Finding Reading Interesting is Key!

Today we read News-o-Matic on my iPad.  We were focused on what draws us into a magazine or non-fiction text.  When I opened it up, I was immediately drawn into an article about Maker Faire New York.  This past summer I had a booth with my students at Maker Faire Detroit, so I am completely interested in all things Maker Faire!  We read the article, watched the video, and even wrote to Russ, the editor.  Then I passed out Time for Kids magazines.  I gave the kids a few minutes to look through the edition, and then they had to pick the article they were most interested in reading more about.  We created a graph with our interests using Google Spreadsheets.  Check it out!

I hope that as the year goes on, Team Bond students will be able to find things to read that will interest them, find books that they can learn more about, and use their curiosities to fuel their love of reading!

Get Moving, Have Fun, and Go Noodle!

Go Noodle is a fun and educational thing to do at school.  We have used it over the last 2 weeks for movement breaks.  There are a ton of videos that you can play and follow along with.  From stretching, to dancing, and even counting, classrooms can have fun Go Noodling. A neat thing is that after completing 10 videos, your classroom character changes.  Here is what our character looks like now, as today we completed our 10th video!

Here is a short video clip from one of today's dances!  As you will be able to see, Go Noodle is pure fun!

Writing Critical Thinking Comparisons

I gave my students choices with their writing prompt yesterday.  I got the prompts years ago when I was working on planning for my high ability students, and I am not quite sure of the book they came from.  Here are a few that stood out from the prompts:

 Which is stronger...a smile or a tear?

     A tear slips down a little girl's cheek.  She has lost her mother.  Across town another little girl is smiling.  She has just become a big sister. I would not know which little girl I would hug longer!  But if I had to, I would pick the little girl who lost her mother.  Why?  Because a tear is stronger than a smile.
    I feel the urge to cry as the little girl's skinny, swollen hands wipe her big blue eyes. I give the little girl a hug.  Her dress is torn and muddy.  Over in the stream, the water looks like a bug puddle of tears. Then I do it...I let a far tear slip down my cheer in sorrow.  I lead the girl to the stream and get her a drink of water.  It's hard for her to swallow because she is crying so hard. I get a drink too.  But I realize that tears are contagious, and I cry just like the small girl all night.  That's the power of a tear.

Terrifying
Empathy
A
Respect your feelings.

By Maddie


    I think a smile would  be stronger than a tear.  I think that because a smile can warm someone's heart when they are feeling down.  A smile is a sign of happiness.  When you first see your baby born, you smile and you may even find some tears of happiness. When you blow out your candles on your birthday, you smile.  When you see something funny, you smile and sometimes giggle!  A smile is a smile and a smile is a wonderful thing!  That is why I think a smile is stronger than a tear!

By Finley

Which is bigger...a shout or a baseball?

     A shout is bigger than a baseball because when you make a sound or even a whisper, your sound will make sound waves that keep on going forever, yet get quieter and quieter as they move. Even though you can't see them, you still know they are there. How do you think we have echos?  A sound wave is longer and much fatter than a baseball will ever be. You know when you have the grill going or you're at a campfire, and you see that blur?  That's sound waves from another person either close to you or forty miles away. You can't hear anything from that blur because the sound waves have had such a long journey that they have traveled. Baseballs move quick, but sound waves travel at the speed of light. 

Bravery in The Secret Zoo

We are mid-way through the second book in The Secret Zoo series.  Bravery is constant theme throughout all of Bryan Chick's books.  Team Bond is transforming our room into the Library of the Secret Society, and we are tying a lot of our lessons into it.  This week while we were reading, we brainstormed the ways bravery was shown.  We created a video with our thoughts and added the song "Brave"  in the background. Check it out!

In addition, today while listening to the book, the students listened for wonderful words and wrote them on the wings of butterflies. Then we completed a dictionary page for one of the words to add to our Secret Zoo Dictionary Book.  FYI...all of Bryan Chick's books are PACKED with higher level vocabulary words!

