Genesis Reading/Writing: In reading workshop, students honed their “cut to the bone” summarization skills with current news articles and were assessed on their knowledge.  They also were assessed on their Caesar’s English vocabulary knowledge.  We continued with individual student conferences to monitor reading response and text analysis.  In writing workshop, our focus on word choice (diction) led us to analyze works by Karen Russell and Primo Levi, and we invented our own fragment-filled and run-on sentence-laden paragraphs inspired by the works of William Faulkner and John Ashbery.

Genesis X: We concluded our independent study roundtable this week through discussion and questioning.  Student-chosen topics discussed: Is time travel possible?  How will climate change affect the way our maps are drawn?  To what extent have world cultures imagined the end of time?  What caused our current economic crisis?  Will we colonize Mars?

Legacy Reading/Writing: Students continued working on nonfiction reading strategies (main idea/essential/supporting details) during reading workshop.  We reviewed our Reasoning Web and continue to apply it to problem solving and critical thinking.  Students expect an assessment on their knowledge of the Reasoning Web during the coming week.  Students learned the rhetorical appeals logos, ethos, and pathos and practiced their application.  We ended our week with vocabulary practice and a perspective check.

Explorers Reading/Writing: Students created and practiced their monologues this week.  Each student was individually coached to develop their written and performance work.  Topics discussed: How can we infer theme from language?  How can character motivation be implied?  How can we embody the stance and carriage of separate characters?  How can we transition between characters in a multipart monologue performance?