November 1st marked the celebration of National Family Literacy Day. However, since this idea is so important, it is often celebrated throughout the entire month of November. Here at MBES, we are joining in on the celebration through daily trivia questions, the author visit from Michael Finklea, and Family Literacy Night on the 29th.
The students and I looked at the celebrity READ posters. We noted the ones framed in our school and also looked at newer ones on the web. (The class favorite was definitely Corbin Bleu!) We decided to make our own read posters that are currently posted outside our classroom. Please come by and take a look. Along with the posters picturing us holding our favorite books, we included mini book reviews so that people know why we chose our books. Here’s what we wrote about our books:
mrs-mccullers.jpgOne of my favorite books is Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. One of the reasons I like this book so much is because the main character is a dog, and I have a passion for dogs! Another reason this book is a good read is because of all the different characters you find in it. From and old blind woman to a weird guitar player, you will find some character to relate to in the book. I love to read this book out loud to my classes so that I can use a different voice for each character. Each time I read it, I still find it interesting and hard to put down. Get your paws on this book as fast as you can! Mrs. McCullers
My favorite book is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I like lots of the Harry Potter books because they all have very good characters like Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid. Some of the characters try to do lots of dangerous things. I like them because they all have good magic tricks and other things like chocolate frogs. I also think all of the dangerous things they do are so cool. I think it is a very good book. I sometimes want to read it again. Allison
My favorite book is called Pokemon. It has all Pokemons. It talks about them. They’re all cool. Antoine
One of my favorite books is The Mystery at the Crooked House by Gertrude Chandler Warner. I love this book because I love mystery books. The characters are kind of funny. I like the serious parts too. If you like mystery books, I recommend this book. Chase
If you read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you will see it is very funny. You will also see it is full of funny characters like Greg, Menny, Rodrick, Mom, and Dad. Get ready for a great book! Christian
My favorite book is Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. The author is J.K. Rowling. My favorite character is Hermione. The spells are pretty cool too. The first part is pretty scary. It was his dream. Harry is one of my favorite characters. I think Ron is pretty funny how he embarrasses himself. Some things are dangerous, like fighting a dragon. Harry’s name comes out of the goblet of fire. He did not even put his name in. Who did? Find out in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Emily
One of my favorite books is Beast Quest because it is a fantastic mystery book. It is really cool how the characters talk. The beast is really interesting. That’s what makes me like it. He’s green, has one eye, and very big. I have a metal that matches it. Finn
My favorite book is Sea Rescue. I love the pictures. It is not too short or too long. I can read the words. One of the other reasons I like it is because if I am on a boat and it is sinking, I know I will be saved. So, save yourself and get this book! Ian
My favorite book is called On Halloween Night by Harriet Ziefert. I like it because it has rhyming words, and I read it on Halloween night. There is one more reason why I picked my book. It’s because the girl is a witch just like me! Jacy
My favorite book is High School Musical because it is good for us to read. It is a good book because it has interesting characters in it. I love all of High School Musical books and movies. James
I like Shelter Dogs because it reminds me of when I chased Scarlet. It’s amazing how the dogs always end up in the Humane Society Center. Then the next thing you know they live in a house with people that love them and care for them. You better get your paws on this book. Then you might want to go to the Humane Society center and get a dog. Jennifer
My favorite book is Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. It is a fun book to read. One reason I like this book is some of it is comic and some of it is words. Did you know Diary of a Wimpy Kid is going to be a five book series? I can’t wait to read the others. Nick
My favorite book is The Bad Beginning created by Lemony Snickit. I like this book because Sunny bites and says funny words, Violet is cool, and Clause likes to read books just like me! When Count Olav adopts them they figure out it is a bad beginning for them. One morning Count Olav took Sunny, one of the Baudalair children. Can you believe a child gets stolen? In a cage Sunny waits and when Violet tries to save Sunny, she gets hooked on and gets trapped in the dusty room with her brother Clause. Until the marriage, they’re all trapped in there and when it is time she meant to sign it with her left hand instead of her right hand. Count Olav runs away. So while he’s gone they live with Mr. Poe. If you want to find out the rest of the story, I suggest to get hooked on this book. Raneem
My favorite book is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. It’s the best book I ever read! It’s so funny. I love the magic too, and you never know when Harry’s going to get caught with Ron and Hermione. So, I suggest you cast a spell on this book. Reagan
One of my favorite book series is A To Z Mysteries. I like it because it is like a big mystery. They all go together. The first one is The Absent Author. Then it goes from A to Z. There are three detectives solving mysteries . Did I mention they are kids? The author is Ron Roy. Wyatt
I like The Spiderwick Chronicles. They make you read more and more. Jacob
If you could have your own READ poster, what book would you be holding? Why?
We just completed our study of magnets. The students were excited to get to learn about magnetism and experience the properties of magnets through hands-on experiences. It ranked high on their interest level…almost as high as recess and P.E! When the students are excited about learning, it just seems to “stick.” (No magnet pun intended!)
