We spent these last three ELA classes of 2018 applying our knowledge of story elements and point of view to Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We watched the movie for most of Tuesday's and Wednesday's classes. On Thursday you analyzed it both independently and with a partner. You did nice work with this!
Friday was a strange day because you were all at different places in your work. Many of you needed the additional day for your project, which was perfectly fine. For those of you that had finished already, I gave you an extra credit opportunity. We watched the first part of A Christmas Carol. This is one of the most famous stories ever written. You analyzed Ebenezer Scrooge's character to determine how and why he is an outsider. We quickly summarized the story on Monday before finishing the movie. CNN 10 is off the air until after break, so we did something a little different to split up the class. You got to know your classmates by doing a personal scavenger hunt. It looked like you all enjoyed this! We will finish up tomorrow. Then, we moved into our final activity for this unit. You watch the beginning of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We will focus on story elements for this activity. You are responsible for taking notes on setting and character while watching the movie. You will do more with theme, conflict, and plot (point of view and our unit question about outsiders will also be included) starting on Wednesday.
Today we had three things we hoped to accomplish. First, anyone who did not turn in their book reflections needed to finish that up. Next, we had project time. This was a productive time for most of you. Several of you even started a second extra credit project! Lastly, you went through your folders and notebooks for The Witch of Blackbird Pond to let me know about any extra credit. As I mentioned during class, I am hoping to get these back to you quicker than I did last time. Tomorrow is the final project day! These are due on Monday.
Today you had library, so ELA was a little shorter than normal. Our focus today was to finish the Book Reflection assignment on Google Classroom and to meet with me about your new free read books. Almost everyone met with me, but there are still a few more people who need to get a book. Tomorrow we will continue working on projects!
We began work on the final projects for The Witch of Blackbird Pond today. First, though, you had to finish your book reflections. I have not started grading these yet, but many of you put a great deal of effort into them. Once you checked in with me, you were able to start your projects. We will work on these in class until Friday. Your final projects are due on Monday 12/17! Remember, you MUST have a free read starting tomorrow. I will meet with each of you to discuss this during ELA.
Today was our final literature circle meeting for The Witch of Blackbird Pond. You started by reviewing the book. The results are in! 9% of the grade loved the book and gave it 5 stars! 28% of you gave it 4 stars, 26% of you gave it 3 stars, and 15% of you gave it 2 stars. Sadly, 22% of you didn't seem to care for the story and gave it 1 star. Hopefully you will like our other books a little more! After our meeting, you began work on your book reflections using Google Classroom. These connected to the skills that you had lessons about this unit, the 5 elements and point of view. You will continue this tomorrow before beginning final projects.
On Thursday we had a typical literature circle day. We discussed chapters 17, 18, and 19. Only one more meeting until we wrap everything up! After our meeting you had a little time to work. Friday was a half day and you had time to continue this important work. I hope you are ready for Monday's discussion!
Today was a library day. You started class by finishing your point of view work from yesterday. I gave you a portion of class to work on the reading for tomorrow's meeting (chapters 17, 18, and 19). We reviewed the POV questions before you watched CNN 10. Only 2 more meetings left!
I was not here on Monday, but it was a literature circle day. 7A met as usual with Ms. MC leading my group. 7B struggled a bit more because there was only one adult for both groups. Let's make sure we get back on track. Tuesday was a lesson day. We focused on point of view. We started by reviewing what point of view is, including the different types (first and third). Then we discussed how point of view impacts the rest of the story. We practiced using multiple versions of the story of the Three Little Pigs. We will review your answers tomorrow.
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