Week of April 16-20

This week, the 3rd graders continued to read and respond to poetry by participating in poetry stations. We painted the images poems created in our minds. We also hunted for poetic techniques we've been learning about in the books (both poetry books and short stories) scattered across the room. We really started to see how poetry is an art form; instead of paints, poets use words to make pictures or evoke feelings in their readers.

In 4th grade, we learned about Shakespeare's use of puns to entertain his audience. We explored the meanings of modern day puns and puns from some of Shakespeare's plays. The best part was coming up with our own puns! I was very impressed by how "punny" my students are!

Our 5th grade debaters continued to practice the art of refutation this week, and some classes also learned about critical literacy. We discussed how important it is to consider where information is coming from when doing research. Readers who use Critical Literacy read deeper into the information. They constantly ask: Why is this author telling me this information? What is their purpose? Are their opinions part of this source and does that make this a biased piece? Critical Literacy researchers are always looking for ways to assess a source’s credibility.

Week of April 9-13

This week, the 3rd graders read and responded to all types of poetry. We noticed that some poems rhyme, some use repetition, some use figurative language, some can be funny, and others can be pretty serious and emotional. We also read some Langston Hughes poems ("My People," "As I Grew Older," "I, too, sing America"), formulated open-ended questions about them, and had very interesting discussions. I was so impressed with my students' ability to see the universal themes of the poems that could relate to all of our lives!

After learning about life during the Elizabethan Era, the 4th graders read a modified version of Macbeth. They were shocked at how bloody and morbid it was! We will be working on putting on a kid friendly production of Macbeth during this cycle, so we chose our roles and started familiarizing ourselves with the script. We're really looking forward to making costumes, scenery, props, and learning how to direct scenes!

The 5th graders learned the art of refutation during our debate lessons this week. The four basic steps we followed are:
They say...
But I disagree. I believe...
Because...(reason and evidence)
Therefore... (prove why your argument is stronger)
We realized how important it is to do good research and really read through articles to find good supporting evidence!