First full week and BTSN!

Good morning!

It was so lovely to meet so many of you in person last night during MS Back to School Night!  Thank you for taking a portion of your evening and spending it with us!

Language Arts

This week in Language Arts, we had our first visit with Mr. Callaway to the library.  We took a library tour and learned about how to access different resources within the MSLC.  

Most of this week was used to prepare for and participate in a writing assessment.  During one class period, students were given a variety of resources dealing with the question "Should pets be allowed in classrooms?"  They were able to glean from these resources and prepare for their writing piece.  The following class period, the students had 40-minutes to compose their essay using the skills they knew argument writers had.  

This assessment will be used as a baseline for instruction during this first unit.  I will be able to to see what skills are already secure and what skills need additional attention.  This will also allow me to see students individual needs and strengths as we proceed.

Next week, we'll look at a mentor text that will be important to us during our first unit, organize our notebooks and consider the responsibilities of the teacher/student during our workshop time.

Social Studies

In Social Studies this week, students completed a geography challenge where they need to use their map skills to identify important places for our Mesopotamia unit.  We also answered the question "What does it mean to be civilized?"  We brainstormed a list of "must haves" or needs that a civilized society have and then prioritized them.  We then looked at an archaeologists list and worked in small groups to define those characteristics.

Drama

For students in my first trimester class, we answered the question "What is theater?" and looked at different jobs within the theater.  We also learned the parts of the stage and developed our agreements for being effective audience members.