Feature Articles (by Gerrit)

We have been trying to write an article about a theory we have, but the catch is that feature articles often present both sides of the story. As we write, we're adding facts and phrases we've learned from our argumentative essays. Really what we're doing is writing an essay that claims our idea. We should use facts, stories and more. We have looked at a feature article called "Too Much Homework?" to get ideas. I agreed with the article and found it inspiring, so I'm writing about the same topic.

I hope when we're done that everyone has a new opinion of the world.

Fantasy Book Clubs (by Dante)

The books we're reading for our fantasy unit are fantasy and fiction, which means they're fake and anything can happen. We are paying attention to pressures and character flaws. In this reading unit, some of our reading helps us with our upcoming fiction writing pieces.

This reading unit is especially interesting because we read certain books of our choice and stick to that series. Also, our class gets to use their own book club identity name including: The Book Emperors, The Geeky Gummy Bears, The Magical World, etc.

The book club part helps us readers discuss the problems and present them to our groups.

This is a fun unit, and it is very interesting.

What is your favorite part of being in a book club?

Historical Fiction Publishing Party Invitation (by Will)

This past month, our class has been working on Historical Fiction writing projects. The stories are all related to about 1620, and there are two topics. Either you can act as a Pilgrim on the Mayflower and tell about the strange and cruel Mayflower ride or life on Plymouth Plantation. Or, you can also enter the Wampanoag homestead and explore their thoughts and experiences.

So, pack your things! Your voyage begins Thursday at 8:40 a.m. located at the heart of amazing writers and their wonderful, inventive teacher who inspired them all.

Dragon Slayers Academy (by Malinee)

Dear Families of 4-324,

As you probably know, we have our fantasy reading unit going on, and we need the rest of the Dragon Slayers Academy series, from books #6 to 20. Two of the book clubs are reading the books for their unit. Also, we do love the books and want to read the whole series too. We read the first book in the series as a class, and we thought it was hilarious. So, if you are able to donate one of the books for the series, we would appreciate it. Or, if you have any at home that you could send in, that would be great too.

We added the books to our Wish List.

Thanks,
Class 4-324

The Bike Race (by Edison)

Katie's mom is in a bike race over the February break. Our class got to make maps of the bike race to help her figure out where all the resting points are along the race. As mathematicians, we go tot think mostly about fractions, such as 1/2 of 60, 1/3 of 60, etc. We worked in pairs and 3s. We made the maps because the people holding the race sent Katie's mom the way she would go, but they didn't tell her where exactly the different stations will be, like cheering stations, resting points, water stations, food wagons, and juice and snack stations. Each of the stations was a different amount of miles into the course. The course is 60 miles long.

Here we're studying the maps our classmates made and leaving them feedback on their work. We'll post pictures of our maps for you later on!

Historical Fiction Picture Book Publishing Expectations

Historical Fiction Picture Book Publishing Expectations

We just finished a month-long unit on historical writing in class. Our pieces focused on life in 1620 and 1621, either on the Mayflower, in Plymouth or in a neighboring Wampanoag village. We pulled on our knowledge from our readings and from our social studies work to make our pieces the strongest they could be.

During this unit, we focused on:

·      Creating three or four clear scenes that each tie in to the main problems in the piece

·      Building the meaning in our piece by layering small actions, internal thoughts, dialogue and setting details

·      Bringing out the historical story (what was actually happening in 1620) and the personal story (what was happening specifically to our character)

·      Creating characters that are flawed and realistic and revising our piece to ensure our characters are more than one way

·      “Turning the lights on” in our piece so that the setting is clear to our reader

Significant time was allotted to this project in class, and your child already should have:

·      Created a rough draft of their historical fiction piece

·      Revised their historical fiction piece based on the above lessons

·      Edited their historical fiction piece alone and with a partner

·      Written a draft of a nonfiction introduction

·      Created at least three illustrations for their the book

Your child will have until Friday, February 10 to work on publishing their historical fiction picture book at home. The finished piece should include:

c  A cover with a title and the author’s name

c  A nonfiction section at the beginning that includes information about at least two different parts of life at this time (ex. The Wetu and Life in a Wampanoag Village)

c  A typed or handwritten story that has at least 3 scenes (It is alright if the story is typed by an adult.)

c  Illustrations—at least one for each scene, but more illustrations if wanted