Brownbuck's Bistro

Coffee...jazz music...fingers snapping...poetry...lamps...comfortable food.  For those of you who weren't able to come, Room 241 was transformed into a coffeehouse last week (Brownbuck's Bistro).  The coffee was excellent and the poetry was powerful.  Each student shared his or her three favorite poems for the audience.  People laughed, cried, and thought a little bit deeper about life.  I love the fact that our kids' words can have such power.  Being all caught up in the event, I only took a few pictures.  I wish I had taken more!

Studycast - Social Studies Chapter 9

Click here to listen to the studycast for our upcoming Chapter 9 test.  You can download the audio file to your computer by right-clicking on the link and choosing "Save As."  If you have iTunes, you can subscribe to this podcast in iTunes.  The podcast will be automatically downloaded to your iTunes library and will sync to your iPod.  I have a link on the right hand side of this website - it's that easy! 

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.  I think you'll enjoy this studycast!

Scenes from the American Revolution

To better understand the major events of the American Revolution, teams of students created a series of scenes that showcase the big ideas of each event.  Watching this video would be a great way to review for our upcoming test!

Author Circles

Writing is all about taking risks. This definitely comes into play when writers conference with each other to make improvements on their work. You make yourself vulnerable when you solicit feedback - it may not always be easy to hear another writer's perspective. But in Room 241, we've created a culture where feedback is a natural part of the writing process. In the video below, you'll see kids conferencing with each other about their poetry. You'll hear them talk about the things they love about each other's work, but you'll also hear them share suggestions that will make the writing stronger. Our students are extremely serious about their craft, and I couldn't be prouder.

Writer's Workshop

My blogging was sub-par during the month of January. I really do apologize. I'm going to try and get back in the habit of sitting down and blogging at least once a week. So if you've tuned out during the last month, try to tune back in! During January, we finished up our poetry unit. Here are a few pictures of the kids having conferences with each other.

The Fight of Poetry

Richard is a poet. He really came into his own as a writer during this study. You could see his confidence increase as each day he took deeper risks with his writing. I am so proud of him. I loved this poem he wrote on the last day of our study...

The Fight of Poetry

Mr. Brown works so hard
he works and works
We have so many good poems
in my heart
Sometimes people ask me about him
Sometimes he is funning
and sometimes he is not playing
I had a good year
with Mr. Brown
My poems cannot end
We can't stop
I need more time
They are not gone
They are still in my heart
I feel poems with me
When we stop,
poems will still be with me

Pencils

After sharing Madison's poem about her writer's notebook, I couldn't help but publish this one from Kaitlyn...

Pencils

Pencils
always
have a friend
on their back
When it hits paper
the pencil dances to the rhythm
in your head
Their favorite subject
is writing
of course
Pencils aren't perfect
some aren't even neat
But
always
always
know what to do

Madison's Poem

t's 8:15 on a Thursday evening. In preparation for our upcoming poetry celebration, I'm scanning in all the poems that our students will be sharing. It's tedious work, but I enjoy reading over each child's poems as I feed them into the scanner and save them to the computer. I ran across this poem by Madison that I really liked.

My Writing Notebook

I fill you up with
good ideas.
Each on so
different
in
so
so
many ways.
Unique words
fil each line,
as my pencil
glides
across the
paper.
Revise,
Edit,
Publish,
Finish!

It wasn't one she chose to share at our celebration, but I think it's one of my favorites. I love how Madison sees her writer's notebook - it's a place to look at the world and capture her ideas. But it's never really finished, is it? Our writing keeps leading us to new ideas and new thoughts. Madison's inspired me to be more diligent with my own notebook. I hope she has inspired you, too.

Studycast - Astronomy Test

Click here to listen to the studycast for our upcoming Astronomy test. You can download the studycast to your computer by right-clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As..." The study guide for the test came home on Monday, February 8th and the test will be on Friday, February 12th. If you have any questions, just leave a comment below or send me an email.

Social Studies Chapter 8 Studycast

Click here to listen to the studycast for our upcoming test on Chapter 8 - The Road to the Revolution. You can download the audio file to your computer by right-clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target (or Link) As..." The study guide for the test came home on Monday, January 25th, and the test is this Friday, January 29th. If you have any questions or thoughts, click on the "comment" link below this post and leave us a message. Good luck on the test!