I was hoping things would be a little more "normal" this week. This morning eight students were absent and then five or six of the wonderful PALS from Room 204 were pulled for the PALS program. No complaints - it is what it is. On the bright side, I now know what it feels like to be teaching a Primary class: 20 kids? Sweet!
Just a word on the Literature Circles for this week. Despite the absences, I'm determined to crack on with things. All students were given a role for this week: Discussion Director/Summarizer, Travel Tracer, Illustrator, or Vocabulary Enricher. I've double-sided the sheets and explained to the students that they do not do both sides - just the side he/she is responsible for. They will come to school Friday prepared to discuss the first two chapters of their book. Those reading Raven Quest will read the first three chapters since it is a longer book. Hope that helps. New roles will emerge as the lit circles continue and students will rotate through the roles. I am working to obtain two copies of Farley Mowat's Never Cry Wolf, which we cannot find extra copies of in the school.
This Thursday, Dr. Christopher Spence, Director of Education for the TDSB, will be visiting our illustrious school. We have talked about him a fair deal in our class as we've discussed some of his ideas reported in the news. Tomorrow, students will come up with questions they would like to ask Dr. Spence. We will choose 3-5 of the most urgent/interesting questions and (hopefully) we will have a chance to ask him. Ms. Persaud suggested a student conduct a short interview with him. Sibghat has volunteered his services and I'll bring my digital recorder that day. A possible podcast for the blog? Do we have a future broadcast journalist in our midst?
Bye for now. Have a good week.
E. Hawkins
Here's a joyful song that makes me feel all summery.
