Connections

The students have been working on a reading test over the past two days. This test asked them to complete three tasks. They were asked to select one person they read about during our biography unit. Then they had to compare and contrast themselves with this person. After completing this task they had to write a summary of this well-known person's life. Finally, they had to write a paragraph explaining how they are similar to this particular person. Below are paragraphs students wrote for the last task mentioned above.

Amelia and I are similar in lots of ways. The first way we are similar is that we are creative. Amelia liked to make roller coasters out of roller skates and fence rails. I like to create different colorful pictures out of different markers and crayons. Also I like to find nature out in my backyard and turn It into very cool artwork. The next way we are the same is that we like to play sports. I love to play hockey, kickball, basketball, football, baseball, soccer and other fun sports. One sport I love is hockey. There are a lot of boys that play this sport and not a lot of girls. I like to make all the boys fall and get mad at me. Amelia liked to play football outside in her backyard with boys. She tackled, and got the ball a lot. Also we are daring. Amelia is daring, because she flew across the Atlantic ocean by herself. She made it and was very happy to have succeeded. I am daring because I was the first person in my family and the only one to go down a straight slide at Noah's Ark. The slide is named, The Point of No Return. My stomach felt like it was dropping and my back hurt badly, but I did it. The last important thing is that Amelia and I like to travel to places. Amelia flew all around the world in a plane.  Also she moved to different places. Amelia sure likes to discover things. Last year I went to Cozumel, Mexico. It was so fun to see all different cool animals like iguanas, snakes, dolphins, manatees, squid and a lot of colorful fish. That is how Amelia and I are the same. Written by Allison

William Shakespeare and I are similar in many different ways. One way we are the same is we are both very creative. Some things we are creative at are writing and drawing. Another thing that we are the same at is we both are the oldest siblings in our families. Another is we are both good at many different things. We are both good at: reading, writing, being creative, being kind and many other things. One way we are both kind is William wrote plays for everyone in his audiences and I share with other people and help my mom and dad sometimes. Those are some ways William Shakespeare and I are similar. Written by Zack

Cleopatra and I are alike in a few ways. One way we are alike is we are both working hard or have worked hard to achieve our dreams. My dream is to become a marine biologist.  Cleopatra’s dream was to become a very famous queen. Another way we are alike is we both respect our religions. Cleopatra respects her Egyptian religion and I respect my Islam religion.The third way we are alike is we are daring.  She is daring by fighting a war.  I am daring by doing flips and going into water that is 12 feet deep. Another way we are alike is we are confident. I am confident by trying my best on tests. Cleopatra was confident about starting wars. Another way we are alike is we both are adventurous.  Cleopatra was adventurous by participating in war.  I am adventurous by climbing very high trees.The last way we are alike is we both love Egypt. Cleopatra loved the religion. I love the camels.Those are the ways we are alike.
Written by Tifa

I think Galileo and I are have a lot of similarities.  One way we are similar is that we both are curious.  One time he was curious was when he wondered what would fall first, a heavy object or a light object.  A time I was curious was when I  wondered how electronics work.  I also think we are both smart.  Galileo was smart when he found out how to make telescopes.  One time I was smart was when I found out what the human body was made of.  Another way we are similar is that we are confident.  One time he was confident was when he made a book called Starry Messengers.  One time I was confident was when Allie and I wrote a passage on the brain.  Those are some ways Galileo and I were similar.  
written by Joey

I’m a kind of like Martin. Martin was a good student and I am a good student too.  Martin wants peace for the whole world and I like peace so we don't have war and peace gives you hope.  Martin likes to sing and I do like to sing in my home.  Martin like’s sports. I like to play football. Martin  was a good man  and when I grow up I will be like him.  

Written by Caulden

How I am Like Sarah Edmonds!

