Hearts of Service

Dear students,

I had a wonderful time volunteering with you and your families at the Nashville Women's Rescue Mission. I learned a lot about myself as well as the importance of giving back to the community. Volunteering takes more than showing up for a few hours. It takes preparation, planning, action, and, now, reflecting. I want you to reflect about your time spent at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Please answer the following questions:

• What was your role(s) at the Nashville Women's Rescue Mission? How did you contribute?
• What was your favorite part(s) of our service project and WHY?
• Name some connections you made during your time at the Nashville Women's Rescue Mission.
• What is something new you learned from this experience? Be specific! Also, were you surprised by anything you saw or heard?

Please make sure you answered each bullet point before you publish your comment. Double check your comment for punctuation/spelling mistakes. Your comment must be at least 5 sentences.

I cannot wait to hear about your day.

You teacher,

Ms. B

All You Can Eat!

Dear students,

Please write at least a 5 sentence paragraph about the following:

Imagine you opened your own restaurant. Tell the name of your restaurant. Explain what the restaurant looks like, who works there, and what you serve. Have fun and be creative.

Be sure to include:

• a topic sentence 
• supporting details
• complete sentences
• correct spelling, capitalization (M.I.N.T.S.), and end punctuation.

Your teacher,

Ms. B :)

When I grow up...

Dear students,

 Write at least a 5 sentence paragraph answering the following question:

If you could have any job in the world, what would you do and why?

Be sure to include:

• a topic sentence
• supporting details
• complete sentences
• correct spelling, capitalization (M.I.N.T.S.), and end punctuation.

I cannot wait to read your responses!

Your teacher,

Ms. B :)

Teacher for One Day!

Dear students,

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to the teacher for one day? Well, now is your chance! In your comment below, please write a paragraph describing what you would do as the teacher for one day For example, what would you teach? What kind of activities would plan? What would your students call you? Think about what would happen in class if you were in charge for a day and leave your comment below.

Remember to write in complete sentences, reread your post for errors, and use your capitalization rules!

Happy blogging,
Ms. Blackmon

Monkey Business!

Students,

We have had some insightful conversations on our blog. We have discussed reading strategies, characters from our books, and compared and contrasted different ideas. Phew! I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

Now, let's have a different kind of conversation  and give you all the opportunity to have some creative writing.  I would like about the following prompt:

Imagine that for one day only you could have a pet monkey! What would you do with you pet? What would you name him/her? What adventures would you two have? Please describe your day with your new friend.

Remember, students, to watch out for run-ons, and to write in complete sentences. I look forward to reading your comments!

You teacher,
Ms. Blackmon

Compare and Contrast!

Dear Readers,

You have learned how to compare and contrast different topics like apples and oranges; boas and pythons; TV or no TV (gasp!). Next, I would like you to take it a step further and compare and contrast your reading. You may choose two storybook characters and tell me how they are similar and different. Be sure to include text evidence in your response to back up your opinion. Please read my example below. I look forward to your comments!

Your teacher, 
Ms. Blackmon

Harry Potter from the Harry Potter Series and Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson  Series, are two very well-know storybook characters. Harry and Percy are similar because they are both young boys who face great dangers, and demonstrate courage. They both battle forces greater than themselves, but triumph in the end. Also, they are both characters from popular book series.Harry and Percy both have the help of their friends like, Hermione and Annabeth to help them along the way. Although Harry and Percy are alike, they also have some significant differences. For example, Harry is an orphan, but Percy's mother is still alive. Harry deals with the world of wizards and Percy lives in a world of Greeks Gods and myths. I find both characters to be interesting and unique. I enjoy reading about their adventures.

Our Reading Community

Dear Readers,

As an avid reader, I often find myself finishing a great book or an interesting article, and desperately wanting to share my thoughts with someone. When I lived in Charleston, I was lucky enough to have a group of friends who shared a passion for reading, so we formed a book club. While I am not in the same city as my book club anymore, I still reach out to my friends and family in Nashville, to discuss my wonderings and opinions about literature.

As a classroom of learners, we have created a community geared toward having a teachable spirit, so we may grow to become people of knowledge, wisdom, and ultimately character. One way we do this is by reading and forming ideas and connections that begin to shape us. In order to support this work, this blog will serve as a way to discuss various things when we are not in the class. Essentially, the blog will become a virtual classroom.

For example, I might post about a response about Thank You, Mr. Falker by explaining my connection to the character, Trish. I might say how much I relate to her overcoming an obstacle with the help of a teacher and how motivated I was to find out the author was the one who overcame her learning hurdle and became a published author. You will have the same chance to post your reactions, but also, to respond to what someone else might say. In this way, our posts become a conversation when we are away from the classroom.

As we begin this online blogging adventure, I challenge you to bring your working minds to the keyboard and let me know your thoughts and feelings about literature. We have so much to discover ...

So, join the community! Come on in, pull up to a computer, let me know your thoughts about literature and our blogging opportunity. I believe the blog will be a wonderful opportunity for our class to communicate in a unique way. 

Write about the following in your comment below: 
Literature is an important part of my life because I enjoy getting lost in a story and having friends recommend books to me. Also, I love talking about the books I have read. I am interested in learning more about the blog and how we will use it in class.How is literature a part of your life?

As I mentioned, I made a connection with Trish from Thank You, Mr. Falker. Who is a character that you have made a strong connection with and why?