What an interesting couple of days! I got to see so many different and challenging texts that students brought in. From short stories to computer programs, from sheet music to Xbox instructions- what a range of readers we have in LitWrit!
In addition to asking students to talk about their texts in groups, I also had them reflect on what their choice of text says about who they are. This deeper reflecting work brought out some intriguing self-descriptions, which I look forward to reading in greater detail at our first notebook check.
We spent the second half of our class these past two days getting oriented in the library. If you'd like to check out the library's website from home, you can click here.
Homework today is to complete the "Teacher's Challenge" questions, which go along with the excerpt I handed out.
Teacher's Challenge (homework instructions)
Reading
-Mrs. L.
Showing posts with label Unit 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unit 1. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
Great analogy from a student
I want to share a great analogy that a student suggested today.
I had asked groups to explain why "mother" was at the top of the list of favorite words, and this student said that words can be like appearances. Someone might look unremarkable at first, but if you find out they have a really great personality, they start to become lovely. She said it's the same with words: "mother" doesn't look like much, but when you get to know what's behind it, it's really quite wonderful.
Thanks to all the great moms!
-Mrs. L.
I had asked groups to explain why "mother" was at the top of the list of favorite words, and this student said that words can be like appearances. Someone might look unremarkable at first, but if you find out they have a really great personality, they start to become lovely. She said it's the same with words: "mother" doesn't look like much, but when you get to know what's behind it, it's really quite wonderful.
Thanks to all the great moms!
-Mrs. L.
Words We Love
Check out these quotes from Marilyn Chandler McEntyre:
We talked about words a lot today, starting with an article entitled "Mother's the Word." If you'd like to read it, you can find it here.
What does it mean to look "at" a word, instead of "through" it? I used the analogy of a window: usually, words function like a window, to show us something beyond. Like the quote says above, I want us to sometimes pause and look at this "window" itself. What happens when you look at a word as something vital, something delightful? Maybe what the guys in this video do:
Most classes then thought of their own favorite words, and we created a "Word Wall" with them. Some classes even had time to answer our essential question for this unit, which is, "How do we use words to communicate who we are?"
Have a great weekend!
-Mrs. L.
“It is hard to get people to look at words instead of through them.”
And sometimes words become objects of interest in themselves. Suddenly we notice them. We see and hear them the way poets do, as having vitality and delightfulness independent of their utility.
We talked about words a lot today, starting with an article entitled "Mother's the Word." If you'd like to read it, you can find it here.
What does it mean to look "at" a word, instead of "through" it? I used the analogy of a window: usually, words function like a window, to show us something beyond. Like the quote says above, I want us to sometimes pause and look at this "window" itself. What happens when you look at a word as something vital, something delightful? Maybe what the guys in this video do:
Most classes then thought of their own favorite words, and we created a "Word Wall" with them. Some classes even had time to answer our essential question for this unit, which is, "How do we use words to communicate who we are?"
Have a great weekend!
-Mrs. L.
Student Dictionary Interviews
On Wednesday and Thursday, we conducted interviews to create an entry in our "Student Dictionary." Students wrote up their interviews like a dictionary entry and presented their partner to the class.
At the end of class, students wrote down three words they thought describe them. These words (several hundred across all five classes!) are now up in our room. You can read some of the words in the picture below!
-Mrs. L.
At the end of class, students wrote down three words they thought describe them. These words (several hundred across all five classes!) are now up in our room. You can read some of the words in the picture below!
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