Summer Reading Projects

We've been thinking about the summer reading projects we want to do. Here are some of our ideas! AJ: I want to read a ton of books by Dave Pikley because they are really funny and they include comics that are funny. Sometimes I read them by myself, and then I'll talk about them with my mom. Arya: I'm going to read the Harry Potter series. I like that it's all full of adventures. I'll read them on my own, and I'll keep a notebook about the series. I'll put in the pressures Harry is facing and information about the powers and how they change. Asa: Generally I like to see what books we have and read those, but I am interested in fantasy books. I like books with made-up adventures in our world. Sometimes they inspire me to take action or draw or to build something. Asia: I'm going to read books by the author of Floors, Patrick Carman. He writes Mystery books that are filled with clues you have to find out. I'll read them with Layna and some other friends. We'll meet to talk about them a few times over the summer. Dante: I think fiction reading makes the most sense for me. I want to read the Hunger Games series. I also want to read books about drawing comics and work on drawing those as I read. Edison: I will read the Shredderman series. It's funny, about how a kid opens his own website and gets and bully in trouble. I'm really going to focus in on the bully find study him. I think what he does is so important to the whole book. Freya: I might read a bunch of books by Kate DiCamilo because she makes stories that are realistic but not completely. She has some good secondary characters that I could study and write about. I could also try to think about the purpose of the characters and how the books would change if they weren't there. Gerrit: I'm going to read books by Suzanne Collins because I find them very entertaining. I want to make a chart showing the Hunger Games and Gregor the Overlander. I want to see how the problems match between the two books, because it might help me figure out what Suzanne Collins's life was like. Greg: I'm going to San Fransicso and I don't know much about it, so I'm planning to read about different places we could go, tourist attractions, and just all about it. Hadi: I want to read a lot of books by Rick Riordan because I think they are really interesting. He always has a really clear focus--books about the gods-- but with different information in each book. I'll think about differences and similarities across the books. Hayden: First I want to finish up the last two books in the Artemis Fowl, Jack Blank Book Two, the Serpent's Shadow, and Athena's Mark. They are all fictional books that turn everyday things we know about into crazy things that aren't really real. I'll pay attention to things thaw appear one way but are really another way. Jack: I love the Calvin and Hobbes books. I think they are really funny. I started them last year, and I want to finish them. Sometimes you see Hobbes in his natural way and sometimes as a stuffed animal. I want to study what's real and what Calvin imagines. Jake: I want to read several times a day. I want to read the Bunnicula books. If always been interested in them, but I've never gotten a chance to get to know the characters. I've never heard of killer rabbits before. Kate: I'm going to read dystopian novels, novels about strange futures and science fiction. I read the Hinger Games which is a dystopian novel. I'll pay attention to the differences and similarities between now and what the author wrote. I'll start conversations about it with my family, and we'll just talk about it for a long time. Also, I could just jot down my thoughts and grow off of those ideas whenim in bed at camp and about to go to sleep. Louise: Since I'm going to go to Argentina is summer, I'm going to read all about Argentina. I'm going to read a lot of books by Wendy Mast and Gordan Korman because the books I've already read by me them have been really good. Madison: In my camps, I want to find some friends to read books that are dramatic, like Hungeer Games. We could read the Hunger Games or The Divergent Series. We could me together and talk about it. Each of us could study one group of people in the books and become an expert on them. Malinee: I want to start by finishing the Hunger Games series. I also want to read the 39 Clues series. I like how they are really mysterious. I'll be thinking about power because the power changes a lot. I'll write about it because I have a few pages left in my readers notebook. Natalija: I want to read the Chronicles of Narnia because I've watched the movies but I've never read the books. I like how they are kind of realistic fantasy, where I doesn't seem so far fetched. I'll write about the big, main ideas and the characters' flaws. Parker: I love books by Seymour Simon. I loved his books about storms. I could read a lot of books by him. I'd study the important facts that would help me with my job after college. Sofia: I just got the whole Harry Potter series for my birthday, so I'm reading the series. I want to study about power and position and perspective while I read. I'll write about what I figure out. Spencer: I want to read all the Tintin books because I really like the series. My mom has all the Tintin books, but in French. I want to see how the main characters have different amounts of power, and find out who has the most power. Veronica: I want to finish the Hunger Games series and then take on the Harry Potter series. I tried it before when I'm younger, but I think I'm ready for it now. I'll read a book and the watch the movie that goes with it so I can see how it's done differently as a movie. I'll keep a notebook of what I think. Will: I'm going to have a book club with Zora where we read the Molly Moon series together. We can chat over Skype to make plans for what we read, and then we can skype again to talk about our ideas. Character relationships will be huge to pay attention to because often they help her survive. Wriley: I already ordered a lot of books for the summer. I'm going to be away in Montok, and I've always wanted to study the birds there. I could study the birds there, and just birds more in general. I'd pay attention to what kinds of birds they are, and even make a map of what kinds of birds there are and where there nests are. Zora: I was thinking about doing a book club with Will. We would choose a book and read the whole thing and talk about it at the end. I also got three new books from the library that classmates have read, so I'll read those and lots of other books too.

