Early April

At the end of last week, we finished up our Counting on Grace work with an in-class essay. We took some time the day before to plan: thinking about what we would say and what evidence from the book we would use to support our arguments. The challenge was to write an organized, thoughtful essay within a given timeframe. I was impressed with the seriousness and focus with which students approached this challenge.

We also took time to revise several of the poems we had written in February and March and selected a poem to include in TGS’s annual student poetry compilation. 6^th graders have written some beautiful work, and we’ll be talking about additional ways to share our writing.

The next few weeks will be a transition to several spring projects. We are finishing up chapter 5 in our vocab book and reviewing the words from previous chapters—I did some informal review last week, and students have good recall of the earlier words. In preparation for ERB testing (to take place during the weeks of April 16 and 23), we are doing some practice tests and talking about test-taking strategies. We will also start brainstorming for our I-Search research projects (more on this to come next week). 

This Is Just to Say

We read William Carlos Williams’ poem “This Is Just to Say,” and talked about what makes poetry different from other forms of writing. Some students observed that Williams’ poem looked like a poem on the page (with three stanzas of four short lines each) while others noticed that it seemed informal or easy to write compared with other poetry they had been exposed to. We talked about why a writer might use a formal structure or a more informal pattern in a poem. Since Williams’ poem, at least according to legend, began as a note left for his wife, it provided a good way into the idea that a poem doesn’t have to be about something big. Poetry is a good place for little things we notice in our daily routines that may not seem important at first, but in the writing may take on a greater significance.

Finally, we wrote “This Is Just to Say” poems of our own. They ranged from humorous to fantastic to, like Williams, apologizing in name only. Two of us wrote about being woken up at night by our cats.

A few excerpts follow:

This Is Just to Say
I have exploded
the gooey pie
from ugoptugy land
It was amazing like
fireworks smashing into the
dark sky


This Is Just to Say
Goodbye. I must be moving
on, dipping my oars in to the rainbow
sea.


This Is Just to Say
I have gone out to
the stables
to ride the strange horse


This Is Just to Say
I have fallen
asleep on
your couch

Week of January 30

This week we’ll continue reading in Counting on Grace, begin learning the vocabulary words in chapter 4, and work on a short project in conjunction with the 6^th grade art curriculum.

We began last Friday to research about Australian Aboriginal peoples, their creation myths, and the way those myths are represented in contemporary Aboriginal art. Students will be working with William to create paintings depicting a creation myth; in English, we’ll be reading a number of myths this week and working to create a myth, both drawn and written, to inspire and accompany the paintings. (This won’t be a lengthy assignment, but it’s a welcome chance to do an interdisciplinary project.)

Finally, a 6^th grade project that isn’t really English-related: Kathy and I are working with 6^th graders on a knitting project. We are using planner time, opposite our typing program, and learning to knit. Ultimately, students will be knitting hats; right now we’re practicing our knitting technique and getting excited. I took a trip to the yarn store this weekend, but if any of you are knitters looking for a chance to reduce your stash, we’d be interested in any heavy worsted or bulky weight yarn you no longer need. I’ll include photos as we get deeper into this project.

Early January 2012

We spent time last week viewing clips from Ken Burns' "Prohibition" in preparation for his visit with 6th-8th graders last Friday. We looked in particular at how the events and issues surrounding Prohibition related to the Klan presence we read about in Witness. Ken gave an inspiring talk and students had time to ask questions about “Prohibition” in particular and Ken’s filmmaking in general.

We've started reading Elizabeth Winthrop's Counting on Grace, the story of a 12 year old girl working in a textile mill in 1910 Vermont. As with Witness, we’ll be looking at some of the social issues of the time, as well as looking at the way the story is told and how characters develop.

With the new year, we've returned to our vocabulary studies, and since our class will be meeting four days a week, I'm hoping we'll be able to move a little more quickly. (I've posted the chapter 3 words at right.)

Week of December 5, 2011

We just finished Karen Hesse's Witness  yesterday in class, after students shared their excellent pieces written in the voice of one of the characters from the book.

We'll continue to work with this book over the next week or so, doing some more writing and discussion.  I'll try to keep most of the work in-class, as I know the next weeks are busy with holiday concerts and other events.

We'll also be reading some shorter pieces to connect with an Australian art unit students will be beginning in January with William.

Week of October 24

We're starting to read Karen Hesse's Witness, set in 1924 Vermont as the Klan presence in the state is on the rise. We've talked a little about the times in which the book takes place, and we'll continue to fill in background information as we read.

The novel is structured as a series of prose poems in the voices of a number of the town's citizens, both big and small. For now, we'll mostly read together in class, because it's helpful for us to be able to talk as a group about what's going on. (The historical context and the format can make it hard to understand what's happening at the beginning of the book.)

We'll also be practicing writing clear, organized paragraphs in upcoming weeks. We'll be writing mini book reviews on the DCF books we're reading as well as answering questions about what we're reading in Witness.

We have our first vocab test on Thursday; students will hopefully be studying words they're not certain of starting today.

Fairy Tale Update

Just a quick update on the fairy tale progress.  It took me longer to type and respond to fairy tales than I was expecting, so we did peer review today, Tuesday.  Therefore, we'll use class time on Thursday, October 13 for revising, and final fairy tales are due to me on Friday, October 14.