It's the end of the first week (I know, I know, it was technically only four days), and I am feeling a bit like my nephew yesterday after seeing a light at the end of the tunnel below, so I am going to try to keep this post short, though I've been known to ramble (ask my students and see this run-on).
In our morning literacy block, class began with a second close read of our obituary on Marcy Borders, the 9/11 "Dusty Lady", though her life was much richer and complicated than that one unforgettable moment.
Students came together in groups and shared some of the vocabulary words that they were unfamiliar with during their first close read (see Day #4 Diary). I then read aloud the article to the students. During this second close read, we uncovered the meaning of words like sobriquet, talisman, grievous, spontaneous, ambitious and acrid.
Students came together in groups and shared some of the vocabulary words that they were unfamiliar with during their first close read (see Day #4 Diary). I then read aloud the article to the students. During this second close read, we uncovered the meaning of words like sobriquet, talisman, grievous, spontaneous, ambitious and acrid.
We also examined some deeper questions like the following:
Overall, while such a discussion was challenging at times, and quite honestly not always easy on the morning of the last day of the first week of school, the sixth graders generally brought deep thought and personal experiences to the second close read and did a solid job for our first close reading experiment of the year. Of course, on Monday, we will do a third and final close read of this obituary on Borders' life and start to conclude our exploration of 9/11.
After about an hour of reading, students transitioned to social studies class, where they continued to learn about the events of 9/11 through the informational text Cornerstones of Freedom: September 11, 2001 by Andrew Santella.
- How did the events of 9/11 forever impact Marcy Borders' life?
- Could Marcy's stomach cancer have resulted from the exposure to chemicals that she experienced on 9/11? If so, how? Why would the cancer appear many years after 2001?
- What did Marcy mean when she said that she "...had a front-row seat to the end of the world?"
- Why might Marcy feel hurt and upset by being identified as the "Dust Lady" after 9/11?
- What were some of the tough questions that Marcy dealt with after 9/11? Were any of these inner conflicts surprising to you? Explain.
Overall, while such a discussion was challenging at times, and quite honestly not always easy on the morning of the last day of the first week of school, the sixth graders generally brought deep thought and personal experiences to the second close read and did a solid job for our first close reading experiment of the year. Of course, on Monday, we will do a third and final close read of this obituary on Borders' life and start to conclude our exploration of 9/11.
After about an hour of reading, students transitioned to social studies class, where they continued to learn about the events of 9/11 through the informational text Cornerstones of Freedom: September 11, 2001 by Andrew Santella.
What was really cool about today's social studies class was that our principal Dr. Alvarez brought in her September 12, 2001, edition of the Chicago Sun-Times, which was, of course, the local newspaper the day after the 9/11 attacks.
Each of the 10 groups in both social studies classes spent about 5 minutes flipping through the pages of this rich historical resource. As a teacher, it was really cool to listen to the kids ask questions about what was happening in the pictures, headlines and diagrams of the newspaper as its writers and columnists themselves tried to figure out and make some cogent meaning about what had just happened to our country.
Especially exciting was one brilliant student, who clarified to her classmates how the towers fell down by using two pens to show how the heat from the crashed airplanes became too much for the steel girders, causing the higher floors to give out and leading to what the student called a "domino effect" of a collapse!
Overall, having the newspapers in front of the students seemed to make the experience more realistic to them. As a teacher, it has inspired me to make some photocopies of the different articles from this day and use them next week as we begin to dive into the seven components of social studies and examine different types of text sources.
Here are some pictures from this amazing social studies class.
Each of the 10 groups in both social studies classes spent about 5 minutes flipping through the pages of this rich historical resource. As a teacher, it was really cool to listen to the kids ask questions about what was happening in the pictures, headlines and diagrams of the newspaper as its writers and columnists themselves tried to figure out and make some cogent meaning about what had just happened to our country.
Especially exciting was one brilliant student, who clarified to her classmates how the towers fell down by using two pens to show how the heat from the crashed airplanes became too much for the steel girders, causing the higher floors to give out and leading to what the student called a "domino effect" of a collapse!
Overall, having the newspapers in front of the students seemed to make the experience more realistic to them. As a teacher, it has inspired me to make some photocopies of the different articles from this day and use them next week as we begin to dive into the seven components of social studies and examine different types of text sources.
Here are some pictures from this amazing social studies class.
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Last but not least was Friday's writing class, during which both sixth-grade classes joined forces to watch our school's recess and bathroom rules videos. Unfortunately, the light bulb in our shared sixth-grade projector burnt out just as we were going to show the students a 9/11 retelling from Marcy Borders and a timeline of what happened on 9/11.
Please remember that the following videos contain sensitive footage that is still difficult and surreal to watch 14 years later.
Please remember that the following videos contain sensitive footage that is still difficult and surreal to watch 14 years later.
Near the end of writing class, Ms. Reodica and I presented the students with the framework of a three-paragraph 9/11 reflection that they will be working on this weekend for Monday's class. Basically, students have the choice of writing a reflection about one of the following three prompts:
Enjoy the weekend and be grateful for the good things you have in life, as this day reminds us every year. Take care.
- Why do we, as a country, still remember 9/11, even though it happened 14 years ago?
- How did 9/11 forever change Marcy Borders' life?
- How did 9/11 forever change the lives of all Americans, including yourself (even though you weren't born yet)?
Enjoy the weekend and be grateful for the good things you have in life, as this day reminds us every year. Take care.
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