"Friendly Friday"

Friday, August 19, 2016

Items Due today: school forms; summer assignments

Coming up next week: Genius Hour proposals due Friday, August 26.  More information to come.  Summer Assignment presentations.  Literary devices and Into the Woods.

What we did today: brief bellringer (on board); collected housekeeping/paperwork; distributed art supply boxes; reviewed and submitted summer assignments; finished "Summer Vacation" presentations; read There Are Those.

Today's Bellringer: "FRIENDLY FRIDAY: Use your dry-erase marker to describe what makes a good friend."

Manipulation of Content: Students wrote their bellringer response on the board, then we shared them with the class.  We discussed how being a good friend can help someone with depression, and why it's important to always support, not tear down, each other. (Connection from yesterday's 8th period discussion).  After completing the "Summer Vacation" presentations, students offered suggestions about what could be learned about each other from the activity, and how it was essential to give me a quick glimpse into students' baseline skill set.  There Are Those was used to make connections with students, and help them understand they are part of a special group of like-minded students, as well as get them thinking about abstract art and poetry.

Skills: Writing, public speaking, creativity, improvisation; empathy

ELA Common Core Standards covered:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

National Core Arts Standards covered:

• Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
• Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.

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Thursday, August 18, 2016
Toady was the first day we had 8th period, which we'll have for 15 days, before students rotate out to another content area.  We took the time to complete the mandated suicide prevention training by watching an informational video about depression and warning signs; discussing the school-distributed handout with helpful links and resources; then responding to "No One is Alone", from Into the Woods.  Please review with your child the information provided in the handout, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.