Catching You Up

Well I have not talked about what we have been up to in the room very much this week. Tonight I just thought I could catch you up. In writing we have spent another week using Ralph Fletcher's amazing book Poetry Matters.

This week we added on to the two ideas that Fletcher had already given us about making image poems. On Tuesday we talked about personification. Many of the students had already been using personification in their writing but now they are able to name it and find it in other poems. On Wednesday Fletcher talked about how authors use symbols in poems. That day we read Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken. It was amazing to see how the students were able to talk in their groups and figure out Frost's poem.

Today we made a quick poster and let the class wrote. I found a picture of lanterns being released into the sky. During our image writing I have found all kinds of different pictures. The students know they do not have to use the image it is just there for those who want to use it.

Today the majority of the class used the picture. I mean that picture is amazing it just makes you want to write. Since we had a very special visitor in the class (Ms. Cavallaro) we made sure to have an extra long share time. Student after student shared their work. I was blown away at the words that the students shared. 

In read aloud a hurricane hit Rose's town in New York. The Hurricane is called Hurricane Susan in the book but many of the students have decided that the storm is really Hurricane Sandy. The storm has passed but Rain (Rose's dog) is missing. 

This book is heartbreaking. It is spectacular but it is heartbreaking. Now we have a lost dog. I am hoping that since the storm has passed maybe the storm(s) in Rose's life can begin to lift. 

In reading/Social Studies we continued to talk about the build-up the Revolutionary War. Today I was blown away when students could name all the southern colonies or middle colonies or New England colonies from memory. After some quick review, we talked about the taxes the British were levying on the colonists. While we reading the texts students used VIP's. If you remember from earlier, VIP's are Very Important Post-its. Of course you put a VIP on a Very Important Part. The text lead us to the Boston Massacre. Many in the class argued that the event in Boston was the most important. Others thought it was the taxes that King George brought back after taking away the original taxes. The arguments were great. I love this moment in history and getting to share it with the class.

Hope you are all having a great week.