Today in 6A!

ENGLISH: As a means of flushing out our best children's story book ideas, we performed some character, conflict and resolution story mapping today. This is a strategy where students methodically ask questions about their character, their conflict and how they plan to resolve that conflict and write down their responses for later referral. With all of this down on paper, students are able to see their story in pieces. Next they "storyboard" their thoughts to plan on what pages pieces of information need to go. The next phases will involve how the student plans to communicate their thoughts. Some information can be passed through images while others need to be in text. Some students want to have their stories rhyme. This is where that can happen.

LITERATURE: At this point in the story we are listening as Malala explains the events of the attempted assassination of her life. She wakes up in Birmingham England with questions about her father and mother. She is recovering from her wounds and struggling with pain. Our students felt confused about how the would-be assassins knew it was her, and I told them that Malala at this time was as famous as Beyonce. You KNOW when Beyonce walks in the room. You don't have to have someone point her out to you. The same was for Malala. She appeared in newspapers and on TV. She was an outspoken advocate for girls' right to education and had a target on her back for it.

RELIGION: Review of this week's lesson for tomorrow's open book quiz.

SOCIAL STUDIES: Our lesson spoke about the expansion of the Roman Empire. Rome used their military as well as diplomacy to expand not only their influence but their controlled territory. The influx of excess grains from abroad and the growing number of slaves entering the economy bankrupted small farmers and left them with no recourse. It was not long (~200 years) before revolution would strike. Homework for this lesson is on page 517 #1-4.