This week in middle school we continued to learn about dramatic structure with a review of the literary element conflict. We discussed the different types of conflicts we’ve observed in pop culture and did some critical analysis of the conflict in the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood using the film version of the Stephen Sondheim musical Into The Woods. We reviewed Gustav Freytag’s plot pyramid and students worked together to identify plot elements in picture books. Next week we will complete our unit in dramatic structure and the kids will take their first ELA assessment.
Middle school students are sharpening their skills with explanatory writing as they prepare to share their first Genius Hour blog post with our community. We are focusing on organization, structure, and clarity in our writing. Students have engaged in peer editing conferences and teacher/student conferences so that their writing is “publish ready.” I will email information about how to access our blog this week.
On Friday we took some time to observe September, 11th. We viewed two short videos and discussed the ways in which a historic event can impact the lives of people who were born after said event. The students shared stories and made connections. As a class we then did some pre-writing about our personal experiences with 9/11 and ultimately wrote a mini-memoir. Mini-memoirs are similar to the Six Word memoirs we did last year for the literary tea, but give the writer a bit more freedom. They are essentially very short free verse poems. This week I will put their work together into a memorial poster and will display and share a picture on my next post.
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