We read seasonal stories this week in the library. An old favorite suggested by Mrs. Halpern was Mr. Willoby's Christmas Tree. In some of the upper grades we read and discussed Snowflake Bentley, the story of Wilson A. Bentley and his study of snow crystals. More information on his life can be found here.
We discussed opinion and persuasive or argumentative writing in many of the elementary classes this week. Depending on the grade level, we talked about how to structure the writing with a lead or hook, craft a thesis, and how to include supporting evidence and a counterargument. We read several picture books with characters trying to persuade someone: Sarah Hale writes persuasive letters to presidents for 38 years before finally President Lincoln makes Thanksgiving a national holiday. Cows convince Farmer Brown to bring them electric blankets! A pigeon wants to drive the bus! Ike LaRue writes his owner trying to convince her he should come home from obedience school! Alex wants an iguana! Charlie tries to convince his little sister, Lola, to try new foods! Not all classes read all books, but everyone LOVED rereading Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Ms. Pollack's class discussed poetry as they will be choosing a poem to present to class soon. We read a few short winter and holiday poems. Shel Silverstein's books flew off the shelf! We practiced reading poems for two voices, and we discussed the metaphor in Langston Hughes' poem "Mother to Son." In Ms. Gallagher, Ms. Beery, Ms. McGuinness and other classes we looked at the different types of nonfiction and the text features of nonfiction books-- Table of Contents, Index, Glossary, Appendix, etc as a way to locate specific information in a book. Ms. Mathew's class found material for their upcoming Expert Reports.
It is always a fast paced, fun-filled week at the elementary schools. After all the lessons, students found great books to read for pleasure and for upcoming projects. |
Joy Lynn King
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