December 14, 2011 - Grenada School District

Communicator, December 14, 2011, Page 4GMS Unit of StudyAddressesCurriculum StandardsCommunity Round TableCommittee formed...Dalton Brown, Rylee Payne, and Zakiriah Sizemore show some ofthe letters that were written to Joan Bauer, Haley Barbour, andSteven Spieldberg about their experience with the book Hope WasHere.By Pam BriscoeGMS Language Arts TeacherCan teens make a difference in anelection even if they are not registeredvoters? This is a question thatmany students at GMS can answer.If approached in the hallway, youmight be surprised to hear theresounding replies of, “Students forStoop,” or “Millstone for Mayor!”As part of an interesting unit, sixthgrade students in Pam Briscoe’sand Karma Simmons’ language artsand math classes had the opportunityto explore several subject areasand Curriculum Standards as theycompleted a unit of study basedupon the novel, Hope Was Here, byJoan Bauer.The main character, HopeYancey, was a young, hard-workingwaitress who spent her lifemoving from place to place withher adopted aunt. After moving to asmall town in Wisconsin, not onlydoes she find herself knee-deep in amayoral election filled with corruption,but also on a soul-searchingmission to find the father that shenever knew.Language arts was incorporatedinto the unit as students learnedhow to summarize a chapter of anovel by using what Mrs. Briscoecalls the 3/20 Strategy. After readinga chapter, students learned torecognize the three main ideas thatwere present in the chapter. Studentsthen pulled these three ideastogether by creating a 20-wordsummary. Students then recordedthese summaries in a personal, illustratedsummary journal. Classesalso held summary challenges on achapter-by-chapter basis to practicerevising and editing skills, with amethod called “Who Says It Best?”Students absolutely loved this partof summarizing, since competitionalways breeds success.Students also learned about toolsof persuasion as they campaignedfor their favorite candidate. Politicalsigns were displayed in the hallwaysand campaign buttons wereproudly emblazoned on t-shirts.Throughout the novel,students had the opportunityto have informal debates in theclassroom about which candidatedeserved to be elected and why.Debates are an important strategyto teach students to justify theirdecisions by providing text-basedevidence, a necessary skill tobe able to reach higher depth ofknowledge levels.As a culminating language artsactivity, Mrs. Briscoe utilized theRAFT Writing Strategy wherebystudents were given a choice towrite persuasive letters based uponrole, audience, format, and topic.Many students chose to write toJoan Bauer to persuade her to writea sequel or visit the classroom.Other students decided to writeto Steven Spielberg to persuadehim to make Hope Was Here intoa movie. Finally, many studentschose to write to Govenor HaleyBarbour to convince him to readand recommend Hope Was Here toother Mississippi politicians.Pam Briscoe states, “This isprobably the most exciting activityI have ever taught. I’ve triedto instill in the kids that in orderto be good at anything, writingincluded, you have to have passion.This activity has sparked interest,motivation, and finger-crossing.We hope to get a response from ouraudiences.”Math was injected into thestudy unit as students completeda chapter-by-chapter math journalthroughout the novel. Problemswere created that utilized objectivesfrom the pacing guides. Thestudents really enjoyed relatingeach problem to the characters andplot at that specific point in thestory.Students participated in a mockelection, whereby they had to electa candidate from the novel whomthey felt would best represent thepeople of the novel. After submittingvotes, students integrated mathinto the study unit by analyzingvoting percentages for eachcandidate.Exams Dec. 14, 15, & 16To increase communications between theGrenada School District and our community,GSD has established the Superintendent’sCommunity Round Table Committe. Thisgroup of area leaders will serve as liaisonsbetween the District and our county’s citizensto disseminate school information. Committeemembers include, (top photo, standing)Superintendent Dr. David Daigneault andREHABILITATION SERVICESOUTPATIENT GYM(seated left to right) Glenn DeHart, DebbieThomas, Sheila Ellis, and (bottom photo,standing left to right) Superintendent Dr.David Daigneault, Smiley Arrington, FrankBradford, and Kevin Horan, (seated left toright) Roger Givens, Laura Reid and Directorof School Management/Gifted Dr. BeckyTerry.Great rehabilitation ultimately results inpatient and physician satisfaction, bypromoting improved physical health andquality of life.As a facility that provides rehabilitation,GLMC strives to meet the needs of ourpatients and physicians on a daily basis.GLMC offers the following rehab services:OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY (OT) ...OT eases the transition from hospital to home by showing survivors new waysto perform activities of daily living, to make routine tasks simpler.PHYSICAL THERAPY (PT) ...PT provides examination and treatment of problems that affect peoples’ abilityto move and function.SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY (SLP) ...SLP professionals identify, evaluate and treat a wide range of speech,language and swallowing disorders.“Whatever the Rehabilitative Need ...GLMC has the right service for you!