This week Room 503 (and Room 506) celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday (Tuesday, March 2). In addition to cake, the students wrote poems inspired by the Seuss quote, "There is no one alive who is Youer Than You."Below are a couple of examples of the Seuss-inspired poems:
There is no one alive who is youer than you.
No one who knows 2 +2.
Well, maybe they know 2+2,
But no one sees it like I do.
2 being family
2 being friends
4 being love because friendship never ends.
Next in my life is 4 X2.
4 bring love,
2 being life
8 being peace in my head.
Now maybe 8 squared,
That equals 8 X 8.
8 being God,
8 being my heart
64 being my soul.
Okay, so maybe this makes me wierd,
but no matter what I'm here.
Here with you, here with me.
This will last for eternity.
~ Kira Thomas
There is no one alive me'er than me
There is a key
That defines me.
I walk, I run, sometimes I jump
This seems to give me pump
This is the special key that defines me.
I like to eat
I don't cheat
I think I might move to the island of Crete.
I rhyme all the time
There is a key
That defines me.
That is why no one alive is me'er than me.
~ John Helm
Today, Thursday, was a very busy day, beginning with Drama, where the students worked in small groups (beginning yesterday), to put on creative skits which had to include one line from the Mother Teresa piece, Hamlet, and from Jabberwocky. They also needed to incorporate at least one improv game in their skit, as well as use all of their stage skills: good speech, vocal projection, blocking, "cheating out," and connecting with their fellow actors (see photos in above post).
In Language Arts, students dug deep in their homework last night, finding quotes from The Book of Three that demonstrated life lessons, and exploring what they thought and felt about them. This led to a wonderful class discussion today. It is evident that most all of the students are growing in their discussion skills and are developing good critical thinking skills.
This afternoon, after preparation yesterday, the students worked in small groups in an activity called "Project Runway Meets Ancient Rome" (see photos in above post). Working from a sketch, students had to work together to create a model of an ancient Roman (all of Room 503's happened to be women).
Tomorrow is our first in-class work day for our ancient Rome projects, and the second of the project's assignments are due: (at least) two websites that students will be using as source material for their research.
It is unbelievable to me how fast this quarter has flown by, but next Friday, March 12, will mark the end of the third quarter. Spring break begins Saturday, March 13, and when school resumes on Monday, March 22, the fourth and final quarter of the school year will begin.
I have asked the students to mentally reflect on their work, behavior and attitude this third quarter: what they are doing that they are happy with...what has been challenging...and what they need to work on. It is my hope that we can all enter the fourth quarter with great enthusiasm and re-dedicate ourselves to good work habits, thoughtful behavior, and gratitude for the classroom community that we have all created together over these past seven months.
Enjoy the upcoming weekend.
Cheers,
Ms. Nicky Pitman
