There are so many awesome things we're doing in my classroom that I thought I'd share them with the world. Posts will include what is working in the classroom, the achievements of my students, lesson plan ideas that have proven successful to help other teachers save time, and finally...just what's really going on in room 305. Believe me, it is ALIVE!!!
Special congratulations to Taylor Jackson who is the first 8th grader to join the Million Word Club in the first 9 weeks! Taylor received a free LaRosa's pizza, and a virtual trip to Amazon with Ms. Lalk where she selected the book of her choice! Thanks for setting such a positive example! Justin Pearson is hot on your trail, though, and is inching toward that million word mark!
This year we've really hit figurative language hard. No, not literally, lol, (hyperbole for those counting). I use 'Annabelle Lee' by Edgar Allan Poe to teach fluency and figurative language at the same time. And it works! Students never tire of reading the poem, and this led to our secretly meeting tons of benchmarks, by locating example after example of figurative language in Poe's poetry and marking with different colors that corresponded to the language located. Alliteration found in the poem was hilighted pink, assonance was purple, similes were orange, personification was green, etc. This activity proved to be a fun way to both teach and learn figurative language.
For our Veteran's Day starter, we practiced our personal letter writing skills by writing letters of support to veterans, service members, and family members who have served our country. The letters will be mailed this weekend. While we've learned a valuable writing skill, we've made a difference in the life of a soldier... Speaking of making a difference on Veteran's Day, Katya Michael placed as runner up, and Jacob Jones received first prize for the Patriot's Pen Essay Contest! These two are in the same class, so they have a special Lalk celebration to look forward to soon!