I am like Sarah Edmonds the most out of all the people I read about. One reason I am alike her is that we are both kind.  She is kind, because she helped injured people in the war! I am kind, because when one of my friends gets hurt I would help them!  Sarah Edmonds and I are alike, because we are both brave!  She is brave, because she went in the war.  I am brave, because I would do some risky things like, climb really high trees, go in the forest, and go in tiny caves!  I am like Sarah, because we are both clever!  She was clever, because she dressed up as a man to enter the war.  I am clever, because I do many funny tricks.  One time I did a cool prank on my mom.  On April Fool's day I drew a mustache on her face, and she had to go to work like that!   Sarah Edmonds and I are both persistent.  She is persistent, because she kept on trying to get into the army until she did!  I am persistent, because when I do bowling league every Friday I sometimes don’t do so well, but I don’t give up!  I keep on trying and I eventually do much better!   We are alike, because we are both very smart!   She was smart by not marrying the man she was forced to!  I am smart, because when my friends try to trick me it does not work out very well.  In second grade me and my friend Josh were on his trampoline with plastic swords.  He tried to throw it at me and I dodged and threw it back at him!  This is how Sarah Edmonds and I are similar!

Written by Logan

Creative Endings

Some of the students finished their endings to the story they were given by me today.  The part that they were given is in black print.  The endings they created are written in a different color.  I will try to post more stories as they finish them.

It was right after lunchtime and Dad was so busy chasing down baby that he made a mistake. One that Mom would never make. He told both of us, "If you eat any more chocolate, you'll turn into chocolate." Not bright, Dad. Mom would have simply taken the chocolate away.

My little brother didn't realize what Dad meant was no more chocolate. But what can you expect from a five-year old? When you get to my age, you can tell better what parents mean when they say confusing things,  but five-year old boys hear only what they want to hear. Or so Mom says.

So my little brother did just what Dad didn't want him to. He took another chocolate bar, a big one, from the snack bin, opened it and took a huge bite. I figured he'd get into trouble, but I never figured he'd turn into chocolate.

Which is what he did. I know it was chocolate, because I took a little bite from his ear. Just to make sure.1

"Dad?!" I hollered. "Dad?"

Dad yelled back, from somewhere upstairs, "I'm changing baby, can you please deal with whatever it is yourself?"

He was always having me deal with stuff myself, since I was the oldest. Like cleaning up spills. Or making sure my little brother has both his shoes and socks on. Or making Ritz peanut butter and jelly cracker sandwiches for lunch and pouring glasses of milk. But I had never had to deal with a chocolate little brother before.

I looked at my brother. He was completely chocolate, even his clothes. And he wasn't moving. He had this huge smile on his face and a half-eaten chocolate bar in one of his hands. I wondered if he was really made out of chocolate.

I sort of knocked on him gently, to see if he was hollow inside like those cheap Easter Bunnies. He wasn't. He was solid chocolate. If he were an Easter bunny, he'd be the biggest one we had ever gotten.

I wondered how he tasted. That's when I had the little nibble I mentioned earlier. From his ear. Just a tiny bite. He tasted just like chocolate. Good chocolate. If I hadn't had tons of chocolate already, I would probably have eaten more. But I did snap off some of his  shirtsleeve and put it in the refrigerator, to save some for later, and to make sure it didn't melt.

Melt! My little brother is going to melt! I knew I had to do something fast, but what?

I ran to the bottom of the stairs and called up, "Dad?!"

He said back, sort of tired sounding and testy, "Can't you please take care of it yourself?" He was obviously having some trouble with baby. Maybe she ran off without a diaper or wouldn't let him put on her shirt. She does that.

Well, if I had to handle this by myself, I would. Here's what I did…   

First I went to see what my dad was doing. He was chasing baby around.

I said “DAD I CAN’T HANDLE THIS BY MYSELF !!!! ”  

“ Sorry can’t ,chasing baby” said dad :[  

“Fine” I said.

When I got downstairs I saw that my brother or chocolate brother was MELTING! I hurried to get a blanket. I covered him up with the blanket.  Then I notest that his head was melted I licked up all the melted chocolate. It was good.  I threw all the stuff in the fridge out so I could put him in it so he didn’t melt. I thought that mom would kill me if she saw him. I was sooooooooo worried.

When Mom got home it was surprising, because she blamed dad for it.

“Phew” I said.    

“What sweetie?”mom asked.   

“Oh me, nothing” I said.

  “I heard something from you” said mom.