On their assessment, the students had to complete the following task: Describe magnetism in your own words. Here are some of the responses that show a true understanding:
“The poles of a magnet are either plus or minus or north or south. The magnetic force is invisible. The poles of north and south will attract if you put them close together.” Allison
“Magnets attract to stuff like iron, steel, and cobalt. The earth is one big magnet. Magnet’s force is invisible.” Nick
“Magnets will use force if it is iron, cobalt, steel, or nickel. The poles attract if they are opposite. If the same, they repel. The magnetic field is invisible.” Ian
“The force of the poles are the strongest. If you put something out of a magnet’s magnetic field, it won’t attract. If you put the same poles together, they will repel.” Chase
“The poles are the stongest. The magnetic field is invisible. Opposites attract. If the magnet is small, the force will be weak. If they are not opposite, they will repel.” Wyatt
“Magnetism is an invisible thing that attracts to metal like nails. A magnet has two poles, N and S or + and -. The force is only when the magnet is in the magnetic field. When the magnets are in the same side like N and N, the magnet repels.” Raneem
“Magnets attract to iron, cobalt, nickel, and steel. The force of a magnet will pick up anything that is in its magnetic field. There are two different poles, a north pole and a south pole. When you put two same poles together, they repel.” Christian
“There are poles on a magnet that attract and repel with force with a magnetic field.” Jacob
What else do you know about magnets? Can you name some ways magnets are used?
Ahhhhhh! Yikes! Jeepers creepers! This time of year, there are many creepy, crawly sightings that can give us quite a scare. When have you been scared? Did you jump out of your skin? Did you feel shivers go down your spine?
To help us get a better grasp on our writer’s voice, we came up with list of all the different times we have to write. Here’s what we came up with:
-a report
-an invitation
-a story
-a script
-a thank-you letter
-taking messages
-answering questions
-grading papers (that one was just for me!)
-making a list
-a route (for a bus driver, mailman, or delivery person)
-ideas/notes
-music notes
-songs/poems
-an email
-a text message (definitely 21st century students here!)
-a memory book
-mail (filling out the addresses on the envelope)
-assignments/agendas
-schedules
-diaries/journals
-a letter
-directions
-graphs
-blogging (how could we almost forget this one?)
We realized after making our list that writing is involved in just about everything we do. We write for so many different purposes. We would love for you to help us add to our list. Can you think of other times when we have to write?
After enjoying our tadpoles for a few weeks, we decided it was time to let them go into a world beyond their tiny bowl. (Actually it was mostly a teacher decision. I did not want to be surprised in the wee hours of the morning by coming in to a room full of frogs!) We watched them morph from tiny clear things into dark creatures that were beginning to look very froglike. Before setting them free, we tried to find our tadpole “voices” and pretend for a moment that we were one of the tadpoles. Here are what a few of our “tadpoles” wrote:
Have you ever felt like you were trapped in a bowl of water with kids staring right at you? I have. It isn’t so much fun. I would rather be in a creek with my friend tadpoles. Kids love to have us as pets but it isn’t too much fun for us. We would rather be swimming free. Kids think it is sad when we leave. Lots of us tadpoles are free and some of us are not free. It is much more fun to swim in a nice clean creek. If you are a captured tadpole, your wish is to be free. We will like to hear water rushing through the creek than hear kids learning. We don’t like being in a scary bowl because you don’t get so much room to swim free. Swimming free is my dream. I can’t wait to be free, but I will miss the bowl with my friends. Allison
Finally! Today is the day I’m moving out of a gross bowl. And in a pond I go. I’m on my own now. I’m just about there, and now I’m here at the pond. Hey! But first before I jump in, I need my floatie ducky. Now I can jump in. 1, 2, 3 splash! Ahhhhhh! Something touched my foot! Get out! Get out! Get out! Uh oh! There’s another tadpole coming to jump in or coming to make fun of me. He he comes. Gotta jump in. Where’s ducky? Uh…ok, let’s look in the bushes. Oh, I know. I can go to the stoere and buy a new one. Wait. I don’t have any money, but I have garage liver. I’ll just use that. But I don’t have anything to get there in. I’ll skip to the store. Skip, skip, skip, skip. Here we are: a ducky. Now all Ihave to do is pay for it. Here you go. Thank you. When I got back to the pond, I jumped in the nice pond with my very own new ducky. Emily
One day I was swimming in a baby pool, and I got scooped up by a big net and thrown in a bowl. The next morning I got taken to a classroom full of kids. They started to come to the glass bowl and tapped it. I made a horrible sound. All of us started to swim around. After about 10 days, we heard that we’ve got to go. The kids started to write a story about how we would do int he creek. Here is one: “I think that the tadpoles will like it better than the glass bowl. The tadpoles are going to like going home to see their friends. The End” Nick
One day I was in a bowl. My name is Bigdaddy. I was in a bowl because one diver caught me and brought me back. My mom died in a shark accident. My dad sacrificed his life for me. Five minutes later he got shocked by a sting ray. Now you know how I feel living alone. I’m in a room full of smiling, learning children. I get fed three times a day. One meal is a monstrous cookie!
