The first Pinballs Assignment

Here are some other editions of The Pinballs, our current class novel. Students have to complete one of the 8 possible activities from their contract tonight for homework. We read three more chapters today, discussed the use of their Writer's Notebook. Students were given nearly an hour to plan and start their chosen activity in class.
The possible activities were:

1.  Write a letter pretending you are one of the main characters, describing the foster home and the other foster children.

2.  Prepare a comic strip version of one of the chapters or one of the significant events in the novel.

3.  Write another chapter for the book.

4.  Design a new jacket for the book. Remember to include a blurb on the back. You could get some ideas by looking at the various versions that have been published.

5.  Harvey makes lit of things that have happened to him to try to come to terms with his life. Make some lists of your own.

6.  The children talk about having fifteen minutes of fame. Write about what you would like to happen if you had fifteen minutes of fame.

7. Write a poem with each line beginning "I remember when..." OR "I would like to forget..." You may like to alternate these lines.

8. Make a PhotoStory or PowerPoint presentation promoting the book. (Students were shown four examples of book promotions this morning in class.)

Students were also given a rubric clearly outlining what they are being assessed on. They need to complete three of the activities over the next week. There are also some questions to be addressed in section one of the contract after we finish reading the novel. We are at the halfway mark.

Today students also had their first music lesson after recess and a book buddies session in the afternoon where they conducted an interview each and got to know their buddies.

Unfortunately, we are still waiting for computer logons, and  it turns out there are some 18 000 students waiting statewide, so I am hoping we are not too far down the list. We also don't have a class log on as this classroom didn't exist last year.  It is a little frustrating so if students have access to a computer at home and can use it for PowerPoint presentations and publishing top copies of their drafts it would be great.