Friday, May 6, 2011

Snack and quiet reading began our day.  This is something we have been doing as a regular routine since September.  Most of the students are able to get into this without being reminded, but there are still a few students who do not use this time wisely and should.  Quiet reading helps students develop their writing skills, spelling, vocabulary development, the  ability to make predictions and inferences.  Be sure to ask your daughter or son, sister or brother if they are reading during this time period.

In the morning, we spent some time reviewing some old news items.  First, we viewed a Power Point presentation on the wonders of the human brain.  This was like the Scientists in the School presentation we had in the Fall.  Here is an example of one the slides from the presentation:

One of the students had a question, after the Tsunami in Japan, about the effects of radiation on the body.  I was looking through some old issues of National Geographic and came across a visual I used to explain what happens to the body.  I attempted to upload it to this site, but I believe the image is too large.

We continued with our reading of Worse than Boys and added an interesting Drama activity to the read aloud.  It is called the Corridor of Voices.  Basically it involves using a character from the book that walks down a simulated corridor or hallway made up of students from the class.  The students are instructed to say something as the walking character passes by.  The comment should be based on a possible thought or emotions, or question.  It is intended to be creative and fun, but it also is used to check the listening and comprehension of the student during my read aloud period.  The exercise allows the students to get inside the many complex thoughts and emotions we might feel as human beings. 

The students had Family Studies this afternoon and we ended off the day by watching an animated film. 

Homework:   

Reading Response for Grade 7 and 8                     

Math for Grade 7:  select Algebra questions from sheet in red duotang

Math for Grade 8:  Algebra questions from sheet in red duotang