Our Thesis Statements, Sportsmanship, Scoring Poetry, and Research

Here we're doing our initial research into tribes and considering the element of their culture that we'd like to focus on.

Welcome to Fraction Land! This was our first day working with modeling parts of a whole. We used pattern blocks to build a shape, shaded some of the equal parts, and defined the fraction shaded. Then students built the exact same shape using a different block. This way they built their first model of equivalent fractions.

 The dance move of the day was a "jumping wave".

In Mindfulness with Rebekkah, students are drawing the "weather report of their mind". What does your sky mind look like today? Is it crowded with thoughts and feelings? What sort of weather do those thoughts and feelings remind you of? This work helps us experience the impermanence of our thoughts and feelings- just like weather patterns, they always move on. Whatever we're feeling is OK.

I gave the class five tips for successful poetry recitation:
1. Score your poem
2. Find your pace
3. Use good diction
4. Use natural movement- don't be stiff and rigid, but don't over-do it, acting out every word
5. Be natural and have fun!
These students are scoring their poems for recitation. Where will you take breaths? Slow for emphasis? Raise your volume? Bring more energy?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

This morning we watched a video about Olympic snow boarder, Shaun White.  We saw some truly incredible jumps and learned about his impressive pre-Sochi Olympic history on the half pipe. Then we watched him crash and lose his shot at medaling this year. When I watched that video at home over the break, I was impressed by a number of things that Shaun did immediately after that unsuccessful run and I thought I'd share with the students.
1. We talked about how you don't always win, even if you do your best and try your hardest. That's just a tough fact of life.
2. We watched Shaun fall and he was clearly disappointed. We talked about how it's OK to be disappointed when things don't work out how you'd hoped. I say it all the time- it's always OK to feel your feelings.
3. We heard Shaun ask his buddy for a hug. We talked about how reaching out to the people who care about us is a great choice when we're needing support.
4. We watched him genuinely congratulate Iouri Podladtchikov. He was gracious and seemed sincere. We talked about how we could tell.
5. We watched him respond to an interviewer who blamed the poor conditions for Shaun's fall. We talked about how Shaun didn't make excuses. He said that everyone was dealing with the same tough conditions and it just didn't work out for him that time. No excuses, just graciousness in defeat.
6. We watched him look to the future. We talked about how he didn't give up. He said, "It just wasn't my day. I'll live on to fight another day... Next time." We talked about hope and how one bad day doesn't mean that you're not good at something; it just means you had a bad day.


Up next in Writers' Workshop?
Now that we've been generating ideas for essays and building our skills as essayist for a while, students are developing one essay idea to take all the way through the writing process. Here are the thesis statements that students have selected:

It's great to spend time with your family.

It is important to express yourself.

Wii is really fun!

You have to work hard to get what you want.

People with different skin colors shouldn't  be treated differently.

Even though something might hurt, it can still be worth it. 

Poachers should not kill elephants. 

Be careful of which rides you choose at Disneyland. 

Reading is learning and having fun. 

I want a baby sister. 

I think that people should be able to get married in California, even if they're gay. 

People feel like they need to know everything. 

Change is good. 

It feels so weird to leave your old school when you know you're not going back again. 

Gravity is very important!

Sometimes you have fun doing  things that you didn't think you wanted to do.