Field Trip Cancelled Tomorrow

After talking with Mrs. Phillips and the Tree Hill staff, we have decided to cancel tomorrow's field trip.  The inclement weather has made the trails wet, muddy, and slippery which poses a risk of injury (falling).  The cold weather adds to our concern.  

Money you paid for the trip will be deducted from the cost of the next trip.

Instead, we will remain at school and have a normal school day.  Thanks for your understanding and have a great holiday!

The Kitchen Sink for the Week of 12/10/12

Readers’ Workshop

Winter break is approaching and we know everyone is looking forward to some rest and relaxation.  That being said, we have had several parents request ways their children can practice and maintain their reading progress over the break.  Please make sure your child continues to read daily over the break.  Also, last week we placed a label in student planners, with login information for district provided websites.  These websites can be located in the sidebar of our blog under the heading, District Dishes.  FCAT Explorer is a site that provides reading support aligned with state standards and our weekly comprehension tests.  Compass Odyssey provides support for students in reading, math, and science.  Leveled books online is a site that provides…leveled books online!  This is a great site to visit if your child can not find a book that is “just right.” 

Please note that there will be no reading responses due the week of January 2, 2013 (the week we return from winter break).

 

Writers’ Workshop

We will edit & publish our persuasive writing this week.  Published pieces will be due on Friday, December 14th.  We will peer & self-assess these pieces the first week in January.

Our second week back, we will begin a new unit:  report writing.  Our class will be writing biography reports (a true account of someone else's life).  Help your child start the new year off right by helping them find a book now.  It should be about someone they are interested in, and they need to be able to read it on their own.  A great series of biographies is the "Who Was...?" series.  They are widely available in any bookstore and online, and they are a perfect reading level for the typical third grader.  (P.S.  We have a few different ones in our classroom, but if you are feeling generous and would like to help us attain more, we would appreciate a donation of any book from this series.)

Skills Block

There is no spelling homework or test this week.

Convincing Arguments

Our persuasive writing project is nearing completion.  We spent the entire week working on convincing arguments that could be used to persuade our audience.  Take a look at some of our work!

Ethan wants to convince his mother to get him a python!!!

Adela thinks she can get her parents to buy her a phone for Christmas...

And Miles is using his powers of persuasion to get a dog for the family.

What do you think about their arguments?  How is your project coming along?  Are you staying on track and keeping the deadline in mind?  Leave a comment!

Reading Response Strategies

Each week in their Reader's Response Journals, students are responsible for using one strategy we have practiced in class.  Students should apply the strategy to the book they are currently reading, providing evidence of deep thinking and supporting details from the text.  In order to help students meet expectations, we have provided samples of appropriate strategy use.  These samples can also be found in their Reader's Response Journals.  

Prediction

            I think that Rob will go back to visit the tiger in the near future.  He keeps thinking about the tiger to distract him from the difficult times in his life.  When Billy and Norton were bullying him on the bus, he was able to keep from crying by thinking about the tiger.  He is obviously very interested in the tiger and I know when I am interested in something, I want to investigate.  Also, looking at the cover of the book, I see two kids with the tiger in the woods.  I think those two kids are Rob and Sistine.  They might release the tiger together.  The title of the book is The Tiger Rising, so I imagine the tiger must play an important role in the story.

Connection

            When I read about Rob disliking school and not wanting to go, I could relate.  When I was in middle school, there was a girl who was unkind to me every day.  She called me names and made me miserable.  I dreaded going to school each morning.  Whenever I saw her, my heart would pound and my face would get all red.  I had to fight back tears whenever she was mean to me.  This makes me realize how Rob must feel every time he waits for the bus.  As it approaches, I bet his heart is pounding and with each step up into the bus he is probably more and more miserable.  I bet when he gets onboard and sees Billy and Norton smiling with anticipation, he wants to turn around and run right back off the bus.  That’s how I always felt. 

