Reading Workshop Week Four: Character

well, I have a fabulous update...today went SO much better than last week! yay!! I was so incredibly happy walking out of the school today. Sure, we had a few minor bumps, but these are 8th graders, not adults.. :)

Today we focused on Character. We talked about protagonists, antagonists, and what makes a good character. All those things that go into a good book! So for the activity, Ami and I set up a mini crime scene with the items seen in the photo:
-cowboy boot
-bottle of perfume
-CD
-a dried rose
-crime scene tape
-a golden button
-Army hat (well, actually its the Marines..but anyway..lol)
-a mask
-skull
-a key (which i forgot to add to the photo..oops!)
-three scrabble pieces, the letters R, N, P

The kids were to make a story and develop the character in the crime scene using at least 8 of the 11 items; and had a contest as to which group told the best story. (there were so many good creative ones!!) They LOVED it. So now I owe the wining team a candy bar! But it is SO worth it!

Now I'm off to re-write our lesson plan for the day and write a reflection for the day, as well as start lesson plans for next week! I'm definitely excited for next weeks lesson: Setting! :)