Soooo....we are back at it and ready for the big push to the end of the year. There is a lot to look forward to, and a lot to do, so we are off to a quick start.
Literacy logs went home today, with the hope that many will return (all of them) by Friday. I have selected the format of their reading response this week. Only 8 were returned before the break! Here is their task...
Room 308,
Literacy Log Task – Week of March 17 – 21, 2014
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We have reviewed letter
writing in class. This week you will
write a letter to one of the main characters in the story you are reading.
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Make sure that it is in
proper letter format. (date, topic paragraph, salutation, post script, etc.)
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Remember to introduce
yourself in the opening paragraph.
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Ask questions and share
some of your observations about the story so far.
Please check at home for your child's agenda. Today there were suddenly a third of the class without agendas, and dates will become really important as the year goes on, so we need those at school each day.Stop motion animation forms went home today. They are due back by Friday. Our class is finished filming, and we are all excited to see the results of our creative teamwork.
Today every student began writing their Biography of a Grandparent. We started planning the layout of the books. We looked at how many pages we can include that will not even involve the questions we are asking our 'subjects' (title pages, author biographies, copywrite pages, table of contents, etc) and we set our sights on books of around 18 - 25 pages in length. The rough drafts of each part of the book will be done in class in the coming weeks. This week we will do some of the non-biographical pages, and next week we will start writing the 'early life' and family chapters, so we need all questions answered by next week if at all possible. The questions were taken home just before the break, but I have also included them below, for those who are in need of another copy (I also emailed copies before the break). We have a lot of time to get this done, but there is a lot of work. Once the rough copies are done/started, the final editing will be started in school, but much of the typing will need to be done at home. I will be encouraging students to get the keyboarding done as we go along, so it isn't so daunting at the end. We have a couple of students who plan to dictate theirs using their Ipads, once they are done writing theirs up. In the end, how it is typed out is up to the individual students. I will be assessing the rough work done in class mainly, and the editing they do.
Welcome back again. It was great to see everyone this morning with bright cheery faces. Oh what a week can do for you.....
Family
Biography Questions
This
is a list of questions brainstormed by our class. These are some ideas to use in your
interview.
Do
not use all of these questions. Try to
ask a few from each category, so that you will have enough to write a chapter for
each section. Some you might already
have answers to, so you can skip those, and just focus on finding out new
information that you do not know.
Remember
that the main idea of this is to go through the interview process, and get
information from a primary source.
Origins
Where were you born?
When were you born?
Where were your parents from?
What were your parent’s names?
Was there anything interesting about your birth?
How much did you weigh?
How long did you stay in your first home (how old were you when you
first moved?)
Did you have any siblings?
Were they younger, or older, and what were their names?
Growing Up
What were your favourite things to do when you were young?
What are some of the tasks or chores that you had to perform when you
were young?
Who were your closest friends?
What was school like for you? (how many classmates, how big was the
school, what were your days like)
Did you have a part time job while growing up?
Did you play sports when you were young?
Did you have siblings that you grew up with?
How did you get along with your siblings?
Did you have pets when you were young?
Do you remember going on any trips when you were young?
Was anyone in your family play musical instruments in the house?
Did you take music lessons or play an instrument when you were young?
Do you remember any major world events that happened when you were
young?
Do you have any memory of important events during your youth?
Did you win any kinds of awards or have any major achievements?
Education
Did you ever move schools? What
do you remember about moving schools?
How many schools did you attend?
What school, or schools did you go to?
What were your teachers like?
Did you have good friends in school?
Were you involved in clubs or sports when you were at school?
Were you ever a teacher’s pet?
Were you a troublemaker?
What were your grades like?
Did you ever skip a grade?
Were you very popular at school?
Did you go to high school?
Did you graduate high school?
What were your favourite subjects in school?
Did you go to college or university?
If so, where did you go and what for?
What do you remember most about your school days?
World News
Do you remember when the first people stepped on the moon? Where were you or how old were you?
What did you think about when 9/11 happened? Where were you?
Did you ever live through a major war?
What do you remember about it?
How did it effect your life?
Have you ever met someone famous?
What are some of the major world events that you recall?
What are some of the trends that you remember from the past that you
enjoyed, or that seem interesting?
What are some of the most interesting inventions that you have seen, and
how did they change your life?
How do you feel about the changes in technology that you have seen in
your lifetime?
Occupation
If you worked during your life, what was your main job or occupation?
Where did you work?
What was your first job?
Did you quit this job or get fired?
Did you have any bosses that you learned a lot from?
How many jobs did you do during your life?
How did you get involved in your career path?
Did you have to start working before you wanted to? If so, why?
When did you start working in your main occupation?
How long did you work before you retired (if you did)?
When did you retire? How old were
you when you retired?
Does your company, or the place you worked still exist?
Do you think that you were fairly paid for your work?
Did you work in a family business?
Did you like doing your job?
Are you still involved with your career in any way?
Did your travel for your work?
Did you ever lose your job due to a recession, or get laid off?
Did you work after you got married?
If so, did your job change at all?
Did you work after you had children?
If so, did your job change at all?
Did you work through any major wars?
If so, did your job change at all?
Love and Marriage
Were you ever married? If so,
where, when, and to who did you get married?
How and where did you first meet your spouse?
How long did you know each other before you were married?
How did you get engaged?
What did you find the most interesting about your partner?
What were some of the most memorable moments in your relationship?
Did you ever travel anywhere special together, like on a honeymoon?
Are you still married now?
Did you have any struggles in your relationship, or did you have to
endure any hardship?
Family
What were your parent’s names?
Do you know when they were born?
Do you know what they did for a living?
Where were your parents from?
Are you an only child?
How many siblings did you have?
Are you the oldest, or youngest, or in the middle in your family?
Where are they now?
What did your siblings do? (are
there any interesting accomplishments)
Are you still in contact with your siblings?
Who are you closest with?
How many children did you have?
How many grandchildren do you have?
Do you have any great, grandchildren?
Did you ever have to make any big decisions for your family?
Major Events
Did you have to endure any hard times in your life?
What were the most memorable moments of your life?
What would you say the happiest times in your life were?
Were there any real sad times that you can share?
Was there ever a serious illness that you had to deal with?
Do you recall any deaths that had a major effect on you or your life?
Past Times/Sports/Hobbies
Do your have any special interests, sports you play, or hobbies? What are they?
How did you get involved in this?
What do you like about this?
Can you tell me some interesting facts about your pastime?
When did you start getting involved with this activity?
Are you still interested?
Have you ever thought of quitting or retiring from this pastime?
Do you keep in touch with old friends you made through this pastime?
Are there any major accomplishments that you have achieved through this
activity?
Make a Change/Social
Justice
What things do you see in the world today that concerns you?
What do you hope the next generation can work to change in the world?
What kinds of volunteer work, or charity work have you been involved with,
of do you find important.
Words of Wisdom and Thank
You
What have you learned in your lifetime that you think you might share
with the younger generation? Any advice
of any kind?
What are you most grateful for in your life?
How do you think you might have made the most impact on those around
you?
Epilogue (the rest of the
story up to now)
Where do you live now?
Do you live in a house or an apartment?
Is your partner still living with you?
How many grandchildren do you have now?
How old are you now?
What do you do to keep busy now?
Are you retired?
How do you keep active?
Do you have any pets?
Pictures (these are some
questions you might need answered if you make use of any pictures in your
biography)
Where was this photo taken?
When was it taken?
What is happening in the picture?
Who is in the picture?
How did you feel at this moment?
What do you remember about the event this photo is showing?
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