Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day!

Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day! Celebrate by selecting a poem, carrying it with you, and sharing it with others throughout the day at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, and workplaces.

Put Something In

Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-grumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.

-Shel Silverstein

  from A Light in the Attic

 Poem in Your Pocket Day was originally initiated in 2002 by the Office of the Mayor, in partnership with the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education, as part of the city’s National Poetry Month celebration. In 2008, the Academy of American Poets took the initiative to all fifty United States, encouraging individuals around the country to join in and channel their inner bard. In 2016, the League of Canadian Poets extended Poem in Your Pocket Day to Canada.
Poem in Your Pocket Day 2017 will be held on April 27.

Click here to read three pocket poems
Click here to get your Poetry in your Pocket template 
Another template for your pocket 
Or click here to turn your poem into a scroll 
Fold Your Poem into a cute package
Click here for directions on How to Make a Folded Swan

(text copied from https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/poem-your-pocket-day)

Introduction to Informational Writing

Where do you see informational writing? Number of websites created every day…in the last minute 571 websites were created. During our class over 25,000 websites have been created.  By the end of the month, you may have created your own website.

 

Padlet Timeline of the Holcaust

Writitng a Position Paper

You are going to write a position paper on whether "Role Playing Games with simulated violence are perilous or diverting for kids."  Choose a side and then use the resources below to find evidence that support your reasons.

“Do Games Like ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Cause Real-World Violence” by Erik Kain, ForbesMagazine

“Essential Facts about Games and Violence” a brochure produced by theEntertainment Software Association

“How online gamers are solving science’s biggest problems” by Dara Mohammadi,
The Guardian

“Shooting in the Dark” by Benedict Carey, The New York Times
 
“Violent video games may stop crime by keeping criminals busy playing violent
video games” by Evan Dashevsky, TechHive

The Giver-create a voki

Click here to go in to Voki classroom.  Create an account using your user name and password.

Assignment:Explain a ritual or rule in The Giver Community. Then explain why this rule might have been created. What are the benefits. What are the negatives of this rule or ritual? 
 

Spitz Voki

The Giver- Learning about Utopian and Dystopian Societies

Your job is to research utopian and dystopian societies and report your findings to your community (teacher and class). You may divide up the work, but each member of your group needs to be able to explain the material that the group has researched--that means you need to explain what you have read and learned to everyone! You will need hard proof that these societies you are researching are utopian or dystopian.  They may even be both!

Click here to read about Utopias

Complete steps 1-4

Click here to read about Dystopias

Complete steps 1-4 (the video on step 2 does not work.)

Complete a 4-6 slide presentation on Utopias and Dystopias which shows your research and knowledge on the topic.

Click here to access the class presentation on Utopias and Dystopias

Mini-Biography

This week we are going to write a mini-biography together as a class.  We will be writing about Dav Pilkey.
Video on Dave Pilkey
Comic Autobiography
Scholastic Biography

A Christmas Carol-Create a Go Animate

Create a Go Animate to show how Scrooge changes or an important theme of the play.
Click this link to go to Go Animate
Here's our classroom code:  0OSKQzn8JjqvRrlNrLVpT

try this one:  0OSKQzn8JjqvRrlNrLVpT6g

Ted Talk Tuesdays: Detention or Eco Club: Choosing your future - Juan Martinez

"When kids who have very little really experience the power of the great outdoors, it can change their whole lives."—Juan Martinez

Watch the Ted Talk and then complete the graphic organizer.  Be prepared to discuss in class on Tuesday.  Below you can find background information to explore some of the topics Martinez discusses in his Ted Talk.

• Click here to learn more about Juan Martinez and his work spearheading the group Natural Leaders Network of the Children & Nature Network

• Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods

• Click here for background on the LA Riots in 1992

• Learn more about his reference to the street gangs in LA 

Understanding Point of View