Thursday, November 20, 2014

Making Cents


This month, Mrs. Jessica McCarthy came to visit our REACH class to speak about her career as a CPA. She currently operates her own accounting firm and brought along some Comic Books for the students. She also discussed the accounting component that goes behind the scenes when opening a business. Thanks for the talk, Mrs. McCarthy! 




Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Mona Lisa Parody

The Mona Lisa. We have all seen her or heard of her. Perhaps the biggest mystery is the reason behind her smile. This is what we think she's smiling about. We hope our creations have put a smile on your face!



Reading Project Showcase



We have been so busy in REACH. So busy in fact that we are just now getting to post our awesome reading projects! This summer students read a novel of their choice that they then had to share. Instead of writing a book report, they decided to share their books in creative ways. Have a look at some student samples. You can also view projects in the Office Foyer at our school.





Novel Voice Overs

This project was for the tech savvy! The objective was to advertise their novels using a voiceover. After examining several professional examples for television series, students created their own scripts and added sound effects using Garageband. The challenge was to summarize their novels in ways that will engage listeners and utilize media that complimented the theme or mood of the novel.





*Click on the student names to listen to their voiceovers. 

Theme Meme

We see memes frequently online, but not at school. Not until now that it is. For this project, students had to capture the mood and themes of their novel through a meme. Their meme had to include a word and tagline to explain the theme. Students used their advanced vocabulary skills and summarizing skills in novel ways.

Hansini: Moon Over Manifest 
Andrew: 39 Clues: Maze of Bones  

Scene It: Readers' Theater

This project was for those students that enjoy acting and making costumes. Students were responsible for recreating and acting out a scene in their book. They had to include a script, props, a set, and puppets to bring their scene(s) to life.



Character Suitcase

To explore characters, we created a suitcase for them. Students had to answer the question, "If your character had a bag or suitcase, what would he/she put in it?" This project was for students who enjoy designing and creating.

Peyton: The 68 Doors
Gabriel: Island of the Blue Dolphins

Message in  Bottle

For this project, students had to write a message to another character in their story. They also designed the bottle to send their message. This was an excellent option for those students that enjoy creative writing.

Ethan: 

Setting Illustration/Portrait

Finally, this project was meant to unleash the inner artists. Students had to illustrate a painting or picture for the setting of their story. Students researched a famous artist's style and had to recreate their setting using that style.
Emori: Mashup of Impressionism & Pop Art