Life-Lesson #10 (Be Courageous)

"Be Courageous to Continue On"

*This is the TENTH Thursday of our school year together and that means it is "Life Lesson" Thursday.

*One of the biggest messages I try to share with my students is to make a positive impact on the world.

*This isn't always easy, but I work very hard to spread this theme/lesson/idea each and every day.  

*This video captures the courage it takes to continue on during difficult or rough times.  I want them to know that not giving up is a virtue that each of them should hold.  

*I set aside time during each day for us to work in our writer's notebooks. 

*We talk about what types of writing we can do in the notebook.  Here are some of the possibilities...

-What we notice in the video

-What we wonder about

-Connections we have to the video

-Thoughts, feeling, emotions about the video clip

-Reminders we have from the lesson/message

-Create a fiction story about the video

*Once the video is shared with the writers, we spend a few minutes "talking" about what we observed.

*My writers set up their HEADING in the notebook and we get busy writing.

*During the start-up of the year, I have my students write for about five minutes.  We slowly build our stamina for writing and slowly add time to the writing block. 

*At the end of the individual writing time, we call on a few volunteers to share their actual writing and/or further thoughts about the video we watched and wrote about.

*If there is time, I sometimes share the video clip with my class at the end of the writer's notebook time.  

2017/2018 Life Lessons...
Week #1:  Be a Reader                                                                      This Week's Life-Lesson
Week #2:  Be Kind to Others                                                              This Week's Life-Lesson
Week #3:  Be Safe                                                                             This Week's Life-Lesson
Week #4:  Be Responsible                                                                 This Week's Life-Lesson
Week #5:  Be Brains                                                                           This Week's Life-Lesson
Week #6:  Be a Friend                                                                        This Week's Life-Lesson
Week #7:  Be Life-Changing                                                              This Week's Life-Lesson              
Week #8:  Be Spooky (Halloween Fun Edition)
Week #9:  Be a Bully - NOT!                                                              This Week's Life-Lesson

Wonder Wednesday #202 (NCTE17 - Part #TWO)

Wonder Wednesday - A Weekend of BOOK Love


*I'm still in "cloud nine" after my four days in St. Louis where I attended my third NCTE convention.  

*As I mentioned on FaceBook, I think it just gets better and better each year.  

*The time at the convention, talking with authors and educators, and taking in all the new information fills me up and reenergizes me to be in the trenches with the young readers and writers of mine.  

*I could write so much about my experience, but life is busy, teaching is more than a full-time job, and sometimes I think the story can be told better through images.

*Here is a look at my journey in St. Louis on Saturday, November 18th and Sunday, November 19th.  If you want to see pictures from part #ONE, click on the following link...

Part #ONE of NCTE17