Clues in the Context

            As I was reading, I came across an unfamiliar word.  As Rob was waiting for the bus, he tried not to think about many things.  “He specifically did not think about Norton and Billy Threemonger waiting for him like chained and starved dogs, eager to attack.”  The word I did not recognize was “eager.”  Looking at the clues, it mentions dogs that are chained and starved.  This makes me think they are angry and hungry.  It makes them seem vicious and menacing.  Based on these clues, I would guess that eager means excited.  An angry, hungry dog would be excited to attack.  This makes sense when I plug it in, “He specifically did not think about Norton and Billy Threemonger waiting for him like chained and starved dogs, excited to attack.” 

Questioning

I wonder what inspired the author to write this story.  Maybe she had a difficult childhood, just like Rob.  Maybe she lost a parent at a young age and kept all of her emotions bottled up inside.  I wonder how Rob’s life would be different if his mom had not passed away.  The book says he “couldn’t stop crying the great heaving sobs that made his chest and stomach hurt.” This shows me that he loved her very much, so she must have been a caring woman.  I bet if she were alive, he would be more open with his emotions; he wouldn’t have to lock them up in the “suitcase” inside.  He seems unable to talk with his dad about things, but I bet he could have talked to his mom. 

Inferring

            I infer that Sistine is a very confident girl.  When she walks onto the bus and Billy and Norton make fun of her fancy pink dress, she responds by saying, “It’s not my fault you don’t have good clothes.”  She looks them right in the eye when she says this.  I know that when people are nervous or insecure, they usually look at the ground, but when someone looks you right in the eye, they have confidence.  When Sistine gets to school and has to speak in front of the class, she does not hesitate.  I get nervous in front of big groups of people.  I move slowly and look at the ground when I talk, but Sistine does not.  She stands up and insults everyone right to their faces, calling them “ignorant” and then looks around the room “defiantly.”  These examples prove she is not afraid of what others think.  She is a very confident girl!

Envisioning

            This author did a wonderful job painting a picture with words.  The morning Rob sees the tiger, the author writes, “The sky was gray and the air was thick and still.  Fog was hugging the ground.”  I envision Rob standing by the edge of the woods.  His feet are hidden by a thin layer of fog as he stares at the majestic caged tiger.  The text says, “It seemed as if the tiger was some magic trick, rising out of the mist.”  I imagine the dreary gray sky and the bright orange of the tiger, appearing through the fog.  “He was so astounded at his discovery, so amazed, that he stood and stared.”  I see Rob staring at the tiger with his mouth hanging open and his eyes almost bulging out of his head.  I bet he is thinking, “How in the world did this tiger get here?  Who is taking care of it?”  He probably wants to go and pet it, but he’s nervous it will bite him!  

The Kitchen Sink for the Week of 12/3/12

Readers’ Workshop

This week we will be exploring how the objects a character keeps close almost always reveal something important about the person. We will use this opportunity to reflect on our own lives, considering what objects we hold dear and what that might reveal about what is important to us.  Check out the blog for strategies to help students connect with characters on a deeper level.

Please note that, as of this week, Reader’s Response Journals will no longer be accepted late.

 

Writers’ Workshop

We will begin our persuasive drafts this week.  These drafts will take on different forms (i.e. letter, article, conversation), depending on which menu choice your child chose.  Regardless of form, every student's first paragraph should clearly state their intent/opinion on the issue they are addressing.  From there, the following paragraphs should introduce and support three arguments.  Different argument styles were discussed and recorded in your child's notebook last week.  Look for their notes and ask them which arguments they are planning to use; they should choose the three that will best convince their audience that their opinion is right.  Each draft will end with a conclusion paragraph, which restates the author's opinion and summarizes the main points of the piece.  The tentative due date for final drafts is Friday, December 14th.

Skills Block

Students will be tested on spelling List 12 this week.

Persuasive Writing Project: Brainstorming is Coming to an End

Have you chosen your topic for the persuasive writing project?!?  If you haven't, here's the list.  Brainstorming time is coming to an end, so look over the choices and make your selection!

Persuasive Writing Menu Choices

Pretend you are a Christmas tree at a Christmas Tree Farm.  You really want a family to choose you.  Here comes the family now.  Write an article that describes why you are the perfect tree.

