March 28, 2013
Hello 7th Grade Families,
"Even though there are different cliques and groups, many of us have a lot in common."
"It's always better to face problems, then runaway from them because they can get worse."
"Teenagers from the 1950s have a lot of the same problems that we do in 2013."
We also began watching the movie and discussed the similarities and differences between the movie and novel. When we return from break, we'll finish the movie and do a move/book critique. Students worked their Outsiders portfolio and finished their first draft of their character bio poem. Here's one of our student's finished piece:
Hello 7th Grade Families,
The Outsiders
What an amazing week I had with the 7th grade class. We began the week finishing The Outsiders and discussing the major themes of the book. Some of the takeaways students had from reading the book included:"Even though there are different cliques and groups, many of us have a lot in common."
"It's always better to face problems, then runaway from them because they can get worse."
"Teenagers from the 1950s have a lot of the same problems that we do in 2013."
We also began watching the movie and discussed the similarities and differences between the movie and novel. When we return from break, we'll finish the movie and do a move/book critique. Students worked their Outsiders portfolio and finished their first draft of their character bio poem. Here's one of our student's finished piece:
Dallas
Who is a hard criminal, a swearing fiend, a person with an uncontrollable personality.
Who loves jumping people, to swear, along with smoking and drinking.
Who feels no affection from his parents, who feels that jumping people is fun, who feels hatred toward the Socs.
“We gotta win that fight tonight. We gotta get even with those Socs! Let's do it for Johnny, man. We'll do it for Johnny!”
Who needs cigarettes, alcohol, and gang fights.
Who gives a heater, no yankee dime, and a meal at Dairy Queen.
“You think my old man gives a hang if I'm dead in a car wreck or drunk or in jail or something, he doesn't care but that doesn't bother me. You're not going anywhere.”
Who fears losing Johnny, that people thinks he’s a hero, and that he misses a big rumble.
Who would like to see death after Johnny’s death.
Who shares weapons for emergencies.
Who is a tough, greasy criminal.
“You're never gonna get me alive!”
Who is a resident of The Cooler.
Winston
Writers Workshop
We are continuing to write our first drafts of our fictional short stories. Students have been focusing on their introductions and grabbing the reader's attention.
Some of the expectations of this round of WW include:
-include all the elements of fiction: dynamic characters, a setting, a point of view, conflict, a theme, and an interesting plot.
-the length of the short story is 3-5 pages typed (students will begin typing their 1st draft once they've received peer critique on their finished first draft).
-the short story must have a resolution for it's conflict. Many students have shared they want to write a chapter book, but for this round there still needs to be a resolution, no cliffhangers :)
Holi
Finally, we ended our day today by celebrating Holi. It was a great way to mark the beginning of spring and spring break and enjoy our dynamic team. We celebrated Holi with the 4th graders and 1st graders. The students had so much fun and asked if we could do celebrate Holi every month and if we could make it school wide next year. We have a few students who'll be working on a video in Tech class when we return from break. In the meantime, check out the photos below of our celebration. Here's a link for more.
Hope you have a great weekend and Spring Break Thank you for sharing your amazing students with me, we're having so much fun. Feel free to email me at jennie@innovationsacademy.org if you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks,
Jennie
