This week in Fifth Grade History, English and Writing, students zoomed in on the details. In History, we have been learning about the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest written fairy tale. Students read one version of this Sumerian story, viewed a second animated version, and “performed” yet a third, interpretation written in the form of a play. Then, students selected two of the versions we had considered and began to note the similarities and differences between them. In English class, we have been discussing the importance of inference in understanding a text. After dividing into groups, students were tasked with re-reading a chapter in Where the Red Fern Grows to search for examples of how the main character’s actions or words revealed his personality. Students then drafted short paragraphs citing examples from the text to support their claims. And finally, in Writer’s Workshop, we have concluded our study of the Ideas Trait. The final challenge was to create a short story or description based on strange or provocative photo that I selected for each student. Here we focused on showing the small details, rather than telling the reader what has or will take place.
