Here's what's up this week.
Language Arts -
This week we'll be starting our Beginning of Year writing assessment. On Monday we're going to be reading and marking our source article - Birth Order Blues. In the article, the author makes the argument that being the oldest, mild child, youngest or only child influences your personality.
On Monday we are going to read the article, number the paragraphs, box words they aren't sure about, and mark questions (?) and surprises (!) in the margins.
We'll be examining the article more deeply and interviewing classmates about their families and siblings on Tuesday & Wednesday as we prepare to write an argumentative essay agreeing or disagreeing with the claims in the article.
Reading Groups-
Our books groups got started this week. Students in book groups have daily reading goals to finish the books by Oct. 19th. Book groups meet once a week with me for a short conference, and will have short weekly projects, and a bigger project at the end.
Social Studies -
We're beginning Chapter 4 - The Rise of Sumerian City-States. In this chapter we're examining the causes & effects that lead to the rise of the earliest large cities of Mesopotamia. What problems and solutions lead to the building of these large, complex, independent cities?