Holiday Traditions

The Holiday Break is almost upon us!! I know over the holidays I look forward to a few different traditions. The first thing I love doing is Friends Christmas. All of my dearest friends come over, we play games and make a fabulous dinner. The evening is full of laughter and sets the rest of the mood for my holiday. The second tradition I have is with my family on Christmas Eve. My mom’s entire family comes together and we have a meal that is typically all or mostly seafood. The rest of my break is spent relaxing, enjoying some winter activities like skiing and winter hikes. 

For your blog post this week tell us about what you love doing over your break. Do you and your family have any traditions that you share in every year? Maybe you have an annual hockey tournament or a vacation somewhere. Who do you always look forward to seeing? I would love to hear what you plan on doing over the two weeks we are apart. Add great detail and really show what you are looking forward to in your writing. Make sure you edit your work before you submit it.

Make your friends HUNGRY!

For your blog post this week, I’d like each of you to think in your head about what your favourite food in the whole world is!  Picture that food in your mind, how it looks, smells, tastes, sounds when it’s cooking. Have you got it? Good. Now here’s the challenge, can you write a descriptive paragraph that doesn’t mention what your food is but describes it so well that your classmates can guess what it is?  The world of food and wine website has some great words that you can use to help you in your challenge!

Here’s an example:

 “It’s colour is burned a deep amber hue,  the outside hard, crunchy, almost black with flavour. The smell is powerful, smokey, and tantalizing. As I take my sharp knife and cut through the bark, the heat rises out in steamy tendrils. I pour the thin, vinegary barbecue sauce into the glass bowl, with the piled up meat. It’s rich, meaty smell hits my nose and I use my knife and fork to cut through it. The taste is strong, meaty and delicious and as I put it on the bun, I cannot wait to bite into it!

100 Word Challenge

Can you finish this story in around 100 words!  The words in the story starter don’t count. If you want to see a bigger picture, click the link.  Can’t wait to read your posts!

Spread Some Awesome!

Look at the quote to the left.  Your task this week is something a little different, it’s time to spread some awesome.  Do one thing this week that spreads some major awesome by drawing a name in class (keep it to yourself… shhhh!), and writing a letter to that person in your blog post, listing 3 reasons that make that person really awesome. They can be anything- but think about character traits- what this person shows and does that makes them unique, special and well, AWESOME! You will write your blog post in a letter format. 

Here’s an example

Dear _______, 

Did you know how totally awesome you are?! Well, you are! Here are three reasons that make you so great and appreciated. 

1. You are a great listener. You make people feel as though they are very important in the way you listen to them and show that you care. 
2. You are a hard worker. You use your class time super well and are always focused! It’s inspiring. 
3. You are inclusive. I love that you always invite people to play with you at recess and are friends with everyone. 

Thank you for being your awesome self. We appreciate you! 

Sincerely, 

____________

I can’t wait to watch everyone spread awesome and see how it ripples into our worlds! 

The Importance of Empathy

Have you ever had a rough day at school? I bet most of you can answer yes to that question. Think about what helps you on these days. Does having supportive friends help? Being left alone? Caring/kind words? Now think about what doesn’t help....someone being mean to you? Picking on you? Not showing kindness?

As a class we are a community. Everyone here has different feelings, thoughts and experiences. It is important to remember, you never know what is happening in a peers life. Maybe they got into a huge fight at home, maybe they didn’t sleep well, maybe they are really worried about that upcoming test or assignment. 

Have you heard of empathy? What is it really? Why should I show it? For your blog posts this week,  I want you to take a look at this website “Importance of Empathy”. Watch the three videos and reflect on their meanings. 

Think about: How can I be more empathetic to my classmates? What can I do to help someone? Remember empathy is not showing sympathy or saying “I’m sorry”. It is putting yourself in their shoes, how can you help brighten someone's day? How can I be supportive to my classmates and really show a connection to how they are feeling?

A Letter For The Future

Watch this video:  https://youtu.be/j393lNECNGw

Kid President has some amazing messages for us in his video “A Letter For the Future”.  As you watched this, I hope you were thinking about what you can do to help out to make the future a better place.  He’s right; we do hear a lot of negative things from the news but as young people, the future is in your hands!

For you blog post this week, write three ways that you plan to help make the future a better place.  You have right NOW!

The Chase!

You have all been doing such a good job adding more detail and description to your writing. For this weeks blog post I would like you to continue to add those great details, but also work on perspective. 

This week you are to write either from the perspective of the snake or iguana. Watch the video snake vs iguana to help give you some ideas on what to write about. Please write one paragraph from the perspective of your choice. Use descriptive writing to describe feelings and events that have happened leading up or after the chase. 

**Warning, the video is very intense, you will be on the edge of your seat the whole time**