August 27/28, 2009
Vocabulary: Our vocabulary words are
protagonist: The main character in a story, often a good or heroic type
and
antagonist: The person or force that works against the hero of the story; the “bad guy.”
I. Today we watched a small segment of the video Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid because
1. It's from the 60's, and we're building schema (background knowledge) before we read The Outsiders.
2. We talked about the protagonists and antagonists in the clip.
II. We looked at two poems, looking for protagonist and antagonist. See nearby post.
III. For "Everyday Editing," we read a short passage that began with "Let me tell you something about . .." Then the students imitated by using that first sentence starter and writing about things they could tell us about. Here are the passage and the assignment:
From Sing a Song of Tuna Fish: Hard-to-Swallow Stories from the Fifth Grade (2006) by Esme Raji Codell— (This passage reminds me of at least one special reason why we write.)
"Let me tell you something.
When you are a kid, you think you are going to remember everything. You think you are going to remember everyone who sits next to you in class and all the things that crack you up. You think you are going to remember the place where you live and all the things that made your family yours, and not the family down the hall or across the street. You think you are going to remember every punishment and big test and rainy day. You think you will remember how you feel being a kid. You think you will remember so well that you will be the best grown-up who ever lived.
And you might.
Or you might be. . . old enough to get a kind of amnesia. Memories are like days and bones and paper: they can turn to dust, and they change if not preserved.
. . . Who knows? Maybe you can use my stories. Maybe they will help you unpack your own more carefully, just in case the strange and improbable day should arrive that you forget what it was like to be a child.
Though I hope it never does."
Students, write a
"Let me tell you something about. . .”
[This can be a person, a place, or something else.]
Use at least one serial comma set in your first draft, or in a quick revision.
Revise: Place an asterisk by a place that could use more detail. Close eyes, picture, three specific, sensory details.
__________
IV. Two students from each class volunteered to be class librarians. We discussed how to check out books, and then we went on a "field trip" to the school media center where Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Byrd taught us about using the media center.
Our class library rules:
Pick a book and take it to one of our class librarians or Ms. Dorsey.
You'll need the pink sign-out list. Fill out the required information, making sure you write legibly.
You may check out 1 book at a time.
You do not have a due date for returning the book, but keep it only while you're reading it.
Make sure that when you bring it back it is signed back in. See one of our class librarians or Ms. Dorsey.
There are books in the room you aren't allowed to check out -- especially the kind of books that are meant to be browsed through instead of read. Ask if you're unsure.
Reminders: Continue to study your spelling words/names.
If you didn't bring your disclosure signature sheet back today, bring it soon!
