That About Covers It

Today for our morning Jumpstart, students finished their Word Nerd comics and practiced with Greek and Latin Suffixes.  Here is a sampling of some of their clever Word Nerd comments!

• "I like booting the soccer ball into the target, but unfortunately I have no one to engage with."
• "My devious brother got in immense trouble for bawling at my mom."
• "While I was dawdling in the ruckus room I demolished my curio sedan."
• "I over dozed and did not feel like advancing to school because I was zonked."

Our Jacob's Ladder focus today turned toward poetry as students read the student published work, Artist by middle-schooler Caitlin Graham. We looked at the literary element of personification and the characteristics of the sun as an artist.  Students made inferences about why the sun can no longer paint when the autumn leave fall and they drew out the greater theme of the poem in regards to nature.  I was impressed with their insights!

For math, we continue to develop our understanding of area.  Today we reviewed by playing a dice game where students rolled for a length and width and then created their rectangle on a piece of grid paper.  The partner with the overall greatest area at the end of the activity came out victorious.  Next, students were challenged to find the area of a member of their learning club by tracing them on a pace on inch grid paper.  They had to use strategies to divide up the space, estimate, and use pieces to make wholes.

 

For our mindset moment, student used self-reflection to complete their 1st semester progress report and take time to consider their learning, attitudes, and goal set for the new year.

We wrapped up our day with our Medieval Times project and checking off our bishop box for our Chess sketchbook.