Pretend you are Belle.  Convince Beast that beauty lies within.

Write a letter to your parents convincing them to get you a pet.

Write a letter to Santa convincing him that you’ve been good and deserve a certain gift this Christmas.

Write a letter to the lunch lady convincing her that she should serve your favorite foods more often.

Students are throwing trash on the ground, leaving empty soda cans and bottles outside on benches, and dropping napkins and other trash on the cafeteria floor rather than carrying them to the trash can.  Your principal has reacted by cancelling all outdoor recess until the problem is taken care of.  What is your position on this issue?  Write a letter to the students in your school convincing them to listen to your ideas.

Think about where people live.  People live in small towns, large towns, or even big cities.  Some people live on farms or in houses in the country.  Some people live inland and some live at the beach along the coast.  Think about where it is best to live and why.  Choose the one place where you would like to live and give reasons why you think it is the best.

You are Happy, one of Snow White’s seven dwarves.  Write a letter to your fellow dwarf, Grumpy, convincing him to be less of a grump.

Because of budget cuts, your school district is thinking of getting rid of resource classes for next year.  Write a letter to the school board that states your position and convinces them to change their minds.

We all know what happened to the gingerbread man when he rode on the foxes’ back to cross the river.  Write a conversation between you and the gingerbread man, where you convince him to use another method to cross the river.  Save yourself from being eaten by that villainous fox!

Tomorrow we will take the plans we created and use them to help us get started on our drafts.  If you want to keep on track, it's important not to get behind in the beginning stages of a new project.  

The Kitchen Sink for the Week of 11/27/12

Readers’ Workshop

This week we will be revisiting the expectations for our Reader’s Response Journals.  Students will be receiving guidance on raising the level of their work, focusing on applying the skills we have practiced in Readers’ Workshop.  Please make sure to check your child’s progress each week.  Encourage them to take our advice each week and challenge themselves to think deeply about their reading!

 

Writers’ Workshop

Our published narratives are due today.  Students were warned about this deadline in advance.  It was mentioned each day in the lesson for two weeks, and it was posted on the board.  Ask your child how they did with meeting this deadline.  Our next writing unit will focus on persuasive writing.  Students will learn how to make an argument and support it with examples.  More information will be coming next week.  By the end of the week, students should have selected a topic from the list provided in class.

Skills Block

Students will be tested on spelling List 11 this week.

We will be enjoying our next Text Talk book this week, The Rough-Face Girl.  This is an Algonquin Indian version of the popular story, Cinderella.  Ask your child what lessons we can learn from this story.  The words for this week are:

charred, haughtily, suitable,

feverishly, awesome, prevail

Have your child look for these words in their nightly reading!

The Kitchen Sink for the Week of 11/13/12

Readers’ Workshop

Our work empathizing with characters is taking a slight shift this week.  Previously, our focus was “becoming” the character, creating mental movies and connecting emotionally to characters.  While this is, and will always be important, we are now working to grow ideas and theories.  Our work begins by recognizing that a character’s actions are a window into the sort of person he or she is.  With our work in Second Step, we have developed our ‘social intelligence’ that basically means the ability to read people well, to glean what they are thinking and feeling.  We are applying these skills to the characters in our books.  Later this week, we will work to identify portions of the text where a character behaves strangely, and instead of thinking, “That’s weird,” we will work to consider possible reasons for this out of character behavior.  What could be the motivation behind this change?  Has something changed or were our previous ideas about a character simply too simplistic.  

Characters – like people – are not just one way!

Writers’ Workshop

We will continue working on strong closings that explain what happens to the main characters and resolve the problem.  Beginning Wednesday, we will start the editing process, going through each of the letters in our editing acronym:  C.U.P.S. (Capitalization, Understanding/Does it make sense?, Punctuation, and Spelling).  Ask your child how their draft is coming along?  Where are they in the writing process?  Have you visited the blog with them lately to take advantage of the writing samples featured online?

Skills Block

Students will be tested on spelling List 10 this week.

