Bah Humbug! A Journey through the Victorian Era Begins

The first week of the second nine weeks began with another round of writing about our beloved Cleveland Indians and their series with the Toronto Blue Jays.  Students continued to practice writing the four types of sentences as they related supporting details to the five-game American League Championship Series. #ENGRoom121 is designed to allow the students to become better writers because they will have multiple opportunities to practice, edit, and revise ALL of their writing. Items will not be checked off of the "To-Do List" unless there is a proven level of understanding and forward progress.

Through observations and discussions, it is evident that this process is getting easier. Writing is never an easy task, and it is often more difficult for students because they have never been asked, or expected to continually practice, edit, revise, and rewrite.  They are too used to completing an assignment, having it graded and never having to revisit it to make it better. The above approach is not the way to help the students become more confident and better writers, so we will adopt an approach that mirrors the process expressed in the above image (pay particular attention to the part about Hemingway :-) ).

Students were also introduced to the second quarter read aloud, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.  On Monday and Tuesday, students were introduced to the Victorian Era, Charles Dickens, and the novel itself.  They took notes as we discussed each of the above.  On Wednesday and Thursday, we read Stave 1 of the novel, and the students worked on the Stave 1 "Check Your Understanding" questions.  It was a festive time in #ENGRoom121, and we look forward to discovering more reasons why the novel, A Christmas Carol, is credited with restoring the Christmas spirit to many who read it.

Remember that one cannot become a better reader without practicing reading. Students must commit to 30 minutes of reading five days a week outside of school to improve.  Just another friendly reminder, if students are absent on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday they should email me at aprok@berea.k12.oh.us OR aprok@bereaschools.org, send me a tweet on Twitter, or message me in Remind101 with their silent reading status update.  If they do not do this, they will lose the 5 points the "Status of the Class" update is worth.  THIS IS to be done on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (NOT the day or days after).

Here's a look at the upcoming week (10/31 - 11/4):

1. MHJH Halloween Dress Up Day - SHOW YOUR SCHOOL SPIRIT (please adhere to the guidelines and expectations shared by Mr. Kish on the morning announcement)
2. A Christmas Carol (view Stave 1 - Monday)
3. Go over Stave 1 "Check Your Understanding" Questions (Tuesday)
4. Read Stave 2 of A Christmas Carol (Wednesday & Thursday)
5. TITANS ACTIVITY Schedule - 1st Quarter Incentive Day (Thursday)
6. A Christmas Carol Stave 2 "Check Your Understanding Questions (Friday)

Vocabulary to know for the upcoming week (10/31 - 11/4):

NONE

GO TITANS!  And GOOOOOO, CLEVELAND INDIANS!