We're winners!

     So, by now, you've probably heard the good news.  Our door won the Clough PTO's award for most creative!  The students did a WICKED good job coming right in on Wednesday morning (let me remind you that it was HALLOWEEN) and settling down to write.  The stories of their wickedness were darling!  They were able to use many of the same techniques that good writers use in their pieces.  They were able to share this wicked moment, using detail to tell exactly what happened.  I will leave the door up until right after conferences so that you can enjoy their writing and admire their wicked photographs.
     This leads me to talk about writing. We're continuing our work with narrative writing.  My goal is to help my students become better writers.  We've really been focusing on narrative writing during this first term.  The students are part way done with the narrative pieces that will eventually become a published piece.  We continue to work on adding detail, dialogue, and to make careful and deliberate word choices.  All of this is done so that our readers will experience the moment in the same way that we did.  The students are making progress but it is hard work.  The biggest area of growth for the students is in the volume of writing that they're able to produce in a short period of time.  When it is time to write, they simply sit down and begin writing.  This is a BIG change from the beginning of the year when my request for them to write a page of text often came with moans and groans and lots of distractibility.  I know that this increase in stamina is an important step in the right direction.
     I can hardly believe that November is upon us.  I really am enjoying my class.  The days and weeks fly by.  On November 14th and 15th I'll be sitting down with families to discuss individual student progress.  I really  look forward to these conferences each year.  It is a great opportunity to share the gains the children have made and to outline goals and the specific work that will need to be done to achieve those goals.  I'll be emailing my conference schedule out this weekend.  Let me know if any conflicts have arisen.
     I have posted some new pictures on the "Scenes from the Theatre" page.  Check them out with your student when you have a free moment.  Thanks for all you do in your homes to support my efforts in the classroom.  I'm one lucky teacher!

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