Responding to Essays and Sharing Beliefs

I hope you had a restful weekend and occasion to reflect on the legacy of Dr. King and the work we have ahead of us.  As you know, our students have been writing personal essays that explain and argue for a principle or belief they hold dearly.  This is a great way for them to learn new academic skills but it is also a way for them to write their way into a mature understanding of the impact personal principles have on our choices and decisions in life.  

Because you are the key source of your child’s perspectives, I’m hoping you will be able to support them in writing the essay. Attached is a response sheet for you to use in responding to your child’s draft.  The drafts will becoming in different stages of completion so you will have to adjust the balance of feedback based upon where they are in the writing process.  Some students may still be in the stage of developing their ideas and clarifying their thinking.  Some students may have a fairly polished draft.  Your feedback does not need to be very long. My hope is that you get a peek into our writing work as well as a chance to help them refine their thinking and expression.  There is no need to “fix up” or finish.  We will get to that next week in class!  I find the best way to help is to notice what’s working and then offer one or two ways to improve or develop the piece.  Thanks in advance for your help with this.

If you’d like some more ideas about how to help your child, take a look at how this teacher works with a young writer:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/improving-student-writing

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 1/22

• MATH: Missing Questions Math!
• READING: Daily reading and but no Response this week because of …
• Writing: Getting feedback on essay drafts. Students planning next steps.

Beliefs and History

Well that was a funny way to start the new year!  Snow days and a burst pipe in our classroom forced us to be extra flexible.  It looks like we’ll be working in Room 3 for the rest of this week while the tiles and carpet in our room are repaired.  The custodial staff, Selim and Rasema, as well as Mr. Lauer, Tracy and the Learning Center teachers have all been incredibly supportive and accommodating while this is sorted out.  Come by and check out our groovy arrangement in Room 3 if you have a moment.  One challenge we are working out is that the room will be closed during work so we may be closed off from some supplies!

We are launching two new units of study, one in writing and one in social studies. Last week we started writing essays based on examples from the This I Believe website. Kids are developing thesis statements based on a personal belief that they hold and then backing it up with anecdotal evidence and analysis.  We are also launching a study of the Indigenous history of western Oregon using curriculum developed by the Grand Ronde tribes.  You can check out an interactive overview of our study at http://ikanum.grandronde.org/

Thanks to everyone who donated to our Street Roots supply drive.  A few families were able to join when I dropped off all the good stuff.  The staff at the Street Roots office was very grateful and proud of our class community. One interesting fact that Cole, who runs the office, told us is that young people who have an opportunity to volunteer or donate are much more likely to continue their lives giving and participating in worthy causes.  Interesting to think about!

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 1/15

• MATH: Math practice sheet!
• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.

Delivering our donations to Street Roots!

Dear families,

This is very late notice but I was able to arrange a time with the Street Roots office for us to drop off our donations and get a little tour!  If you are free and interested, please meet me at 9AM tomorrow (Saturday 12/19) at

Street Roots

211 NW Davis St.

Portland, OR 97209-3922

The office is right in the heart of Old Town Portland not too far from the Old Town/Chinatown Max station.  There are two large pay parking lots just East of the office on Davis, if you drive.

We will have a brief overview of their work and then head out for a hot cocoa!

Hope to see you there!  Mark

971-322-6806

Wrapping up the [calendar] year.

Dear Families,  

This week is often one where excitement and energy levels run quite high.  To keep up with the excitement we a have some fun events scheduled.  I know you have busy lives and work schedules but if you are at all free, we would love for you to join us for the following.  

• Thursday 12/18 at 12:30 we will debut our Authors and Actors memoir scenes.  Come see your kids read portions of their memoirs while their peers act them out.
• Friday 12/19 Our Annual Family Breakfast and Singalong. Please join us for Breakfast at 8:15.  Bring a healthy dish to share. If your child has any allergies, please bring something they can eat.  We will provide drinks, plates and utensils.  At 9:00, Mr. Colvin will be back with his guitar for a group singalong.

We are still taking donations to support Street Roots. See the wish list on the back of this sheet for which items they can and cannot accept. I will take the donations down to the Street Roots office during Winter Break.  Thanks in advance for anything you are able to donate.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 12/19

• MATH: Math practice sheet!
• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
• Attached is an optional fun pebbles challenge.  Read it through.  It takes a minute but you will enjoy it!

Our awesome donation project.

