Hello Spiegel Core Families!
We've been busy as usual these first couple weeks of the third quarter. As you know, we are making progress toward developing strong debate arguments on the affirmative and negative side of some serious issues. Students are beginning the research process this weekend by finding 5 reputable sources that cover their topics. We have a ways to go before the class will be ready to debate; after we tackle some critical thinking and arguing strategies, students will be ready to build a strong case.
As you may also know, we've been reading a ton of poetry! Between last week and this one, we've read "Silence" by Billy Collins, "The Quiet World" by Jeffrey McDaniel, "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost, "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams, "It's raining in love" by Richard Brautigan, and more! We started with a few of the classics before we began our transition toward more free verse style poems. Next week, poems from Eudora Welty, Wislawa Szymborska, Sylvia Plath, William Stafford, Langston Hughes, and many more!!
Our main poetry focus has been "extended metaphor" thus far, and students are exploring this through their own Family Metaphor Poems. They are crafting an elaborate metaphor with many working parts that can be represented by each member of their families. Students will try to create a cohesive, complex metaphor that works throughout the whole poem. Check the "Links & Documents" tab for more info!
Students have been making progress on the Annotated Discography assignment. They should have some rough draft progress on 2 annotations to add to the class document. After this weekend, the Google doc should be up and running, and students will be expected to post their final annotations on the shared document. Students may post one anonymously and one with their name (though they are strongly encouraged to put their name on both) but they must let me know so that I can give them credit for all their work. Check the "Links & Documents" tab for more info.
In case your student didn't mention it, the whole class did an awesome job in participating in our "Silent Discussion" last Friday. Students walked around the room and silently wrote responses to 4 questions on posters around the room. The questions were about bullying and empathy. I am in the process of typing up your student' awesome, poignant responses so everyone can read their thoughtful and thought provoking words. Though your students were bold enough to sign their names, I am going to type them anonymously so that the school at large might benefit from their insights. Stay tuned - I will email you and post the typed responses on this very site!
Things to expect in the next weeks until the end of school:
-More reading and writing of poems
-Debate!
-Current Events (modified, as we are so busy with debates and testing)
-Independent Book Projects
-Ancient China, Greece, and Rome
-Argumentative Essay structured around debate topics
-Reading groups - short stories
As always, your kids never cease to amaze me. For this reason, I was surprised to learn that da Vinci does not do a second round of conferences at the end of the year. Though it may sound crazy, I would really like to extend an opportunity for Spiegel Core parents and students to come in for conferences during the last week of May (Tuesday the 26th - Sunday the 31st.) If you are interested in meeting for a conference, I am happy to drive somewhere that is convenient to you (within 25 miles of da Vinci!) during most times of the day. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday morning, I can meet at da Vinci between 8 and 10:30. Weekday evenings, I can meet you at da Vinci or elsewhere between 3:30 and 7:30. That weekend is pretty much wide open. If that last week of May doesn't work for you, and you still really want to meet, of course we'll make it work!
Anyway, expect an email soon with your students' awesome responses to the "Silent Discussion" as well as more information about these Special Spiegel Core Conferences (which is what I am now calling them.)
Phew! There's probably more to say, but I think that will do it for now.
Don't forget to check the "Assignments" and the "Links & Documents" tabs. Both will be updated even when the blog isn't. Though I know Christie was a diligent blog updater, I find that this much communication overwhelms me. I know you are all empathetic and wonderful, so I have no doubt that I am beating myself up for no reason, but I hope you will all accept my continued apologies when the blog seems sparse.
Thanks! Have an awesome weekend :)
We've been busy as usual these first couple weeks of the third quarter. As you know, we are making progress toward developing strong debate arguments on the affirmative and negative side of some serious issues. Students are beginning the research process this weekend by finding 5 reputable sources that cover their topics. We have a ways to go before the class will be ready to debate; after we tackle some critical thinking and arguing strategies, students will be ready to build a strong case.
As you may also know, we've been reading a ton of poetry! Between last week and this one, we've read "Silence" by Billy Collins, "The Quiet World" by Jeffrey McDaniel, "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost, "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams, "It's raining in love" by Richard Brautigan, and more! We started with a few of the classics before we began our transition toward more free verse style poems. Next week, poems from Eudora Welty, Wislawa Szymborska, Sylvia Plath, William Stafford, Langston Hughes, and many more!!
Our main poetry focus has been "extended metaphor" thus far, and students are exploring this through their own Family Metaphor Poems. They are crafting an elaborate metaphor with many working parts that can be represented by each member of their families. Students will try to create a cohesive, complex metaphor that works throughout the whole poem. Check the "Links & Documents" tab for more info!
Students have been making progress on the Annotated Discography assignment. They should have some rough draft progress on 2 annotations to add to the class document. After this weekend, the Google doc should be up and running, and students will be expected to post their final annotations on the shared document. Students may post one anonymously and one with their name (though they are strongly encouraged to put their name on both) but they must let me know so that I can give them credit for all their work. Check the "Links & Documents" tab for more info.
In case your student didn't mention it, the whole class did an awesome job in participating in our "Silent Discussion" last Friday. Students walked around the room and silently wrote responses to 4 questions on posters around the room. The questions were about bullying and empathy. I am in the process of typing up your student' awesome, poignant responses so everyone can read their thoughtful and thought provoking words. Though your students were bold enough to sign their names, I am going to type them anonymously so that the school at large might benefit from their insights. Stay tuned - I will email you and post the typed responses on this very site!
Things to expect in the next weeks until the end of school:
-More reading and writing of poems
-Debate!
-Current Events (modified, as we are so busy with debates and testing)
-Independent Book Projects
-Ancient China, Greece, and Rome
-Argumentative Essay structured around debate topics
-Reading groups - short stories
As always, your kids never cease to amaze me. For this reason, I was surprised to learn that da Vinci does not do a second round of conferences at the end of the year. Though it may sound crazy, I would really like to extend an opportunity for Spiegel Core parents and students to come in for conferences during the last week of May (Tuesday the 26th - Sunday the 31st.) If you are interested in meeting for a conference, I am happy to drive somewhere that is convenient to you (within 25 miles of da Vinci!) during most times of the day. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday morning, I can meet at da Vinci between 8 and 10:30. Weekday evenings, I can meet you at da Vinci or elsewhere between 3:30 and 7:30. That weekend is pretty much wide open. If that last week of May doesn't work for you, and you still really want to meet, of course we'll make it work!
Anyway, expect an email soon with your students' awesome responses to the "Silent Discussion" as well as more information about these Special Spiegel Core Conferences (which is what I am now calling them.)
Phew! There's probably more to say, but I think that will do it for now.
Don't forget to check the "Assignments" and the "Links & Documents" tabs. Both will be updated even when the blog isn't. Though I know Christie was a diligent blog updater, I find that this much communication overwhelms me. I know you are all empathetic and wonderful, so I have no doubt that I am beating myself up for no reason, but I hope you will all accept my continued apologies when the blog seems sparse.
Thanks! Have an awesome weekend :)