A Prompt Entry

About a week ago, our class pushed pause on our current writing project to assess our writing through a district prompt.  The prompt asked students to write for 60 minutes about the following:  

Situation:
You are a letter in the alphabet.  You are tired of being up on the classroom wall.

Directions:
Think about an adventure that you could have if you were down from the wall.

Now, write a story about being a letter in the alphabet set free in the classroom.

Students were then given an hour to write on that topic.  They had two sheets of paper:  one was for planning, and the other was for writing the actual narrative.  This was a great opportunity for both teachers and students to see what students could produce on their own in a 60 minute time period.  It illustrated our understanding of narratives stories (beginning, middle, and end with some type of climax).  It also showed our strengths and weaknesses in following the conventions of writing (punctuation, capitals, etc.).  We were excited to see many students shine, but we were also worried when some students turned in stories that were wonderful narratives, yet they had nothing to do with the prompt given, and thus had to be scored as a zero. Luckily, this was just practice and we will have several other opportunities to improve this school year.

Here is a great example entitled, "The G Slingshot":

(This piece was copied as is, with no modifications to spelling, punctuation, and so forth.)


     It was 8:30 A.M. they would be there soon, the children.  But all of a sudden the letter G fell off the wall!  

     "Oh my that was a long fall from the tipity top of the wall and to the bottom of the floor."  she said softly.  Then she looked at the clock it said 8:40 A.M.  "How am I going to get back up there?"  the letter G questioned.

     "What if I climb" she exclaimed looking at the wall.  When she tried to do it she would fall back down.  She tried 5 times!  Some clumsy little kid spilled glue on the counter and so the 6th time she fell she got stuck!

     "Help me!" she cried  "Someone help me!"  But then she had a genius idea!  "What if I put this sling shot around me and the other side on the door handle that way when they open the door and close it behind them I would be able to stick because of the glue." she yelled!

     It was 8:50, time to put her plan into action!  "Slingshot check, me in glue check, let's do this!" she yelled.

     She heard the childrens footsteps coming to the door.  "Operation sticky slingshot active." she exclaimed to herself.  "I hope this works," she said!

     It was 9:00 A.M. "Here they come!" she yelled!  She flew acrossed the room!  But when she landed on the wall she was upside down so she looked like this (Author included drawing of upside down G).  All of a sudden a great wind blew the letter G around from this (Author included drawing of upside down G) to this (Author included drawing of sideways G) to this G (Author included drawing of G in correct position)!

     Just then the kids walked in and had a wonderful school day.  With all that glue on the letter G she would never fall off again but she always will remember her amazing adventure!  And remember that there is always a solution to a problem.

Wow!  What great narrative flow this story has.  Obviously, even this example has some "next steps," but it is a great goal for many of our students.  It has interesting vocabulary, a creative concept, a nice balance of action and dialogue, and it follows many writing conventions (most of the time), and this work was produced in one sitting, with no help.  Some of our writing doesn't match up to this when we work on it for weeks with assistance!  This is certainly something to be mindful of as we continue to work on our writing this year.

Last week, we continued our Harris Burdick writing project, focusing on adding suspense to our falling action and wrapping it all up with a great closing.  Several different techniques for adding suspense were discussed, using the handout we pasted into this post as seen below:

Suspense

What is the most important part of every story?  Suspense!  It won’t matter how much you hook the reader with your engaging beginning, if you don’t have suspense.  So what is it?  It’s what makes a reader want to keep reading until the very end.  There are several different techniques for adding suspense.

Suspense Technique	Try this…	Example
Strong Emotional Reaction	Have your characters show strong emotion.  How are they feeling about the problem?	Art and Max:  Art explodes in rage and we aren’t sure what will be left of him afterwards.
Create Conflict	Include a battle or fight scene.  Don’t let it end with one punch.  Make it go back and forth, so the reader isn’t sure who the winner will be until the very end.	Transformers:  We witness a giant battle scene where audience is unsure who will win…battle goes back and forth several times.
Build Expectations for Trouble	Hint at a problem or more problems that will be coming.	Mr. Linden’s Library:  Vine grows out of book.  Nothing bad has happened yet, but it seems menacing because it’s unusual.
Surprise!	Shock the reader with a surprise.  It can be a good or bad surprise.	Books of Elsewhere:  On the boat, Annabelle reveals to Olive that she is actually evil.
Limit Time	Add a looming deadline so the reader feels like the clock is ticking.	Percy Jackson:  The author refers to a calendar deadline as Percy continues his mission.
Vivid Description	Add oodles of details to slow down the story’s pacing.  Describe key characters or events in extreme detail.	Strega Nona:  There is a detailed description of the pasta invading the town…it goes on for pages and pages!

