The Kersey Chronicles
Rockstars Choosing to Matter in Room 25
End-of-Quarter Madness
Okay, hopefully it's not madness, but more like organized chaos! :) Mrs. Park just taught a lesson on calming stress and anxiety - perfect timing!
We have three "big" projects remaining that will be due in the next couple of weeks - I know it will be a busy time for everyone, and I appreciate your support at home. The students are up for the challenge and are using their time very well here at school. I see a lot of growth in their time management and ability to prioritize.
1) Book Review Assignment - this is due December 10th. Most students have finished it, or at least started it. I recommend students break it into each of the 4 parts and complete one part at a time.
2) Genius Hour Project - due December 14th. Students will create a product to share publicly in a way that makes their world a better place. Many students have completed their product and are practicing presentations. Everyone should be in the creation stage of the product by now.
3) Animal Adaptations (Bats!) - due December 16th. We are busy researching bat species and how they use animal adaptations to survive. At this point, all students have a bat species to focus on and I have provided them with folders and a checklist to organize their information. For your information, I've emailed a letter and presentation rubric yesterday. Students will present a model and oral presentation on Wednesday 12/16.
Most of the work for these projects can be completed at school, but students will likely need to do some work at home. They have been writing these assignments in their assignment notebook for the last several days as well. Please contact me if you have questions!
Try This At Home ...
Using sensory descriptors, describe your dinner in detail.
Bat Expert
Next Week's Set List (December 7-11)
Week at a Glance/Skills for the Week:
LITERACY – We are working on using text evidence to prove and justify our conclusions and generalizations. Students are doing this in small group reading, Socratic Seminars, and Book Clubs.
WRITING – We will finish up our unit on persuasive and opinion writing, focusing on topics that are meaningful to us because they are at the core of who we are, and we can provide reasons for why others should consider our viewpoints on these topics.
MATH – We are working through Unit 6, which focuses on analyzing and evaluating data. Students read and interpret data and use it to draw conclusions. The test will be Thursday, December 17th.
SPELLING – We have taken a pause from Spelling (not intentionally) because of the depth of learning students are taking in their other projects.
SCIENCE – Students are learning about animal adaptations and transferring their knowledge through an oral presentation about a bat species, in which they will pretend to be a zookeeper opening a brand new bat exhibit. They will present information to their classmates using a model of their bat to aid in the presentation. Students will also write a 5-paragraph informational paper.
SOCIAL STUDIES – We are taking a break from Social Studies and will resume later in the school year.
TIPS - We will read texts from Journeys and practice identifying Author's Purpose by using clues from the text.
Adopt-a-Family Donations Wrapping Party
If you have a LEVEL 3 clearance, I would love volunteers to help with this wrapping party. You can email me at lauren_kersey@nobl.k12.in.us if you are available and interested. Thank you in advance.
If you have not signed up, and would like to, please go here. I believe we are still in need of boots and/or shoes for a couple of the kids. Again - thank you!
Friday, Dec 11, 2015, 02:30 PM
Mrs. Kersey's Classroom
Upcoming Events
December 10th: Book Review Assignment due
December 14th: Genius Hour Presentations due
December 16th: Bat Presentations due
December 18th: Indiana State Museum Field Trip
December 19th - January 4th: Winter Break