Haiku Poems and Shape Poems

Yesterday we worked on Haiku Poems.  Haiku's have a set pattern that has to be followed. The first line has to have 5 syllables, the second line has to have 7 syllables, and the third line again has to have 5 syllables.  Here are some of the Haiku poems that stood out!

In addition, we created concrete poems (shape poems) and illustrated them nicely. They are hanging in our hallway, and everyone did a nice job on them.  Check out this one by Finley!

We are truly enjoying our unit on poetry! Next week we are connecting with other classes to share our poems!

Alliteration, Simile, and Summary Poems

We were busy with poetry last week, and we will continue to study other elements of poetry this week!  Here are some of the model poems from our alliteration poems on Science Alive, simile poems, and summary poems from our Earth Day Time for Kids.

 Freckles by Eric

The snake slithers,

Across the circular floor,

With his scaly skin,

He circled softly around our necks. 

Baby Puff by Kristina

Mrs. Neal brought in animals,

That she has been taking care of for years.

My favorite animal was Baby Puff.

When I felt his fur,

It felt like a puffy cloud.

The fur was brushing through my fingers.

Baby Puff has 8- hairs per root, 

Which humans have only 1 hair per root. 

Baby Puff is the softest animal in the world.

His whiskers were as long as strands of grass.

Baby Puff is so soft, 

He could be as soft to be a coat. 

Baby Puff is an adorable rodent.

Trust me...you will want Baby Puff as a pet now. 

Rolo by Chris

Rolo the Armadillo

Is cool because he would,

Rock, 

Run, 

Rollover,

And when Rolo was in his ball,

I wonder what he was doing.

Crawling, 

Curling up, 

Or something else!

Rolo is also the only kind of armadillo,

That can roll in a complete,

Ball! 

Simile Poems 

John

John is panting like a dog,

After running as fast as a cheetah, 

On a day that's as hot as a wildfire.

He was training for a race.

He was so hot, 

He could jump into a pool,

And swim like a fish.

He had been sweating so much,

That he looked like he had just taken,

A long shower.

By Kalyn

All About Me...Gabby

I love to sing like a chirping bird.

Or to swim like a humpback whale.

I love to dance like moving seaweed.

Growing is not my specialty...like the opposite of a flower. 

I can write as fast as a cheetah catching her prey.

Or paint like a creative mind.

I love to read so much, 

I'm basically a book!

I'm as bright as shiny jewelry glistening on my wrist.

I love to act so much like somebody else in plays,

Like a wasp acts like a bee.

I'm usually excited,

Like when a dog meets a new person.

I am who I am.

I'm like a shooting star over the dark sky!

By Gabby

Summary Poem

Yosemite Park

Everyone loves Yosemite Park

Because of it's amazing views.

It is breathtaking.

Bears, sequoias, cliffs,

Meadows filled with flowers,

A river, Mariposa Grove, and 

So much more!

Everybody is trying to make and remove things,

To keep Yosemite beautiful and

Clean!

If it weren't for Abraham Lincoln, 

Yosemite Park wouldn't exist!

By Julia F.

Favorite Place Poems with a Focus on Word Choice!

Today we discussed the importance of choosing the right words when writing poetry.  With a limited amount of words within each poem, it is essential to select precise words that can convey description, emotion, and carry meaning to the readers. The students wrote poems about their favorite places to go, and I was truly impressed with the poems that were created! Below are some of the model poems selected!

My Favorite Place to Go!

If I had to choose,

Out of all the marvelous places I have been,

I would choose my Alaskan cruise.

I still remember the liquid blue glass splash my face,

Covering me in an icy cold blanket.

And at night watching the scarlet Northern Lights...

Like someone spattered paint over the ocean of stars.

Or having an adventure climbing on different shapes and colors of rocks,

To scatter to the top.

To ring the bell, so loud,

Like when an elephant sees a mouse!

But it was so perfect to see, 

The big block of ice,

Which will one day become a valley,

Crash into the icy, cold,

Liquid water. 