Here is a student sample where suspense is being introduced using a looming deadline technique.  This is an excerpt from the middle of the story.

“Time to get up.  It’s 7:00 AM…time for school,”  Lindsey’s mom shouted from the kitchen, the next morning.

 

            “Okay,”  Lindsey shot back annoyed.

           

            After Lindsey ate breakfast, she grabbed her backpack and rushed to school.  When she opened the door to her classroom, she blurted out loud, “Where are my friends?  They’re always here.”  Their backpacks are here.  With ghosts in her house she was suspicious.  She zoomed to her house and stumbled down the stairs to the basement.

           

            Lindsey heard her friends shouting, “HELP!  Someone help me!”

 

            Lindsey burst down the stairs and screamed, “Let them go right now.”

 

            “Oh no.  Lindsey is trying to save her friends,” snorted one of the ghosts.

 

            “Let them go,” Lindsey repeated. 

 

            “You come with us and we will release your friends,” said one ghost.  “Or you can run away and we take everyone you know and love,” said the same ghost.  “We’ll give you till midnight and if you don’t choose, we’ll choose for you,”  said a ghost.

 

To be continued…

We've utilized many tools throughout this project and it was fun to see some writers using those tools to produce better writing.  

Here you can see Sanari's notebook is out, as well as the handouts from her purple writing folder.  As she busily works to develop her falling action, she has her character map handy, as well as her suspense chart and story mountain.  The story mountain will help keep her on track with the intended direction of her story.  You can also see the illustration she is focusing her story on in the lower right corner.  Great work, Sanari!

The Kitchen Sink for the Week of 11/5/12

Readers’ Workshop

Students should continue to envision as they read, using personal experiences to help them learn something new about characters (thoughts, feelings, motivations).  This week we will take our observations of characters and how stories go, and make predictions.  It is important when making predictions, to justify why they are reasonable.  Students can refer to clues in the text, character traits, or personal experiences to explain why their predictions are reasonable.  Predictions should include not only what a character will do, but how they will do it!  Have your child practice this skill during their 20 minutes of nightly reading or in their weekly reading response!

Writers’ Workshop

We will finish our drafts this week, taking them from the climax to the final resolution.  We will focus on different techniques that can be used to add suspense to the falling action so the problem isn't resolved too quickly.  Students will receive a chart full of different suspense techniques, like a fight scene or looming deadline, to keep on file in their purple writing folder.  At the end of the week, we will zoom in on strong endings.  Ask your child to update you on their progress.  Have them show you the feedback they have received and how they have adjusted their story as a result of that feedback.

Skills Block

Students will be tested on spelling List 9 this week.

To go along with our study of suspense techniques in writing time, we will use our skills time to take a look at various temporal phrases and transitions that can be used to move our narratives along.

Harris Burdick Writing Checkpoint

This week students continued working on their fictional narratives, drafting the exposition, rising action, and climax.  Students were shown a tool called a character map that can be used to develop characters for a story.  The map encouraged students to brainstorm what the main character looks like, how the main character acts, and how the main character interacts with other characters.  Writing down some of these details in advance made it easier for us to sneak in details, that would help bring our characters to life for our readers.  While adding in these character details was a focus, students were also encouraged to move towards the climax of their story using all the skills we learned in our last unit about quotations marks, capital letters, punctuation, paragraph form, and so forth.  Here is a sample draft up to the climax.

On Friday students submitted their journals and received feedback in blue ink (Check out the sample pics!).  How is your story going?  Did you make the first deadline?  If so, keep up the great work!  If not, what is your plan to get back on track?  Have you taken the time to read the feedback your teachers left for you?  What adjustments have you made to your work?

