Two Steps Forward - One Step Back....

I have to admit, the kids were much better for me today.  This is the group of students I look forward to working with each day.  Of course, there are a few people, a couple who are new to the room, who still haven't gotten with the program completely, but I can say I enjoyed today.

Now, when they went to Dance and Lunch... that is a different story.....  In Dance class, two young ladies and one young man made it virtually impossible for the teacher to teach.  In lunch four young men and one young lady thought it was OK to have a food fight... There will be some phone calls made for sure!

• 1st period we had Test Prep and we read a new article "Klondike Nuggets" and then broke down the first two questions that come with it.   The students seem so capable of answering the questions during discussion.  What happens when they have to read the text themselves and read the questions and answer themselves?  It means that they are not closely reading the text.  They are not breaking the questions down, eliminating the answers that make no sense.  They are not being careful and consistent.   They need to slow down, concentrate, and do their best each and every time they attempt anything.   After we finished dissecting the two problems, we looked at their homework and then broke into Book Clubs.  At the end of Book Clubs, they filled out their Exit Slips.
• 2nd period was Dance.  When I picked them up, I noticed two girls sitting in the audience, one saw me and covered her face.  TALKING when the teacher was trying to instruct.  During dismissal from the stage, one of the boys refused to listen to the teacher and yelled back.  I was so embarrassed that one of my kids would do that.

• 3rd period - After a quick read aloud and AR testing, we moved to ReadyGen lesson 3A.12 and finished the text Quake!   The big push today was looking at other ways to say words (synonyms) and how to prepare to write an opinion paper.  After we finished reading, we talked about different ways to say "SAY" or "SAID" ...... We then talked about pre-writing and I gave them a prompt and they created a graphic organizer to compare and contrast Earthquakes and Quake!  One is nonfiction, the other fiction.  They both tell about earthquakes in totally different ways.  Today and tonight, they have to write down how each explains earthquakes so they can decided which did it in a more powerful way and form their opinion. 

• 4th period we reviewed where we have been so far in chapter 7 of GoMath and then looked at 7.6 again (working with improper fractions and mixed numbers and how and why we need to be able to convert and use both.  We had student teachers (the kids) come up and explain the process and their thinking.
• 5th period - about half way through fifth period we finished GoMath and headed across the hall for the students to work on Waggle ELA.
• 6th period - lunch
• 7th period - After a class read aloud and AR testing, we talked about the Social Studies projects and what was expected.  For the next three days during SS time (7th) - they will work to complete their project and create their poster for presenting on Friday.  Their work starts tonight with labeling a map of the 13 colonies.

Homework:

1. Writing - Continue to take notes, facts, quotes about Earthquakes and Quakes on how they show what happens during earthquakes (compare and contrast)
2. Math - GoMath Practice 7.6
3. Social Studies - Label and Color Code the 13 Colonies Map
4. Test Prep - ELA and Math Questions