Celebrate 4/26

Join this fabulous group of bloggers as we celebrate our weeks. You can link up on Ruth Ayres blog at www.ruthayreswrites.com

Last Sunday was a perfect day off.  We had Monday off so it could truly be just a day to relax and enjoy the end of my Spring break.  It was beautiful outside and my husband and I went on a nice, long walk around the neighborhood.  There is a new frozen yogurt shop that opened up and we had an extra afternoon treat together.  
Monday I was able to find some great resources for our Shakespeare unit, and I found this TED Talk by Sarah Kay, which sparked some great ideas for ELA class.

Tuesday I had fun checking in with my students and their reading over break.  One girl greeted me with, “Ms. Payan, I finished 3 books over break!” I love it that this student is reading so voraciously now.  She is one who made all kinds of excuses about how she couldn’t find time to read at home because of helping to take care of siblings.  We worked out a plan to start the reading habit and now she is voracious and finishes books really quickly.

Wednesday I started the unit about Shakespeare.  I showed the students this TedEd video about insults in Shakespeare.

They spent the rest of the week biting their thumbs at each other.  Then, I had them work on a webquest about Shakespeare and his times.  The students figured out that it was Shakespeare’s birthday that day and they got a kick out of the fact that his wife was named Anne Hathaway.  The best was when a few of my students cheered to find out that they were doing a unit on Shakespeare.

Thursday I had a few great conferences during reading workshop.  The best was a girl who is reading The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner.  I asked her how it was going and she jumped right into talking about the characters.  She said, “I like how she thinks that her brother’s spirit is in the little boy.” I love that my students are getting really great at talking about books without prompts.  I also like that this is what she is picking up on in this amazing story.  I also had a great talk with a student about whether the Legend trilogy or the Divergent trilogy is better.

Friday we watched the 1996 movie version of Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.  I wish I would have recorded the students’ reactions to the end of the movie.  It was obvious that most of them did not know what happened in the play.  They were yelling at the screen telling Juliet to say something to Romeo so he wouldn’t drink the poison.  It was so much fun to hear them reacting.

Today I had a great time at my nephew’s 3rd birthday party.  It was nice to see family and to enjoy the antics of young children.  My husband had his belt test today and earned his brown belt in Suikido.  I am so proud of him!

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments! Have a great week!

Author: Andrea

I am an instructional technology coach in a middle school in Milwaukee, WI. I have been teaching for over 20 years in many grade levels ranging from first through eighth grade. I am a lifelong book nerd.

3 thoughts on “Celebrate 4/26”

  1. Hi Andrea, what a good week for you this week. Maybe spring is in the air; I had one, too. Love hearing about your students and Shakespeare. When our students study him, they always love the time they get to learn the insults. It is fun. It sounds like you have so many wonderful ideas to do with them. Glad you and your husband had that extra day, too.

  2. I love going around the blogs and reading the different celebrations. The positivity that comes out makes me smile each time. Your celebrations showed the different aspects of your life and your appreciation for them. Wishing you a wonderful new week!

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