Welcome back!
Weekly Agenda:
Monday:
No School for students. Teacher inservice.
Tuesday
Civil War Lit. Circles begin today. This will be an exciting change of pace, allowing students to delve deeper into the social and societal issues of the period. On Friday last week, students chose a 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice novel after a book talk in the media center. They have been placed in lit. circles based on 1. their choice; 2. their demonstrated reading level (RIT score); their demonstrated behavior this year. Students have been placed in a small groups made up of students from both Mr. Yazz' class and Mr. Wells' class. Today we check out our books, review expectations and norms for lit. circles and get our first assignments for Thursday.
HW: Read assigned pages and denote three important passages with sticky notes for Thursday.
Wednesday:
Student color groups will be teaching the class about a specific Civil War battle using a teaching tool they built last week. Presentations should include a. concrete details; b. overall strategic importance; 3. social history (what was it like for individuals?)
Thursday:
First true day of lit. circles. Today, groups will be sharing sticky-noted passages read during the last 2 days, and will begin working on a response to literature activity. Our first true student-guided discussion day will be next Tuesday.
Friday:
1. Color groups finish Civil War battle mini-lessons.
2. Current Event Updates: Congress' struggle to create a budget. (Quiz next week. This will be the 3rd current event we've done together on the budget crisis).
3. Independent Reading: Lit Circle Novels