1st book Reprt

Great job, here's a few pictures of thekids sharing  their posters.

How to re-tell a story in first person...

How to re-tell a story in first person…

This is a skill we have been working on for the last few weeks. The kids have been taking old fairy talks and nursery rhymes and rewriting them to be retold as a character.

My example as Jack and Jill:

“One day, my brother and I had to go to the well to get water for our mom. When we got there, I was so tired from climbing that big hill.  Well, you can imagine my surprise when my brother Will tripped on his feet and fell down the hill! So, I took off down the hill to help him, but then I fell and rolled down the hill too!

1st Book Report Due October 31st!

Just wanted to remind everyone that I will send home the "Butterfly Book Report" posters this week. A big goal for me this year is that the kids learn to love reading! There are days when I can't put my nook down, or one of my favorite paperbacks that I've had for years. I know that the kids are reading for AR, but many of them are just focused on getting points, not really thinking about how the book make them feel, or relate to their lives. 

 Let me explain the poster... 

Please use complete sentences, not 1 word answers. 

1. Plot-main theme of story, or favorite part. "In Junie B. Jones a little girl gets ready for her first day of school."  Or... "My favorite part of Junie B. Jones and The Smelly Old Bus is when Junie hides in Mrs.'s art closet after school."

2. Character- list the main characters, then state who your favorite is and why. "The main characters are Junie B Jones, Lucille, Jim, mom, Grace, Mrs. (the teacher), the bus driver, and the custodian. My favorite character is Mrs. because she is always looking at the ceiling, and I want to know why."

3. Setting- could include time of year, main location, mood of event, time of day, etc. for example: "The main scene of Junie B Jones and the Smelly Old Bus takes place on a hot August day at her elementary school after all the teachers go home."

4. Main Idea- general purpose of book. Junie B Jones- "All kids are nervous and excited about starting school, and things are confusing because school has different rules than home."

5. Problem- For chapter books, just pick 1 problem in the story. "Junie B is frightened to ride on the bus by herself."

6. Solution- how did they solve the problem in #5? " Junie B's mom met another parent at the bus stop and introduced Junie B to another little girl starting kindergarten."

7. Personal response- How did the story make you feel? What emotions did you have (sad/crying, joyful/laughing, peaceful, scared/nervous) "I enjoyed this story because it made me laugh out loud when Junie B got caught doing silly things."

8. Presonal Connection- does this book remind you of anything in your life... an event, someone you know, a movie, a different book, something that you've learned? "This book reminds me of 2nd grade, because that was the first time I got to ride a bus to school. I had to walk to school with my brothers in kindergarten and first grade. But in 2nd grade I went to a new school by myself and missed my brothers because they stayed at the other school." 

I know that some of these will be tough to answer for picture books, but here's a few suggestions when choosing a book for this project-

1. Do not use early reader Dr Suess books, they are great for fluency and rhyming but most do not gave a problem and solution... 

2. Don't use books with a movie. Choose something new to write about. I love the Lorax and Horton, Cinderella and Snow White but i am not learning anything new.

3. Non-fiction books are not appropriate for this project. They are missing story elements,  however, historical fiction books are ok. 

4. Some suggestions- Magic Tree House, Cam Jensen, Junie B Jones, Nancy Clancy or Fancy Nancy, Flat Stanely, Clifford, Black Lagoon teachers series books, Little Bill, and  even "I can read books" like Barbie and DC comics are good choices.  

 

With the book fair at school this week, this may be a good time to try a new book series and use it for your book report! 

Thanks for taking and sending me the picture Tara. 

Written Response Homework

I wanted to share a few responses to the short answer portion of the homework. The expectation is 3 sentences in response to the question here are a few that are pretty well done. 

Yesterday was Labor Day, how did you spend the day with your family? 

---"On Saturday, we went to Regenia's house and had a lot of fun.  On Monday, we played with a dog named Coceda.  I taught Coceda how to sit, stay and roll over.  I also watched some football on the TV.  I had a good weekend."

---"We went to chuckie cheese and played games. We also won tickets. We traded our tickets in for prizes."

--"For Labor Day, I went to my Grammy's house. I had dinner. I played baseball and almost broke aunt Angela's arm when I hit a ball on her arm and I hit Daddy's boot but he didn't get hurt. 

That's it."

Who are the service workers that help you in your everyday life?

--"The police officer helps people  be  safe.  The firemen helps people get out of fire."

--"The  service workers are police officers, firefighters, librarians, teachers, and trash people."

Unfortunately I can't select all of the great responses, but wanted to keep encouraging you all. Some of these selected are good because they restate the question even though they do not gave 3 sentences. Others are good because I can hear the kids' voice in the sentence, almost as if they are talking. Also, some of the responses in the past that were really good have included pictures. For exsmple, this one is a pretty cool way to spend time with your family: 

Keep sending me your emails, its one of the most authentic homework assignments I have ever given... 

❤G