Middle School Language Arts
Last week, students traveled to The Library Center to explore resources and check out recreational reading books. Since then, students have used the books to learn and practice skills of analytical annotation. They are also building the active reading habit of looking up unknown words as they encounter them. To make the connection between reading and writing and to refresh students’ understanding of the elements of plot and imagery, students engaged in a team writing activity, in which each student had a hand in writing several different stories. Teams did an exceptional job of creating stories that followed standard plot structure, even under the pressure of timed writing and shared responsibility.
An objective grammar study balanced this week’s creative writing and fictional reading. Students did an impressive job of working through a new program called No Red Ink, which requires mastery of content. After a whole class lesson, students used their notes to tackle sample sentences generated based on their personal interests. During grammar work, we had good conversations about the value of revisiting parts of speech and other fundamental concepts at the beginning of the year.
High School English
High school students also traveled to The Library Center last week, but their visit was centered around an introduction to using academic databases for research. Librarian Ms. Sarah Bean Thompson guided students through several available databases, all of which are accessible free of charge to students with Greene County library cards. Students will conduct database research in English, history, and science classes this year.
Back at The Summit, students completed diagnostic work which will guide future grammar and writing instruction. They wrote their first non-fiction narrative pieces and were challenged to use imagery to pull the reader into a meaningful moment.
High school students also began the practice of becoming recreational readers this week. Students are using choice fiction books to practice analytical annotation. The class had meaningful conversations about the necessity of active reading and the distinction between deep and surface annotation.
Utopian/Dystopian Literature
This week, we began our first whole-class dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451. Students researched topics related to the context of the novel including Ray Bradbury’s biography, related world history, and the concept of censorship. During our first assessment and discussion, students made impressive observations about the ways in which the novel is reflective of the dystopian genre. Some discussed the impact of technology as a distractor, others pointed to the dystopian figurehead, and some discussed the forms of propaganda in the text.
Public Speaking
Students have been hard at work preparing their first formal speeches. The “3 Objects Speech” requires students to bring in three tangible objects: one that represents their past, one that represents their present, and one that represents their future. A key focal point of the speech is to go beyond “show and tell,” and students are rising to the occasion by using the power of symbolism to add depth to their speeches. Before rehearsals, speech students dropped in to meet their future audience: the sixth grade class. On Tuesday, sixth grade social studies students will learn about strong presentation skills by reflecting on their observations during high school introductory speeches. This cross-curricular experience will build upper school community and encourage middle school students to make connections across content areas.
