Friday, March 21st

Today students worked on their narratives and as they finished, they wrote down next week's vocabulary words.  We ended today by working on projects.  During our extended time, the class did a 'geography scavenger hunt' (also known as CRCT geography review).  

I moved the reading and grammar assessment to Monday since today was devoted to finishing their narratives.  I posted some videos on Edmodo that they can use to review. 

A note about the narrative paper

Students had this week to write their papers and I gave them a set timeline and page number guideline.  I did this to get students used to meeting deadlines.  Additionally, in past terms, when I give students several weeks to complete an essay, many still don't finish on time or turn in their papers at all.  And it isn't just this year's class, this has always been an issue since I've been teaching.

Also, I want students to learn how to write descriptively, but EFFICIENTLY.  I know some students had to edit their stories down so I know the two-page guideline was a challenge for them.  That being said, I know this was difficult for some students; however, I know that many of them were able to use the organizing documents to move through the writing process.  Lastly, I would like students to offer feedback about this assignment via edmodo.  This feedback helps me to be reflective and make modifications for future lessons.  To leave comments, they should log onto Edmodo, and read the post for instructions on how to send their thoughts to me.

I gave both classes an additional break outside since they spent so much time focused on their writing today.