News from Mrs. Drudy 12/07/2015
"We exist so children can excel."
What We're Learning in Challenge
We are finishing up our open mind portraits of Opal Buloni, the main character in Because of Winn-Dixie. We also embraced Opal's perspective as we wrote heartfelt letters to her long-lost mother. This activity addresses the following Indiana Academic Standards:
- "Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the plot.
- Distinguish personal point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.
- Write routinely over a variety of time frames and for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences; apply reading standards to write in response to literature and nonfiction texts."
Keeping with the theme of resiliency and overcoming less-than-desirable circumstances, we are moving on to a holiday-related novel, The House Without A Christmas Tree, by Gail Rock . I must admit, my intent here is a bit selfish, as this was one of my childhood favorites.
5-6 Class
Speaking of resiliency... we (like the 3-4 class) have been reading about characters that overcome tragic circumstances. We are currently knee-deep in Esperanza Rising, the story of a Mexican immigrant to the United States set in 1930. When the young heroine of Esperanza Rising moves to a foreign country, she experiences a lot of social pressures that are familiar to the millions of immigrants living in the U.S. today. Today, just like in the 1930s, immigration is a major hot-button issue. No matter where our sympathies lie, Esperanza's story helps humanize this controversial issue. Through Esperanza's eyes, we learn what it would be like to leave our home, our friends, and even our language behind in order to start a new life in a new country. This interesting story has been the prefect springboard to a study of the history of the Great Depression.
Timelines
The timelines are trickling in and, as you'd expect, they are phenomenal. Thank you for supporting your child with these at-home projects. If your child is still working, he or she has been reminded that the project is due this Friday, December 11. Students will have the opportunity to share them during the week of December 14th.
Author's Visit
Gallery Walk
MCS Hero: Trustworthiness
Notes from the Teacher
Coming Up:
Dec. 7-10 Santa Shop
Friday, December 11th: Biography Timelines Due
Tuesday, Dec. 15th: Band and Choir Holiday Concert 7:00
December 18th: 2nd Nine Weeks A.R. points due