We will continue drafting this week, focusing on adding suspense and finishing with a strong closing.  Stay tuned for more work samples.

Halloween Scream!

We've been working so hard on our reading and writing, we decided to take a day a

  and just go "batty!"  Check us out completing our hand-print bats!

Who likes cookies?  “Eye” do!  Actually, we all do.  Here we are creating delicious Eyeball Cookies. 

What's in the bag?  That was the question of the day!  During our Fall Celebration, those who dared, reached into a mystery bag and had to guess the contents.  The bags had names of course...Goblin Eyes, Mummy Snot, Frankenstein's Brain, Witch Fingers, Intestines...you get the picture. 

It was up to our students to use only their sense of touch to discern what these bags might actually hold...no we did not manage to get our hands on Frankenstein's actual brain.  What began as squeals of anticipation and excitement, did eventually turn into shrieks of dread and revulsion!  Even with our gag reflexes put to the test, we screamed for more!  Check us out! 

Well guys, now that it's over, what did you think?  Which bag was the easiest to guess?  Which bag contained the grossest mystery substance?  We're dying to hear from you!

The Kitchen Sink for the Week of 10/29/12

Readers’ Workshop

This week we continue our exploration of characters.  We will be recognizing how our personal experiences can help us understand and relate to characters on a deeper level.  It is important that students are not making superficial connections like “I have a dog, too,” or, “I’ve been to Texas, too.”  In this unit we are pushing students to recall a time when they have experienced a similar situation in order to draw upon their emotional memories.  This emotional connection to characters is what will help students empathize and connect to the text.  Student connections may begin, “This reminds me of…” and should transition into, “This makes me realize…(something about the characters thoughts/feelings/motivations).”  Have your child practice this skill in the strategy paragraph of their Reader’s Response.

Writers’ Workshop

We will begin drafting the rising action in our story (building up to the climax, or main problem).  Students will first complete a character map.  The character map will ask students to describe the physical appearance of their main characters, as well as the way they act and treat other characters.  We will then use the details off of this chart as we draft our story.  We are learning that readers will not want to read our stories unless they are invested in our characters (really like or dislike them).  In order to get readers invested, we need to sprinkle in details that paint a picture of the character and make them come to life.

Skills Block

Students will be tested on spelling List 8 this week.

"The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" Writing Project

Our second writing project is well under way.  We began by reading The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.  It is a very unusual book, in that it only contains pictures.  Each picture comes with a title and caption, however, the stories are missing along with their creator, Harris Burdick.  We thought we were up to the task of creating our own stories that could explain the pictures.  So far, we have done some brainstorming.  We carefully looked over each illustration, before choosing two favorites.  Ultimately, we narrowed it down to our one favorite!



Some of the illustrations are scary...

Some are mysterious...

And others are just plain crazy...

After carefully considering each option, students made a quick list of ideas about their favorite illustration.  Then they shared those ideas with a peer partner.  

With the feedback from their peer partner in mind, students were introduced to the concept of a story mountain.  All narratives follow this basic pattern of five story elements.  Each narrative begins with the exposition, before rising action builds to a main problem, or climax.  Suspense is created in the falling action, which leads to a final resolution.  Our story mountain template helped us plan out our stories to make sure we had all the pieces of a narrative story.  This summary of each story element will serve as a guide when we draft our stories.  So far, we have written an engaging beginning.  Ask your child to share their beginning with you.  Notice the details they have used to set the scene, introduce you to the characters, and pull you right into the action.  We know you'll be hooked!

Here are a few samples:

Miguel-
"Mom, Mom, Mom!" I yelled coming down the stairs.
"What?" she answered.
"I saw two eyes staring at me while watching t.v.  I swear, mom!"
"Fine!  I'll go check it out."
But when we went to investigate and opened the door, the two eyes that Archie saw were gone!  Dun, dun, dun!

Elijah-
It was quite a day out on the cruise ship.  Sunny, no clouds, and the old captain was having the best day of his life.