Sorry for the delay in blog updates. I am late, but there was an update that I accidentally left in "edit" mode thinking I had hit "publish," so I am even more behind than I realized.
We have finished Part I of To Kill a Mockingbird. Students have been doing a better and better job with class discussions and looking back at the text a second (or even third) time to find support for their answers. Most of the study questions are used to guide class discussions, but from time to time I do have them write their answers down on paper. Please keep these question sheets to help review for the unit test.
Students had a lot to say about the documentary, The Murder of Emmett Till. I was so impressed to hear students connect how their viewing of the film was similar to how the public and news media reacted to Mamie's decision to show the world what happened to her son. Seeing the documentary, just as seeing Emmett's body, really illustrated the dangers African Americans faced in all areas of their daily life during the Jim Crow South.
I have not been able to link the study question documents for you to download, but there are extra copies in the binder at the front of the classroom. In the upcoming weeks, I will be incorporating some grammar and conventions lessons as well as our continued work on vocabulary. We will also be reading and responding to some non-fiction pieces related to the time period or the novel. All of these skills will help students be more successful on the upcoming Smarter Balanced test in April. In March we will take a look at the Smarter Balanced practice tests and make sure that all students know the basics of how the test is formatted and what tools (dictionaries, highlighting, note taking, etc...) they will have available to them.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
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