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Our Production of The Wizard of Oz
by Emily Giuliano, a Phoenix seventh grader
The Wizard of Oz is coming to LMS! This story of Dorothy and her adventures will be recreated by the LMS students and trust me, a cast member, you don’t want to miss it. The show is exciting, the acting is amazing, the singing will have you dancing in your seats, and it’s just a fun experience that you will not forget. My favorite part of the experience is meeting new people and having fun with the cast and crew. I have discovered new tips for acting and singing that will help me in years to come. The theme or message of the story is that going to a foreign place can make you realize the importance of home and your roots. My favorite part of the story would definitely be when Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. The cast and crew have been working hard to perfect this show for you and we can’t wait for you to come see it.
Cast member Sharath Mahadevan adds, “ I learned that I should conquer my fears on stage and I realized I am a better actor than I actually thought I was.” Fellow cast member, Ariana Rodi shares, “I learned that the Tin Man was in love with a munchkin which I did not know until I watched the scene.” Ariana’s favorite part of the play is how Dorothy Imagines a colorful imaginary world in her head that teaches her an important lesson: "there is no place like home.”
You can buy tickets at the door Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! See the LMS website for more details!
Mrs. Clark's Reading of The Wizard of Oz
Mrs. Clark's 7th grade general music and orchestra classes read passages from the Wizard of Oz, the LMS Spring Musical this year. Orchestra students have been connecting to the famous musical by learning selections from several scenes. The orchestra recorded portions of the music that will be played through an audio track during the performance and while the audience is entering. During orchestra and seventh grade general music, the classes read through several of the story's passages and discussed how the music reflects the mood of different scenes. Ms. O'Driscoll, a student teacher, was able to scan the pages of the book, so students were able to see the book projected onto the Smartboard while the book was passed along to various readers. After reading the book, students completed a Google form about the Wizard of Oz with different questions as well as YouTube clips. Check out the form and enjoy the Emerald City!
A copy of the form can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/a/ltps.info/forms/d/1MZ1YgPKWjrFjsF_hOenXp7d1pKw43RMUx6egWUW4G6o/viewformMrs. Steele's Word Problem Experts
In Mrs. Steele's math class, students have been creating presentations to teach their classmates how to tackle complex word problems. After working on the problems independently, students work in cooperative groups to compare results on one of the problems (randomly assigned). They then have five minutes to prepare an explanation for the class, using the rubric below. Each member of the team is required to contribute to the presentation in front of the class. During their presentation, classmates use the rubric to evaluate each group, providing corrective feedback.
Presentation Rubric:
- Read problem.
- Accuracy and clarity in explanation.
- Identified key words and phrases.
- Explained impact of signs on answer.
- Included units in answer (if necessary).
- Explained common mistakes.
Here's what students have been saying about the activity (in an anonymous survey):
I liked that you could engage in the conversation instead on just sitting quietly.
I liked how they (presenters) broke the problem down, so you can understand the problem step by step.
It was coming from kids our age and it was the same level of knowledge.
I liked that I had my own role and not just one person talked.
I liked it because they tell you words that might confuse you.
(I liked) that we all worked as a group and we solved the problems and understood how the answers worked.
I liked that you could see their (presenters) point of view of the problem.
It was giving everybody a chance to present.
I liked that when they went up they had to explain it in detail or they don't get full credit.
That we got to learn from our friends
I learned from different people
I liked that we got to learn how different students had different ideas on how to solve the problems.
Addressing the common mistakes.
- they (the presentations) were a fun way to learn!
LMS Students' Favorite Heroes & The Second Annual LMS Writing Contest
Students have submitted their work to the second annual LMS Writing Contest! This year, students responded to the following prompt:
Describe an act of heroism that has had a powerful impact on society. Reflect on whether the person demonstrated bravery or courage. What obstacles did that individual or group have to overcome? It can be something that you saw on television, read about, or personally witnessed. Your submission should include some research. Find at least one credible source about the act of heroism or the courageous person you plan to discuss. Support your response with evidence from the source(s). Do not forget to identify your source(s).
Contest Rules
To be considered for the contest, all entries must:
be the original work, thoughts, and ideas of the writer.
be submitted by February 24, 2015
include the student’s full name.
be presented in Arial or Times New Roman, 12 or 14 pt. font, in black.
be double spaced, with 1” margins.
be submitted as a Google Doc by completing this form:
Grade 7 Phoenix students created TIME magazine covers depicting their hero’s portrait, a heroic deed, or a symbol associated with the hero. They viewed and compared TIME covers online and practiced the creative and critical thinking process as they designed their own covers. You can check out some of the covers today and stay tuned next month to learn the names of our winners and to read their final essays!