Hello Middle School Parents!
TGIF! We've had another great week! This week we focused on creative writing. We learned about free verse poetry, examined mentor texts, and students wrote their first poem of the year. We also began a unit on fiction writing. Students activated their prior knowledge about fiction, specifically different genres and the elements of plot. As a class we watched a short film and identified the elements of plot. Then I read aloud to them a wonderful (and slightly creepy) science fiction short story called "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury and students worked on their own to identify the different plot elements. Armed with a thorough understanding of the elements of plot, students began brainstorming ideas and details for their own piece of fiction. I'm so excited by their ideas and can't wait to see what they end up writing! Throughout this we kept returning to the importance of the writing process, specifically pre-writing, edit/proofreading, and revising. In our grade specific ELA sessions we are continuing to read our novels and learn about literary elements related to plot, like conflict, theme, and characterization. Next week we will continue our investigation of fiction writing and also introduce our new students to the expectations and procedures for our school newspaper, the Davidson Green School Gateway. Pictures below show students working together to study various examples of free verse poetry, working together with a special guest (my dad, Victor!) to create new digs for our chickens, and working together to discuss this weeks Socratic Seminar topic. Lots of working together...these kids are great!
Have a lovely weekend! Maya :)