Read-alouds:

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes – I thought this book was really interesting because I also have a name that is not heard very much and I related with the mouse in the story. The story shows that everyone is unique and they should not be made fun of for being different from others because we are all special in our own way. This book can be used in a science class because you can have the students pick their favorite flower and do research on it or it can be used as an English lesson by letting the students research the origins of their names. I would use this book for grades kindergarten through 6th grade.

I’m Gonna Like Me by Jamie Lee Curtis – This book fit right in with our self-esteem lesson because it is a little boy talking about how he is going to like himself no matter what through the ups and the downs. This is important for people to remember because you are amazing no matter what goes wrong or if you make mistakes because you can use those mistakes as a learning opportunity to become an even better person. You can use this book for a writing project where the students have to start off their essay with I’m gonna like me. It could also be used as a music lesson by letting the students create a song based on the words.  I would use this book for grades 5 through 9.

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills – This book was very cute and inspiring even. It was about a puppy who at first did not want to go to school but then he started to love it and get excited about learning new things everyday. It has the potential to inspire younger kids to want to come to school everyday and learn. I would use this book as a spelling lesson because there are a lot of spelled out words in the book. I would also use it as a P.E. lesson because I would have the students use their bodies to represent the words like “whoosh” and “dig”. I would use this book for kindergarten through 3rd grade.

Learning Experiences:

We have been working on our puppet shows and we presented them last week. Creating a puppet show was an amazing experience for me because I feel like as we get older things like that are seen as childish so we don’t do them anymore. Making our own puppets was so much more fun than I think most of us intended it to be and it actually helped the class bond too because we were helping each other make puppets and find the right supplies. Then we got to perform our puppet show which was also pretty fun! There were some groups who were hilarious with their script. We used the puppet shows to continue our lesson on self-esteem so our scripts were along the lines of global and earned self-esteem.

Current Event:

This week I read about the SAT controversy surrounding the August SAT. Allegations of re-used test questions have surfaced, causing a difficult situation for the college board. There are students stating that there were questions on the August SAT that were also on the SAT in Asia last fall. Those questions from the Asia SAT had been circulating on social media therefore giving students who took the SAT in August an advantage if they had caught sight of those questions on practice exams. The college board is also being sued by a father who’s daughter took the August SAT due to him believing she was at a disadvantage because other kids got a hold of the questions ahead of time. Now, the college board has to go through and analyze exams and if it is clear that some kids had an advantage, scores can be cancelled and some students might not be able to take another college board exam.

High School & Beyond  Here’s What You Need to Know About the Latest SAT Controversy

 

Quote of the Week:

This quote has spoken to me a little more this week than normal because I have dealt with some negativity not only from others, but from myself as well. I pushed the negativity aside and tried to get rid of other peoples negativity because staying positive is what will keep you going no matter what happens. Positivity is contagious. If you are positive there will be at least one person who will see that in you and that might change their outlook and make them positive as well, which can just snowball into huge positivity.

Observations:

We (the marching band) had our first competition yesterday. The positivity and the support that I experience at marching band competitions never ceases to amaze me. Even our competitors will come up to us and tell us good luck and the support that the audience gives to each band is amazing. Especially with me being guard captain, the positivity that I get the chance to spread to my team is amazing. Everyone goes out there feeling their best and everyone leaves feeling their best and it really is an amazing experience.

Reflections:

These past two weeks have contained a lot of emotions. Everybody was scared and freaked out when Hurricane Florence decided to pay a visit, then everyone was annoyed that we had almost an entire week out of school for nothing because we really did not get anything from the hurricane, then I had multiple tests this week that I was nervous for but I know I did well. Next was stress because of teachers suddenly trying to make up lost time from the week before and giving tons of homework. All the way to my last first competition with the marching band and color guard that I love, which came with a lot of emotions. Overall, the past two weeks were pretty good.