Mr. Moshé’s Critically Thinking . . . Are You?

I began class as usual, with DEAR or SAFARI or whatever you want to call silent reading. THen we all logged our reading and journaled about what we read. THEN, we got out our notebooks and talked about the 8th grade’s performance on the recent Stated/Implied Main Idea common assessment. OUCH!

I explained that ther were two possible reasons for the poor performance: they were unwilling to perform well, or they were unable to perform well. then the fun began.

Using a powerpoint I created from web resources I found in minutes, we took a look at inferencing. PAGE 38 in the Reader’s Notebook.

I do not have the powerpoint with me now as I type this, but I will post it tomorrow; it’s in my classroom. Basically, we used a powerpoint today to go through some practice passages frothing with clues that lead to logical inferences.

Easily more than 90 percent of my students excelled in class today. This showed me that tey have the skill, just not the willingness. Willingness can come. But only through honest asessment, and at ths I mean self-assessment.

It was great.

Reader’s Notebook Page 37.

We continue to delve into literary elements and styles by focusing on multiple pieces of literature: Author’s Purposes (inform, entertain, persuade), Author’s Perspective (attitude and/or beliefs toward a subject) Regular News Article vs Feature News Story, Reader’s Purpose. We looked  at these literary topics through working with the following pieces:

• Flying by Reeve Lindbergh – Author’s Purposes: Anecdote, KWL (flying); Follow-up Questions 2,3,4,5,6
• from Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad – Author’s Purpose: Biography; Active Reading: Write down questions as you read, and find answers as you read; Follow-up Questions 2,3,4,5,6
• The Story of an Eyewitness by Jack London – Author’s Purpose: Feature News Story vs Regular News Story; Author’s Perspective; Chronological Order Graphic; Follow-up Questions 2,3,4,5

Reader’s Notebook Page 36

We began to delve into literary elements by focusing on multiple techniques: Point of View, Main Idea/Theme, Inference, and Mood. We looked  at these literary topics through working with the following stories:

• Stop the Sun by Gary Paulsen – Genre: Historical Fiction
• The Great Rat Hunt by Laurence Yep – Genre: Memoir; Active Reading Questions
• The Treasure of Lemon Brown by Walter Dean Myers – Active Reading Questions

Hey, here is something really cool, and it will be one of the most useful things you get from me this year.

You can have the entire Language of Literature book, well almost the whole thing, anywhere you are as long as you have access to the internet.

Click the link below to download a PowerPoint presentation that will guide you through registration for the book online. This is not optional. THIS IS REQUIRED.

OK, so click the link, watch the PPT, and get registered.

Language of Literature eServices Registration