There was something strangely familiar about it. :-)
4th grade The students were SO excited to receive a personal letter and autographed photo from Homer Hickam. He is the author of the biography story, Rocket Boys. I've been reading the story to the students this year (with some edits of my choosing!). It is such a wonderful story of working hard to reach a goal. They can't get over the fact that such a great story could also be a true story. This week, the students learned what it means to "critique" others work and they were such good sports about the process. They are learning how to properly cite Internet sources as well as practicing proofreading! | 5th grade Typhoid Mary was the topic of the week! The students had to determine whether she was a villain or a victim. They used a Visible Thinking Routine called "Tug-O-War" to do this. Most of the students felt that she started out as a victim, but then she became a villain as she continued to ignore the fact that she was a healthy carrier of typhoid fever and spreading the disease. Students also thought about Typhoid Mary using the Six Hats Thinking Strategy. With this strategy, students think about a topic from six different points of view: facts, feelings, positive, negative, alternatives, and then summarizing it. |