By Gabby 

Zoo

Snap! Another picture! 

Roar! The lion!

We are at the zoo!

At night, 

Do animals get cold?

Do they move more?

Anyway, 

We are at the zoo!

Time to leave.

As I leave,

The cold, dark sky appears,

And the zoo lies in...

silence.

The zoo!

By Finley

Trampoline

My trampoline is so jumpy!

I feel like I'm bouncing on the clouds.

When I look up in the day,

I see the bright blue sky.

When I look up in the night, 

I see shooting stars falling down.

Drip,

    Drop,

        Drip,

            Drop,

The rain bounces off the trampoline.

But when I am not on there,

It is as silent as a mouse. 

By Kristina

Florida 

Florida is so pretty.

The ocean shines,

Like 1,000 Sapphires. 

The sand blond by the sun and 

White like snow drops.

Florida is an excellent place to go.

By Nick

At Sea

I can feel the sea,

Rocking the ship softly.

I feel the wind grasping at my dress.

It seems to hate me.

I'm brave. 

I look at the cloudy sky.

It tells me to be braver.

But I decide not to. 

I rush inside.

Ready for bed.

At Sea #2

The ship rocks me

To sleep.

As if I'm on the back

Of a dove.

I float away. 

By Maddie

My Room

My room glistens in the sky.

It makes me feel like a butterfly.

The radio in my room makes me feel

Like I'm flowing words in the air.

Then the moon in the sky,

Flies up,

Then turns,

Right into the darkness.

So I go to bed,

Until the light touches my bed.

My room is my love.

My room is my den. 

By Margeaux

Earth Day Poetry

Earth Day Poems
To celebrate Earth Day 2014, we learned about personification and created poems that highlighted how the Earth feels.

Sad by littering,

Happy by the Earth's Birthday.

Sick by the gases,

Tickled by the wind blowing leaves.

Dizzy by rotating around the sun.

Sad for the waste of Earth materials.

Happy for people,

Picking up trash. 

-Feelings brainstormed by the class,

Poem compiled by Ethan.

World

The Earth sings to me,

Like a lullaby.

She is always with me, 

when I need her.

Sometimes at night,

I tell her she is marvelous.

But she is like a dark, shy cave.

She never talks back when I talk.

But I know she is there! 

By Lily

Earth Day Poem

Have you ever wondered how the Earth felt,

About what people did to her?

Imagine the Earth feeling sad because,

People are polluting.

That may cause the Earth to get 

Sick.

You would be sad too,

If your home was getting destroyed.

The Earth may cry and sigh into the darkness.

Wouldn't the Earth be cold out there in space?

Luckily, the sun is able to cover a blanket of heat,

Over the Earth.

By Gabby

Earth Day Poem

When I'm with the Earth,

I can hear her talk softly to me.

I can feel her shake in fear one day.

I help the Earth take a bath. 

She needs me when she has trash on her.

A wonderful face, and she is pretty.

I love her wonderful day and night. 

By Cheyenne

The Earth

I smile when people take the litter off my skin.

When I'm bored, I talk to the moon.

I whisper into the darkness.

Sometimes I feel tired,

But that doesn't bother me. 

By Brandon

Earth Day Personification

Earth Day

By Team Bond 2013-14

Opening up my eyes, I see the people wearing green.

This can only mean one thing...it’s my day,

Earth Day!

I giggle as the leaves gently skip across my skin.

The spring winds cool me.

I am accessorized by the newest floral fashions,

As gardens begin to grow.

Happy!

Happy for Spring!

Happy for my day!

Earth Day 2014!

Our Poetry Unit Has Begun!

My favorite unit of the year is here!  I love, love, love teaching poetry, and we were able to kick it off today by writing Phone Number Poems! After we completed our independent reading for the day, students wrote poems about their books. Here are some of the poems that I thought were nicely done.

With each poetry assignment, I will select a few to publish and add to our Poetry Place.  I look forward to reading many wonderful poems throughout this unit and see wonderful growth in the students as writers!