 “Fine. I said phew”  

“Why?” asked mom

“MY LITTLE BROTHER ATE MORE CHOCOLATE AND HE TURNED INTO CHOCOLATE AND DAD WANTED ME TO HANDLE IT BY MYSELF .   He's in the fridge” I said.      

“How could he do that to you?” said mom .

It was just a big mistake by dad.  He didn’t remember what he had said.  He looked in the fridge and saw my brother. He put him on the table and ATE HIM.  

“Mom” I said.  “Look.”  

“Really. Now we have 2 chocolate family members” said mom.    

The next morning dad had melted.   I had tried to pinch myself, but  I did not wake up. I knew it wasn’t a dream.

Well it ended up that if you eat too much chocolate you will turn into chocolate

Written by Danica

 😢    😅    😢   😅   😢   😅   😢   😅

First of all, I put a lot of ice packs on him so he wouldn’t melt as fast.  Then I brought him to the basement.  I set a timer that would go off in 24 hours. In 24 hours my brother would start to melt. Next I looked up how to deal with a chocolate brother on Google.  Nothing came up.

I mumbled “No.”  

Then I looked at some fairy tales.  After around 10 hours of searching I found one story that said something about chocolate.  It said a boy once turned into chocolate and then he started to melt.  Then a fairy came along and turned him back.  

I said “Worst story ever and that didn’t help.”  

I called 911.  Unfortunately they were to busy to help.  

“Uhg” I said in frustration.  

I looked at the time “OH NO!”  I yelled. “There are only 5 hours left.”

 I went to cheek on my brother.  *Gasp*
“My brother is melting! “Noooo,” I screamed.  The ice packs must have stop working!  This is very Very VERY BAD.”  

It was too late to do anything.  After about 5 hours he melted fully. Now he was just a chocolate puddle.  Then he magically turned back to normal.  I was so happy, but my brother was confused.  I told him everything. He was very surprised.  But for some strange reason whenever he eats that type of chocolate he turns back into a chocolaty form. 

written by Joey

Well, if I had to handle this by myself, I would. Here's what I did I remembered that there is a hardware store several blocks away that gives out free coolers. I got my bike out of the Garage. I remembered that my dad said I can’t go out at night because it is dangerous. Ok I know my dad said my brother would turn into chocolate and he did, but think realistic how could it be any different than day time. But when I got outside I started riding. All of a sudden a dragon ridden by a man in a scary mask flew by me. I was so frightened, but my brothers life was at stake. When I got to the corner I looked at the small cute house where my school's science teacher lived. I thought he could help so instead of going to the hardware store I stopped and walked up the driveway. I knocked on the door.

He said, “Come in.”

When I got inside his house I looked around.  He was nowhere to be seen.

When I called his name “Doctor Bill I heard a response.

He said,  “My name is not Dr.Bill.  It's Mr.Fredericks!!!!!”

Then I heard scuffling and glass breaking. All of a sudden something pounced on top of me.

I started yelling  “HELP,HELP”

I started to feel something jerking the thing on top of me. All of a sudden it went flying to the wall. I stood up to see what had thrown it off of me. I saw who it was….. I saw it it was a small dragon. It walked up to me. I was so scared.

All of a-sudden the dragon said, “Wow, what was that guy doing?”

I said, “I don’t know.”

He said, “I heard about your brother. I know how to help”

“Good” I said

He walked outside.

He said, “Hop on my back”

I said, “No Way.”

He said, “Ok sorry about your brother.”

I said, “Wait I can maybe do it”

I hopped on his back. He took off……… He was bringing me to the hardware store. When we got there it said, Closed.

The dragon said, “No problem.”

He burned down the door. We walked in we grabbed the biggest cooler. Since he was so small we had to push it back to the house. When we got inside my house we put my brother in the cooler………… He did not turn back to normal. Then I asked the dragon to help. He dropped one of his scales in the cooler. We closed it. All of a sudden it opened up and my brother came out. He was so happy to be free.

My dad came up a half and hour later and said good thing he did not eat any more chocolate !!!!!!!!! written by Brayden

Weekend Writing Assignment

Their weekend writing assignment has to do with writing a paragraph about an adult they know.  This person may be a relative or friend.  Earlier this week they created questions that they would like to ask this particular individual.  After learning more about the person they chose to interview, they are being asked to create a paragraph to share with their classmates.

