Journal Prompt for September 30th

Imagine you had a hundred dollars, but you couldn't keep it. You had to give it away to a person or charity. Who would you give it to? What would you want them to do with it? Explain your thinking.

Finding that Just Right Book

For those of you looking for new books to read, consider checking out this site.  You can find books that match your interests, favorite authors, genres, etc.  I'll also put this link on our web site and list of links on our blog. 

http://nancykeane.com/rl/index.htm

Mrs. H

A Note From Mrs. H

Hello Everyone!

I've enjoyed reading your posts this week.  I hope you are noticing that you are becoming more thoughtful in your posts and deeper thinkers as you read. 

As you read each other's comments, what do you think we need to work on as a class (all three blocks)?  How can we work towards our academic goals in reading and writing?

Let me know what you think!

Mrs. H

Verbs, Verbs, Verbs!

Write a complete sentence that screams 500 horsepower verbs.

Remember to proof your sentence before submitting. Use your initials, block number, and student number.  I anxiously await your fabulous sentences!

What a Character!

We spent some time reading a book called Sootface  by Robert San Souci this week as we continued our unit on character development.   How would you describe Sooface at the beginning of the book and then at the end of the story? In what ways did the author help us understand the character of Sootface?  

Before you submit your comment, be sure to reread it to check for errors.  Use your initials, your block number, and your student number.  Feel free to respectfully respond to your classmates comments as well as state your own thinking.  I look forward to reading your posts...

Mrs. Heim

Character Analysis - Block 3

Authors tell us about characters in many ways...here are a few:

The way they look
What they say
What they do
What they think
Their past experiences
How others think about them
How others treat them
What others say about them, including a narrator

You were given a list of characters that could be potential roomates at a camp. Based on their character descriptions, who would you most like to room with? Who would you least like to room with? Explain your thinking. Be as specific as possible.

Be sure to use your initials and the number I give you in class. I am looking forward to reading your opinions!

Character Analysis - Block 2

Authors tell us about characters in many ways...here are a few:

The way they look
What they say
What they do
What they think
Their past experiences
How others think about them
How others treat them
What others say about them, including a narrator

You were given a list of characters that could be potential roomates at a camp. Based on their character descriptions, who would you most like to room with? Who would you least like to room with? Explain your thinking. Be as specific as possible.

Be sure to use your initials and the number I give you in class. I am looking forward to reading your opinions!

Character Analysis - Block 1

Authors tell us about characters in many ways...here are a few:

The way they look
What they say
What they do
What they think
Their past experiences
How others think about them
How others treat them
What others say about them, including a narrator

You were given a list of characters that could be potential roomates at a camp. Based on their character descriptions, who would you most like to room with? Who would you least like to room with? Explain your thinking. Be as specific as possible.

Be sure to use your initials and the number I give you in class. I am looking forward to reading your opinions!

Baseball Saved Us

We read the book Baseball Saved Us, by Ken Mochizuki this week.  It was about a boy's experience growing up on a Japanese Internment camp during World War II.  He learns a lot about acceptance and confidence as he proves himself on the baseball field.  What do you think about the book and the author?

Thinking While Reading

We have spent a lot of time this week paying attention to our thinking while we read.  We are working to become metacognitive learners - we want to be aware of our thinking as we learn.  When we are aware of our thinking, we tend to understand and remember more about what we are reading or learning. 

What strategies have you been using as you read?  How has using strategies helped you understand at a high level?  Some of the strategies we discussed this week are: rereading, reading on, visualizing, stopping to think, using word attack skills such as using context clues and sounding out, activating our schema (background knowledge), asking questions, and noticing text features (especially in non-fiction).