Poetry Month: Day 29 (by Dante)

I chose "I Took a Sip of Water" because it is funny and it has a story about a man who drinks a lot of water, which is a cool topic because it makes him fat and he can't leave his room. That can never happen in real life so it seems interesting and entertaining. I especially like the part when he wants to drink a waterfall. I hope you enjoy it!

I Took a Sip of Water
I took a sip of water,
a second sip, a cup.
I filled a tumbler to the brim
and drank that glass right up.
I guzzled down a gallon,
a gallon is a lot,
but noticed that the more I drank,
the thirstier I got.

I drank a quart of lemonade,
I drank a quart of juice,
I drank a quart of chocolate milk,
it wasn't any use.
I found a dozen sodas
and quickly drank them all,
I felt that I could drink a creek,
a lake, a waterfall.

My body kept expanding,
it seemed about to burst,
and yet I couldn't manage
to satisfy my thirst.
Now I've become so bloated,
I can't fit through the door-
I'm fairly certain I will not
eat sponges anymore.
-by Jack Prelutsky

Poetry Month: Day 28 (by Zora)

I chose "Jabberwocky" because it fascinates me when a poet uses old slang and still can tell a poetic story. Also, the old words are very interesting to try and find the meaning of.

Jabberwocky
 'Twas brillig, in the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought--
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with it's head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish son!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig in the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Math Congress: Part Three

Here's our third video from the Math Congress this morning. To see the other videos and the poster, just scroll down!

Math Congress: Part Two

Here's the second video from our Math Congress this morning! Look below this post for our first video and a picture of our chart.

Math Congress: Part One

Today in school, we had a Math Congress about the factors of 24. Our goal was not just to figure out what the factors of 24 were--we did that easily--but to prove to another mathematician how we knew we had all the factors. Here are some snippets of our conversation today. You can use these videos to help you as you write about what you learned from our Math Congress today. Each video will be in a separate post!

We also charted some of the conjectures we discovered about finding factors. You can click on the chart to enlarge it.

Multigenre Magazine Parent Letter

Dear 4-324 Families,

I hope this letter finds you well. Our study of the American Revolution is well underway—the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the first fighting of the war has just begun. As part of our study, each student chose a big topic, event or person that they were interested in studying in more depth. Topics vary from important women of the American Revolution to Benjamin Franklin to the British surrender at Yorktown. For the past few weeks, students have been reading about their topics and taking notes on the important information they are learning.

We’ll be using the information we’ve learned to create our own Multigenre Magazines! Students can choose if they want to create their own magazine or if they want to work with other members of their group. However, each student will be responsible for producing six pieces in a variety of genres. These genres include: a nonfiction piece, a poem, a fictional piece, an essay or feature article, an artistic piece, and a piece in a new genre.

Within these genres, students will be given significant freedom to design their pieces. For example, a student studying George Washington might choose to write a narrative poem about Washington’s feelings about being elected president, or they might choose to convey the same information through a series of journal entries. They might even convey the information through a political cartoon! Pieces can be told through different perspectives and written for different audiences.

What is important is that each piece included in the magazine teaches readers something different about the topic.

Your child will be given significant time to work on this project in class, but they will also have regular homework assignments where they are asked to spend at least 15 minutes working on their project at home. Students will be expected to plan, draft, revise and edit their pieces. Since students work at different paces, their work at home will be based on where they are in the writing process.

Revision and editing checklists will be available in school for students to use. Samples of the genres students are writing in will also be available. If you need more resources to help your child be successful with this project, please let me know. I am happy to send them home.

I will be meeting with your child regularly throughout this project to make sure that their work meets the project’s requirements.

As part of their finished Multigenre Magazine, your child will need to:

¨ Write at least six pieces (additional quality pieces will be given extra credit), including:

o   A nonfiction piece

o   A poem

o   A fictional piece

o   An essay or feature article

o   An artistic piece

o   A piece in a genre they’ve never tried before

¨ Revise and edit their pieces to make sure they are the best possible quality

¨ Publish their pieces neatly (either by handwriting the pieces or typing them—an adult may help with the typing)

¨ Assemble their pieces into a magazine with a catchy cover (If multiple students are working together on a magazine, they only need one cover.)

The finished projects will be due on Wednesday, June 20. Our Multigenre Writing Celebration will be on Friday, June 22, at 8:40 a.m. in the classroom.

If you have any questions, please send a note in to school or email me. Your children are already generating sophisticated ideas for their magazines, and I cannot wait to see how the finished products turn out.

Best,

Katie