First Week of Spring Semester

Dear Readers,
This week was my first week teaching at Tree House, and I was lucky enough to be assigned the grade six class. The kids were so focused last semester that they are nearly done with their level six reading book. This week we read a biography of Alexander the Great. With Teacher Paul's help the students really got involved. We also got to think about our own favorite historical figures with a writing assignment about them.
For science this week we discussed continental drift and plate tectonics, and are starting to talk about how earthquakes happen. Howard and Teddy were great in figuring out how all of the processes worked, from subduction to the convection current. We finished out the week by studying a news article about the California redwoods and then writing one of our own. The boys showed themselves to be quite the journalists.

Teddy - He has a great sense of humor and presence in the class. He also shows himself to be a great student and even better writer when he puts his energy into it. Sometimes he jokes around too much, but he stays on top of his work.

MJ - MJ really gets into the material, especially when there is a way to relate it to sports. A very good reader with tremendous vocabulary, I am excited to teach him this semester.

Howard - Howard was the guy to go to on science day. He really got a grasp of the concepts and was able to retain the information very well. He also is a lot of laughs, but sometimes jokes around too much with Teddy. I hope he is as good at the next lesson about earthquakes and volcanoes.

Betty - What a great student. She is a very hard worker and likes to laugh a lot as well. She is more quiet than the boys, but you can tell she gets along very well and understands the material. I get the feeling Betty will be very helpful and fun to work with this year.

Ann - I only got to have Ann for one day this week, and she was awfully quiet. She pays attention and looks like a good student - I just wish she'd participate more.

Irisa - Irisa is obviously very sharp. One of the top readers, even though she is the youngest person in the class, Irisa is very confident and able to grasp all the material. She seems very interested as well, and I am sure she will do great.

Good first week! Be sure to check in next week.