News from Room 52

My reading class has just finished a end-of-the-tirmester book commercial project.  Their mission was to create a commercial and “sell” a book they read this trimester.  The students had to include the following literary elements in their podcast: title, author, setting, characters (with descriptions), and plot.  The students had to leave the listener with a suspending ending in order to get the listener interested!  We worked with the fabulous Mrs. Brown (our technology integration collaborative teacher) who helped us put our book commercials in the podcast format.  Please check them out…they are connected to the WD webpage under Classroom/Specialist Links (5th grade).

We are currently reading the book The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare.  I chose to read this novel with the kids because it ties in nicely to our Social Studies curriculum.  We have been learning about colonization, and this book focuses around a young European boy and his family looking to make a home in Maine.  This boy, Matt, is forced to survive on his own and is challenged to develop a relationship with a Native American boy.