Journalism Celebration

Our journalists' hard work has come to an end--the arrival of the publishing deadline! On our last day of the journalism unit, students read 3 different writers' newscasts and wrote feedback for them. They wrote specific feedback using our Investigative Journalism checklists, and then cited a specific place in the journalist's writing where they saw that strategy from the checklist. This feedback definitely helps the writers feel good about the hard work they've been doing during the journalism unit. 

Here writers are hard at work reviewing the writing of other journalists:

Here is an example of feedback for another student's newscast:

Students made sure to rotate to different newscasts throughout the feedback process. Each student should have read at least 3 pieces and received feedback from at least 3 other journalists. 

Afterwards, students posted their writing on the Grit Gazette newspaper wall in the hall for all the staff and students to appreciate: 

And, because it's a celebration, we also had snacks! Ms. Livingston was kind enough to grab a delicious selection of Munchkins, and Miss Lindsey brought in some juice. 

Congratulate your writer on their hard work so far this year! 

Colonial Presentations Gallery Walk

Last Friday, students shared their Colonial life presentations and artifacts in a gallery walk in the library annex. Students created presentations in the form of movies, slides, posters or newspapers on either a Colonial event or one of the 13 original colonies. Some students chose to work in partners, some worked individually. Check out some of the great artifacts below:

Here is Lila's lacrosse stick:

Here are the components of an average meal for slaves during the Colonial period that Madison and Ada put together:

Below is a model of Jamestown created by Ethan and Ari:

Kira and Nick put together a pirate's treasure chest:

Jesse and Darren recreated a scene from the life of William Penn, including a biography:

Maddy and Hannah modeled a New York town:

Below is Kimmy and Anna's newspaper presentation and their horn book, which Colonial students used in schools:

Bailey and Ale studied the Salem witch trials, and created a replica of the gallows:

Claire and Ali put together some theories on the lost colony of Roanoke, complete with croatoan carving:

Kilee researched Colonial women, and baked small apple pies to share:

Raegan created Salem witch gallows as well in a small model:

Noah recreated Colonial era musket, with working trigger piece: 

And, Bethany used turkey feathers to symbolize the hunting during Colonial times:

Students took notes while taking a look at other projects on the reasons people came to the Colonies, what economic opportunities were available, and how the French and Indian War helped lead to the revolution.
Students also left feedback for each other on their projects--and were very impressed with the amount of effort put into the displays!