Oh, shoot! My lesson is twelve minutes too short!

Today is mood and tone day. We aren't delving too deeply. We are skimming the waters to get their feet wet. But they have been wading today, and I was not prepared to teach swimming. Fortunately, I had a life jacket nearby. 

I started our lesson on "The Tell-Tale Heart" with a Sketch-to-Stretch vocabulary lesson. My intention had always been to end with a Sketch-to-Stretch comprehension piece, but I did not think I had enough time, and I had honestly put it out of my mind. I am grateful for a mind that works quickly under stress. 

When researching the S-to-S strategy, I had found a template on Read-Write-Think. Although the norm for Cornell notes is to write a summary at the end, I used this response idea as a culmination for the notes and for the kids to show an understanding of mood. A number of them were simply excited to be able to draw, so this worked out pretty well.