Each week the third year students receive a new lesson in Imaginary Island. So far this year, they have learned about advanced land/water forms, physical/political maps, and area & perimeter. In the upcoming weeks, they will be presented with lessons that include: how to use an Atlas, longitude and latitude, how to use an Encyclopedia, and researching a country. This work provides all of the skills needed to design their own imaginary island at the end of the year.
In Writer’s Workshop, the students are writing personal narratives. Younger students are thinking of something that has happened in their life and are writing about it. They continue to add details and descriptive words in their sentences. The older students focus their writing on using a storyteller’s voice rather than a news reporter’s voice. They do this by writing something that has happened in their life, but include what happened first, then, and next, adding descriptive details and dialogue. We have been pleased with their progress.
Each week in class, the students practice their keyboarding skills by using a program called Typing.com. Each student has a username and password. They have an opportunity to improve their skills once a week for 30 minutes in the classroom, but can also log in from home to practice. We encourage students to learn the proper hand placements on the keyboard to prepare them for the future.