Neil Gaiman says it best of all!
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.
You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.
So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”
Hello, families-
This is a short, blustery cold week, and so our work will reflect that. There is no Word Study (Spelling) this week, fifth graders. We continue daily work in Typing Pal, however; improving our speed and accuracy is essential as we move into the more complex world of Upper Elementary/Middle School.
Language Arts for 5th & 6th grade:
Thursday--
Introduce "Inventing Stories for Your Favorite Clothes." This is a fun assignment focusing on Voice and Word Choice. Your job is to sell an item in an exclusive catalog by sharing wonderful stories that might inspire buyers to purchase. BE DESCRIPTIVE!
There is a graphic organizer that should be filled out for tomorrow--a "rough, rough draft" to work from. For inspiration, go to J. Peterman's Catalogue. Lots of good reading there, and something from which to model your own writing.
Friday--
We'll look at models of fifth grade writers, sixth grade writers, and seventh grade writers and determine what it is that makes their writing sound like it actually came from the J. Peterman catalogue. Then we'll write an amazing catalogue-worthy draft!
Social Studies (6th grade on Thursday and 5th grade on Friday):
ACTIVITY 4: Personal Characteristics of an Explorer
- As a class, we will explore what causes someone to leave the familiar spaces of home in order to face the unknown.
- Ultimately, we'll generate a class list of those special qualities that a leader must possess in order to guarantee a successful voyage.
- Then, we'll highlight those qualities that we feel are most important.
- Finally, we'll create a Wordle using our words. To emphasize the qualities we deem most important, we'll type them more than one time. (Each time you type the same word, you enlarge it.)