Dear Families,  

What a wet and rainy morning and well ... rainy day.  Everyone had a short adventure tale to tell of their journey to school this morning.  We will not be spending too much time outdoors while this torrential downpour continues but please send your child with appropriate rain gear in case we do have a chance to get some fresh air.  

And speaking of rain gear, these conditions turn my mind to folks who are not fortunate enough to have a roof over their heads at this time.  Our class will be gathering supplies to donate to Street Roots over the next two weeks.  Street Roots is a weekly paper and advocacy organization by and for folks experiencing homelessness. You can find out more about the organization at their website, streetroots.org. I had the opportunity to volunteer in the Street Roots office a while back and was inspired by the work happening there.  

See the wish list below for which items they can and cannot accept. I will take the donations down to the Street Roots office during Winter Break.  Thanks in advance for anything you are able to donate. Just send along your donations with your student.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 12/11

• MATH: Math practice sheets!
• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.

Street Roots Wish List

(http://streetroots.org/support/wishlist)

Your in-kind donations keep us going. We welcome any of the following in clean, useable condition:

Vendor Program

• Little Hotties handwarmers
• Hiking or regular tube socks
• Gloves
• Band-Aids of various sizes
• Neosporin or other antibiotic ointment (individual packets are best)
• Tri-Met passes
• First-aid supplies
• Cough drops
• Cup-O-Noodles
• Ibuprofin, Tylenol, Asprin
• Razors

Office

• Postage Stamps (Forever stamps are best)
• Printing paper (letter size, white)
• Yellow note pads
• Black and red ink pens
• Paper towels
• Toilet paper (partial rolls OK from housekeeping or janitorial programs)
• IKEA gift certificates
• Ace Hardware gift certificates
• Apple computers running Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6) or later (desktops and/or laptops)
• A black and white laser printer that will print up to 11"x17" (monochrome only; no color)
• Office Depot gift certificates
• Cash-N-Carry gift certificates
• Safeway, Fred Meyer, and/or Trader Joe's gift certificates
• A working refrigerator (energy-efficient)
• An 8 foot folding ladder

We are unable to accept clothing, perishable food, and blankets, but can refer you to a worthy program that welcomes such items. If in doubt, give our office a call at 503-228-5657 and we can talk with you about your donation.

Reading, Reflecting, Responding

Dear Families,  

Last week I wrote about students getting things done and fostering independence.  This weekend I finally had some time to really hunker down with the writing our students have been doing.  I was trying to walk my talk, but it is really just astounding how much you learn about students when you have time to read, reflect and respond to their work.

After reading their memoir drafts, I see our class with whole new eyes.  I am newly up to date on where they are on their journey as writers - how they express their thoughts, how they prioritize information, how they try to reach their readers.  Maybe more importantly, though, I also feel like I just know them better. I learned about mysterious disappearances, sibling conflicts, amazing discoveries and scary occurrences.  Who knew our class had lead such fascinating lives?  

This week, as we continue to develop our memoirs, I would love it if you took some time with your student to tell a few stories from your life.  Also, what are some funny or touching stories about them that they might not know about?  We are always looking for more ideas to add to our memoirs.  

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 12/4

• MATH: Math practice sheets!
• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.

Working together AND being independent.

"Can we have partners?" is one of the most common student requests as I send them off to work after a lesson.  "Can we be a trio?" is probably the next one.  There is a joy in collaboration.  There is also an underlying social context and component for all learning.  We make meaning together by sharing and listening.

And we do work together a lot in class. We play partner games in Math. We have Read to Another time in Reading.  We have Writing Response groups, Science partners, table talk, and time to play and create together.  Most students live for this, though there is a strong contingent of kids who say "I'd prefer to work alone right now."

Recently, though.  We've been working on independence.  And we've unpacked what that means: not being dependent.  Not needing others to get assignments done and the ability to create on one's own are life skills that need support, too.  In a language rich, socially supportive learning environment there should still be plenty of time and space devoted to fostering self-discipline and pride in accomplishment.

Mostly we've been working on this in writing.  We've seen tremendous growth in the responses students are writing in their weekly Reading reflection journals.  Each week there is some newly sophisticated use of language or punctuational flare.  And I am pushing this in our current work around memoir.  We are writing for longer amounts of time and using all of the tools we can think of to keep ourselves going.  Some students run into a wall now and then and want to stop but with some guidance and some strategies for staying engaged, they dive back in.  It is a slower and less visible process, but for me, watching kids become more independent as writers is as thrilling as that first time they wobble down the sidewalk on two wheels when they learn to ride a bike.