Finish the Story

Today the students were given the beginning of a story.  Then they were asked to finish the story for the author.  They enjoyed this a lot.  The stories are very creative.  We are continuing to discuss the importance of writing complete thoughts and including details in our stories.  Also, they are constantly being reminded about the importance of punctuation, correct spelling and capitalization.  I will share some of their endings to this particular story next week.  Below is the beginning of the story they are being asked to finish.

It was right after lunchtime and Dad was so busy chasing down baby that he made a mistake. One that Mom would never make. He told both of us, "If you eat any more chocolate, you'll turn into chocolate." Not bright, Dad. Mom would have simply taken the chocolate away.

My little brother didn't realize what Dad meant was no more chocolate. But what can you expect from a five-year old? When you get to my age, you can tell better what parents mean when they say confusing things, but five-year old boys hear only what they want to hear. Or so Mom says.

So my little brother did just what Dad didn't want him to. He took another chocolate bar, a big one, from the snack bin, opened it and took a huge bite. I figured he'd get into trouble, but I never figured he'd turn into chocolate.

Which is what he did. I know it was chocolate, because I took a little bite from his ear. Just to make sure.

"Dad?!" I hollered. "Dad?"

Dad yelled back, from somewhere upstairs, "I'm changing baby, can you please deal with whatever it is yourself?"

He was always having me deal with stuff myself, since I was the oldest. Like cleaning up spills. Or making sure my little brother has both his shoes and socks on. Or making Ritz peanut butter and jelly cracker sandwiches for lunch and pouring glasses of milk. But I had never had to deal with a chocolate little brother before.

I looked at my brother. He was completely chocolate, even his clothes. And he wasn't moving. He had this huge smile on his face and a half-eaten chocolate bar in one of his hands. I wondered if he was really made out of chocolate.

I sort of knocked on him gently, to see if he was hollow inside like those cheap Easter Bunnies. He wasn't. He was solid chocolate. If he were an Easter bunny, he'd be the biggest one we had ever gotten.

I wondered how he tasted. That's when I had the little nibble I mentioned earlier. From his ear. Just a tiny bite. He tasted just like chocolate. Good chocolate. If I hadn't had tons of chocolate already, I would probably have eaten more. But I did snap off some of his  shirtsleeve and put it in the refrigerator, to save some for later, and to make sure it didn't melt.

Melt! My little brother is going to melt! I knew I had to do something fast, but what?

I ran to the bottom of the stairs and called up, "Dad?!"

He said back, sort of tired sounding and testy, "Can't you please take care of it yourself?" He was obviously having some trouble with baby. Maybe she ran off without a diaper or wouldn't let him put on her shirt. She does that.

Well, if I had to handle this by myself, I would. Here's what I did...

Math Problems

Here are some of the math problems the students are being asked to solve.

Write a multiplication sentence to show how many squares there are in all on this checker board.  Write a repeated addition problem that would help you figure out how many total squares are on this game board.  Write a fraction showing how many of the squares are red.  Write three equivalent fractions for this fraction.

How many legs would 7 spiders have?  Solve this problem using multiplication.  Also, solve this problem using repeated addition.

Write two names for the time shown on this clock.  What time will it be in 15 minutes?

Write two names for the time shown on this clock.  What time was it 15 minutes earlier than this time?

Use a timeline to help you solve the following problems.  How long is the eighth grade lunch? How long is second period?  How long is ninth period?  How long is the school day?

Challenge:  Choose three times and rewrite them  using ___ to or ___ past.

Erosion

Over the past two days the students have been watching videos about erosion.  As they are watching these videos they are stopping and taking notes on what they are learning.  This is the first step in the process of them learning about this topic.

Bill Nye

Blue

Make Me Genius

Experiment

School Store

Brayden and Maddie helped out at the school store yesterday.   They were kept quite busy.  There were quite a few customers.  Our store earned about $50 at this one sale.  I would also like to say thank you to my wife, Melissa, for helping to purchase all of our supplies for us.  She finds some great deals.