January 10, 2011

We've been getting lots of mail lately! The postcard project has been very successful so far. We've gotten postcards from all five regions and 20 states so far, and they're still pouring in! We also got two exciting letters today. In November, the students wrote a letter to an author of a book that they felt a connection with. Today, two of the students received replies to their letters, from Judy Blume and Kate DiCamillo. It was nice to have their letters acknowledged in this way.

Last week, I assigned the students the setting project for a historical fiction novel. They can choose to recreate the setting of either The Whipping Boy, the book they read on their own, or the book they just began reading in guided reading groups. The projects are due on Wednesday, February 2, so they can be displayed as part of Catholic Schools Week. If they are researching castles, below are some links that may be helpful:

Castles for Kids
National Geographic: Ghosts in the Castle

Last year's projects were wonderful (as I'm sure this year's will be as well-I've been very impressed with the quality of work turned in by many of the students). If you'd like to see last year's castles for inspiration, just click on the slideshow from January 7, 2010 posted in this blog.

In social studies, students are going to begin to be tested on the location of the states. At the beginning of the week, they will receive a blank map to use as their study guide, and we will fill in the states they need to memorize (usually five at a time). On Friday, they will use another blank map to fill in the names of the states. Spelling does not count as long as I can recognize the name, but they may not use the abbreviations. The students filled in the first five today, so our first test will be this Friday, January 14th.