Student led conferences

Don't forget that this week we are having our first student led conferences.  If you have not already signed up for them, please click on the following link. SLCs Please remember that SLCs are not parent teacher conferences.  This is an opportunity for your child to reflect on their work so far this year and to make goals for the school year. Students need to be doing a majority of the speaking and showing their work.

This week we are finishing up working on our autobiographical narratives about a time that they solved a problem in their life.  We discussed how excellent writers spend a majority of their time planning and pre-writing their work.  I am truly amazed at the quality of the work produced by our authors.  We have been practicing on getting feedback to improve the quality of our work.  Students are also creating morals and themes to our stories.  Ask your child what the moral of their story is.  You might be surprised by the insight your child has!

Last week we continued to have debates.  Students were very engaged in our topic- Which lifestyle is easier,  the Native Americans or modern life?  It was a great experience to learn how to respectfully disagree with our classmates without taking things personally.  Students learned great public speaking and listening skills through this activity.  I look forward to having more debates about various topics throughout the year.

Just a reminder, this month students are completing their book club reviews.  Depending on how long their book was, I gave them the option to choose when the due date of the review was.  All work must be completed no later than by the end of the month.  As a class, we brainstormed options of how each student could present their work.  Some students are creating power points, book blogs, and dioramas.  There is no shortage of creativity when it comes to these reports.  If your child is taking their book home, please make sure that your child is bringing their book back to school everyday.  I encourage you to read with your child at night and ask questions about what they are reading.