Students will continue to finish adventure stories during independent work time.  Writing instruction will now focus research for the first quarter informative writing piece.  This week students began researching various types of fuels.  By taking notes on different renewable and nonrenewable resources, students will gather information to use in our next informational writing piece.  Students will work in collaborative groups to become experts on one of the following energy sources:  biomass, wind energy, solar energy, geothermal, hydro power and fossil fuels.  After each group creates an informative poster on their energy source, students will take notes.  Note taking is a valuable skill.  Instead of copying the text word for word, students will paraphrase and write key ideas.  Teachers will also monitor students' note taking to make sure that they understand the information they record.