THURSDAY, AUGUST 30

@@@@COMPLETE LIFE MAP:

You were to bring the LIFE MAP back to class today. You recieved it last week. It is BLUE and says "LIFE MAP" on it! You did not need to have it completed though. You have time in class today to get it completed. Remember, if there is a question that does not suit you....CHANGE THE QUESTION and answer it!

@@@@WRITE:

Here's the scoop. Today we begin what will be called WRITING LAB. Every Thursday is a writing lab day. You will eventually write at home for 30 minutes also...but that does not start yet.

Today a read aloud the first chapter of a novel we will be reading in a few week, I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO DO THIS. In this first chapter we meet Darren. He has been given a journal for a birthday present from his mother. She wants him to write once a week in his journal. He "can't believe he has to do it." The funny thing about Darren is that he starts thinking about his life....just even that one day...his birthday...is filled with tons of cool moments, interesting moments. But when he goes to write in his journal, he convinces himself he has "nothing interesting to write about." HMMMMM.....sound familiar????

Today every student was encouraged to be more honest about their lives and their creativity. You DO lead interesting lives! You do have interesting ideas and experiences! Now...write about them!

Most kids got about 15 minutes to write in class on anything they wanted to (except other class assignments).

We also created our WRITING FOLDER and set up our WRITING GOAL for Quarter 1. Here's the goal: PRODUCE WRITING. You have to have 6 pages of writing in your writing folder by October 11th. That's about 1 page per week.

@@@@SPELLING TEST A--TOMORROW:

Don't forget to study!