Now I’ve been released and am six years old. I was going down to the market today. So it’s not bad living on my own. Now I’m free to live in the ocean! Finn
I had fun swimming in a bowl. I don’t like big fat meanies. It was fun sleeping here. It was fun eating here at school. I want to stay here. It’s fun being here with you. It was fun watching you write stuff. Antoine
It’s really fun to be a tadpole. We get to see things that people can’t see. I will turn into a frog. After that, I will hop around. It feels scary to go to the pond. Well, I’m on my way to this pond. I really loved it here. The food was great! Also, what’s the name of the dude that has the grassy hair? He scared me when I first came here. Well, I’m here right now packing my suitcase. I will really miss you all very much! Raneem
What would it be like to see the world through the eyes of a tiny tadpole? If you could metamorphosize into something, what would you like to be? Where would you choose to live?
Today being the sixth anniversary of 9/11, we, along with the rest of the country, paused for a moment of silence to just remember. It’s hard to discuss this day in our country’s history with students who were barely two years old when this happened. Today we reflected on why we should remember this day and why it is important to us. After we read the booksThe Pledge of Allegiance and September 12th, I asked the students to respond to these questions: Why are you proud to be an American? What does our flag mean to you?
I’m proud I’m in America. I love the flag. It is the best. I’m sad that a lot of people died this day. I think America is the best country in the world! Wyatt
The American flag means so much…the 50 stars, the 13 stripes. I just think we should all respect the American flag, especially when we are proud to be American. Christian
I like the United States. I think it is fun to play in. When I see the flag I feel special to live here. I am glad to be an American. Emily
The American flag means a lot to me. I see the American flag everywhere. In our school we say the pledge every morning. When we say the pledge, we put our hand over our heart. Everyone in the school says it at the same time. Lots of people care about the United States of America. Allison
When I see the flag, it makes me feel free. Jacy
The flag makes me feel free. I have a grandfather who fought for freedom. Ian
The flag is like freedom to me. I am proud to be an american. I obey laws. I respect the people who died. America is mine. It is our home. I love AMERICA! Jennifer
So simple, yet so profound! This is the future of our country!
On Tuesday, the day after our Labor Day holiday, my students reported a mysterious guest in our classroom. I’m not exactly sure where I was during her visit (???), but here are a few reports of her profile: Her name was Miss Crazy. she was Cruella DiVille like. She was weird and unmatching. She had a screachy voice. She was unpleasant. She had a stiff windmill. She had a red, feathery scarf and big, blue, starry glasses. She wore a crown. Wyatt
She had a red feathery scarf. It was very unpleasant. She had a shiny tiara. She had big, blue, scary sunglasses and a screachy voice. Also she was very unmatching and had a stiff windmill. She was very creepy, freaky, scary, weird, crazy, unpleasant…whatever you want to call it. But most of all, she looked like Cruella DiVille. She needs to go to jail. Reagan
Mrs. McCullers! Mrs. McCullers! Someone got in the classroom while you were gone! She looked like Cruella DiVille. She had a shiny tiara and a screachy voice. She is weird, freaky, and scary. She has big, blue glasses. Jennifer
We had a visitor. She was a robber. She had on a red, feathery scarf, a sparkle crown, and big, blue, starry glasses. She needs to go to jail. Jacob
Today we had a fairy come in our room. She had a bright-red fluffy scarf, a sparkly silver tiara, and a stiff windmill. THen she left right before Mrs. McCullers came in to the room. Nick
You’ve got to help us! From our descriptions, can you see a picture of this visitor?
Click on this fictional “News Flash” of the very first day of school in history. What are some obvious ways school has changed since this time? What do you like and appreciate about school now?
Of course the first week of school we were still longing for those days of summer. We tried to focus on just one particular moment from our summer to share. We even got out a magnifying glass to help us focus on just a tiny part of our summer so that we wouldn’t have just a list of the events of our summer. Here are a few of our summer highlights:
One hot day on June 12th we were watching TV. A call came. It was from my dad. He said, “You have a baby brother.” When we came to the hospital, he looked like a monkey! Zooming through the hospital, I said, “We have a monkey brother!” When we went inside, he was hairier than ever! The day he came home, I called him a grizzly bear! Raneem
When I went to my dad’s house, my dad and I went the lake and innertubing. I was holding on and my dad was trying to sling me off the innertube. Then we relaxed in the water and had a good time. Chase
I was looking at cars. Then I saw a Farari. It was so awesome! Then my brother was looking at a black convertible. That was so awesome! After that, I went to see what my dad was looking at. It was a station wagon. It was a car store. I loved my summer. Finn(more…)
