Rm25,
The house is quiet. Kids are at work or out with friends, Amy is teaching lessons in town, and so it is me and the dogs hanging out at home cooking chicken soup and enjoying the sunshine that peeks through the fast-moving clouds every few minutes. To add to that joy, the teapot is full, my papers-to-score pile is empty and lesson plans for tomorrow are well formulated. It's a good life.
1. Mid-Year Investigation: This week each kid made a webpage that houses their questions, research findings, and teaching presentations. Please encourage your student to share that with you and engage in as much of a discussion as possible/comfortable. The in-class teaching sessions are progressing at various rates and I'm going to be urging the kids to get everyone taught before February break.
2. Book Projects due Wednesday: For the past two weeks each kid should have been working on one of the many choices for a book club cumulative project. I've seen some evidence of progress in class, but I'm assuming that most of the work is being done at home. Please check with your kid about this one as well, and remind them that they should have womething to post on the wall by Wednesday before book club time.
3. New Book Groups: Amy researched many books on the timely theme of discrimination and then presented a half dozen options to the kids on Friday. Their selections are below -- please help them find a digital or physical copy of their book.
Book Groups: February-March, 2016 (2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 3/1, 3/8)
1. Mexican White Boy: Parth, Max, William, MichaelM, Jacob, Jason
2. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky: Danchi, Lena, Taika, Karina, Taran, Neha
3. House on Mango Street: Andre, Caedon, Aidan, Gwen, Ken, Nicole
4. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry: Amiri, MichaelH, Rhema, Thomas, Ayden, Rianna
4. Ibrahim; growing up Muslim in America: A student from my first year at DCS, Ibrahim Ismail, came to class on Thursday to explain his history and experiences. He was well prepared, informative, and had a good speaking style. The class had some questions that he fielded very well, and I appreciate his time as well as the respect given by the class.
5. Weekly Routines: Just so you know, there are three weekly routines that have been going on all year and continue. The current events sessions, vocabulary slides, presentations and quizzes, and the "what I wonder" curiosity slides. These are things that kids complete autonomously and most are keeping up and giving adequate energy towards them and the learning they can provide.
6. High Schools: Counselors from Westmont, Prospect, and Del Mar met with some of our 8th graders on Thursday in the morning. Kids applying to private schools have requested letters of recommendation (I'm almost done with them all), and Debby Perry is dealing with report cards/transcripts while Debbie Donlon is out. Since I'm the only 8th grade teacher who uses PowerSchool, I'm hopeful that a set of printouts can serve as a report card for those who need it in their application packet. I will check into creating a single-page document that lists the traditional subject areas and a percentage score by each.
Thanks for reading this and for all of your support and enthusiasm this half-year! I'm honored and happy to be in class every day!
Chris