Wrapping things up-LA, Egyptian Economy, and Puppetry Practice

Language Arts

We are quickly coming to the end of the reading portion of our first unit.  Students should be completing their second series book by early next week.  Last week we talked about theme and this week we talked about how to extend our thinking about theme to touch on other areas of our reading work.  One idea was to take the theme and then as "What about" this theme.  For example, if the theme is perseverance, what about perseverance is the author trying to say AND do we agree?  Another thing we could do is make personal connections with the themes to our lives.  How do we see the ideas of themes from our story alive here in Muscat in 2018.  Lastly, we looked at comparing and contrasting themes to see if there are patterns the author was trying to make us aware of.

We also worked on writing our introductions and conclusions.  We looked at starting globally at the beginning of our intro and then moving to our very specific claim.  For our conclusion, we do the opposite.  If students turned in their paragraphs on time, they should have a completed draft of an essay with feedback on EACH paragraph from me.  We will revise and edit early next week and finish up after DO.

Social Studies

This week in Social Studies we looked at the economy of Ancient Egypt and how dependent they were on the Nile River for survival by doing a simulation.  We also looked at the role that taxes paid on our ability to buy supplies from merchants and craftsman.

We also started to look specifically at four memorable pharaohs.  Students chose one to read about and will create a trading card next class.

Drama

Students in the Drama class will be performing for KG on Monday of next week.  We spent this week getting to know our scripts and practicing with our group.  We were also introduced to vocal scoring as a way to add variety to the way we read our lines.  We are excited to perform!

Responding the Feedback, Pyramid Building and Puppet Building

Language Arts

This week in Language Arts, we spent time to respond to the feedback given by our teacher and the unit rubric.  We used the thought prompts: My evidence is saying...which means...so I need to...here's how I will.  Students created an action plan to achieve their next goals as a reader and also celebrate their learning so far.  We also spent time talking about theme and boiling down our stories to the big ideas.  We talked about how there are multiple themes in a story as complex as the ones we are reading so it is important to open our mind to new possibilities.

We were also busy this week as writers.  We developed a claim about our series books, gathered evidence to support that claim and are writing the rough draft of a paragraph to explain our ideas.  We will be writing the rough draft in small chunks, getting feedback along the way to then make changes during the revision process.

Students should be completing their second series book within the next week (28/29 of October).

Social Studies

In Social Studies, we spent the week talking about the social pyramid in Egypt.  We learned the different levels and their role within Egyptian society.  We also used a simulation in the wadi to build a pyramid to draw new conclusions about this social system.

We began to prep for another simulation about the Egyptian economy which we'll do on Monday.

Drama

In Drama this week, students presented their shadow puppet skits to other students in the class.  We also constructed an object puppet and sock puppet.  We will be using these puppets to perform for the KG students in a few weeks.  Mr. Everett also came by as a guest speaker to talk about how to develop a character for your puppet and make it realistic when performing.

Book 1 Complete, Egypt and Shadow Puppets

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, students completed or are very close to completing their first book in our Characters Across Series unit.  We spent time this week talking about noting character changes from the beginning to the end of the story.  This could be a list or a graphic organizer.  We looked at changes in feelings, thoughts, beliefs, relationships etc. We then looked at the SOURCE of those changes-were they events, people, internal thinking, something else?  Once we have identified the source, we need to consider if those changes are permanent or not and what the significance of the changes are for our character.

We also began our writing unit by developing claim ideas about a character, theme or other big idea.  This will be a claim that can stretch across two texts.  Next week we will work on developing our body paragraphs.

Also, I will be offering three LA Help Sessions after school for students who want additional time to work or additional help from me.  These sessions will go until 4:30 and the dates are:

October 15th

October 23rd 

November 11th

Social Studies

In Social Studies this week, we transitioned from Mesopotamia from Egypt.  Students participated in a Breakout (similar to an escape room) titled "The Timekeeper" where they had to use their knowledge of Mesopotamia and their problem skills to unlock a series of locks.

We also did a geography challenge to introduce the major physical features of Egypt.  Next week, we will start talking about the social structure and economy of Egypt.

Drama

This week in Drama, we started our puppetry unit.  Students looked at samples of shadow puppetry  and then practiced creating shadow puppets with their hands.  We then looked at cut-out shadow puppets and students started to create a script with pre-made puppets as well as ones they created.  Mr. Lovett, the Bosch Center manager spent some time explaining the effect that lighting has on a production and students got to use different colored gels to adjust the mood of their performance.  

On Monday of next week, we will be making two puppets: a sock puppet and an object puppet.  Students will need to bring in a sock, the longer the better and an object (empty water bottle, juice container, milk container etc.).  I will provide the googly eyes, ribbon, buttons etc.

Series continue and Transitioning SS/Drama Units

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, students continued in their Characters Across Series books.  We also took our Reading MAP test.  During Reader's Workshop we talked about the possessions a character has and how that points to their interests, values, expertise, social class and economic status.  We also talked about how noticing HOW the character treats an object is just as important, especially if their relationship with an object changes...it points to a larger issue or theme within the text.  We also talked about noticing how other characters treat one another in thoughts, actions, dialogue etc.  This reveals strengths and flaws within each character and can also reveal social issues within a text.

If students are reading at an appropriate pace, they should have their first text read by the end of next week.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, students spent most of the week transitioning from the research process to the writing process.  Students wrote a response to Ms. O. Potamia about her upcoming exhibit and taught her about a topic as well as answered one of our six essential questions.  We talked about proper MLA format for a Works Cited and also updated our yearlong timeline in Tiki-Toki.

Next week we will launch our unit in Ancient Egypt!

Drama

This week students performed their two-minute pantomime for the whole class.  The received feedback from their peers, myself and they evaluated themselves.  They spent our half day creating an artist statement where they synthesized their learning about this unit. 

Next week we will begin our puppetry unit!