TGIF!!

Happy Friday Damas y Caballeros,

      Today is Friday, December 10, 2010.  Yesterday we did some choral reading of The Wolf Girl.  I hope you enjoyed reading with me and the rest of our classes.  The information in the fictional story and the non-fiction piece we read afterward (Running Wild) should provide you with connections or ideas you can use to BUST or CONFIRM your theories. 
      To start the day off today I would like you to grab a laptop and post one of your Extended DED entries.  I will show you what I mean before you all start.  At the end of class today we will get back on the blog and RESPOND to someone elses DED entry as a ticket out the door.   Feel free to continue your work on your theories.

Homework: Complete an Extended DED based on the two texts we read together.  The Wolf Girl and Running Wild. 

Your Truly,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
P.P.S. Roads?  Where we're going we don't need roads!

Happy Wednesday!!

      Today is Wednesday, December 8, 2010.  The link below is a video I found that is directly connected to our Wolf Girls unsolved mystery.  The girls are something called "feral children".  Feral children stories come from all over the globe, and as you do your searching today type the words feral children into the box.  Remember, your research reading is a great time to practice comprehension strategies like connections, questions, summarizing/paraphrasing, and clarifying confusion. 

      There are only a few search queries you will be using today for your research:

1.) Feral Children
2.) Unsolved Mystery: Wolf Girls
3.) Wolf girls Mystery

Any other searches being entered on the computer must be passed by me first.  Loss of computer privilege will result if I see unapproved search queries being conducted. 

Homework:  your homework tonight is to go over your notes and write down ONE talking point you can share with your discussion group in class tomorrow.  Your talking point can be a clue you found, something you read, a website you would like to share, or any new information you can find on the Wolf Girls case.  Good luck detectives.

Sincerely,
C

P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
Do your best and forget the rest. 



http://dai.ly/aw5ANI

Long Time No See Kiddies!

Happy Monday Y'all!

      Today is Monday, December 6, 2010.  Guess what?  We get to dive into another Unsolved Mystery from History!!  The unsolved mystery is called The Wolf Girls.  This book will help us conduct more inquiry about text we read.  We will also interact with the text.  We will ask questions, make connections, come up with theories, reread to look for evidence, and make inferences. 
      Think back to Friday last week when we used The Five E's to explore PURPOSE.  Well, you are going to employ The Five E's again only this time your PURPOSE will be to listen to the story SO THAT you can summarize/paraphrase what you hear and see. 
      Your guest teacher will read you the story portion of The Wolf Girls.  When I am back in the room tomorrow we will THINK DEEPER.  We will reread, explore the notes, AND the 4 theories our detective friend has come up with at the end of the book.  Your only PURPOSE today is to listen to the story and summarize/paraphrase what you remember.  Pay close attention and enjoy!

YOUR HOMEWORK: Write down a theory of your own tonight in a DED (double entry diary).  Make sure you include... 1.) The "quick summary" 2.) Your theory/thoughts 3.) "So What?"/Next steps

Sincerely,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
Do your best and forget the rest!!

Your BEYOND THE BOOK PROJECTS...

Happy Monday Wonderful Workers,

      Today is Monday, November 15, 2010.  I have a few examples of Beyond the Book projects I would like to share with you.  I received a bunch of responses on which projects 5th graders are intersted in doing.  So, I found a collage I made, a painting I created, and I am also putting together a short summary and review of one book I like a lot.  I hope you enjoy. 

      Your only homework from me tonight is to read 30 minutes and start your work on your Beyond the Book project.  If you haven't decided yet that's ok.  MAKE YOUR DECISION TONIGHT AND POST IN ON THIS BLOG POST! 

      BEYOND THE BOOK PROJECTS ARE DUE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd.  We will share them in class as well. 

      Have fun reading!  Do your best and forget the rest!! 

Yours truly,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand. 

P.P.S.  You mean you have to use your hands?! That's like a baby's toy. 

"BEYOND THE BOOK"

Dear Radical Readers,

I sat up until 11:30 Tuesday night racking my brain for ways you boys and girls could SHARE your learning with each other.  I said to myself, “Would I want to be a 5^th grader in Mr. C’s class if he forced me to do a book report?”  Probably not!  If I was a 5^th grader again I would want to talk with my friends about topics and themes that interested me.  I would want to use computers and other books to find out new information.  Then I would want to talk to more people and share what it is my friends and I came up with. 

            If I read a book like Ryan Hintz’s Soldier book, or Nolan Jacob’s Percy Jackson series I would want to study more about mythology or modern warfare.  If I read a book like Jaeda Walsh’s Fablehaven I would want to talk with other kids who are interested in the FANTASY genre.  I would want to know more about the creatures in that world or maybe I would want to know where the author got his/her ideas.  If I was a 5^th grader reading a Dear Dumb Diary book that main character strikes me as a gossiper.  I know there are real life gossip columns in magazines and newspapers.  I would definitely want to write my own or at least find out how to write a column. 

            Book reports are fine and dandy, but to be honest with you all, as a reader myself, I would never  do a book report after I finished a book I loved.  I do write about my reading, but I also talk about my reading.  Then, I TAKE ACTION BASED ON HOW I FEEL AND HOW I WAS AFFECTED BY WHAT I READ.  I SHARE WHAT I LEARN.  Why wouldn’t I expect the same from all of you? 

            Your homework tonight is to choose  a "Beyond the Book" project idea that you would like to develop either on your own or with a friend.  You may post your ideas on THIS blog post, or write it down and bring it to school on Monday.  Don't forget to read as well. 

Your truly,

C

P.S. 1.21 Gigawatts!!!

Connections are everywhere...

Hey Fantastic Fifth Graders,

      Today is Wednesday, November 10, 2010.  Last night for homework we were suppose to think deeper about the way we interact with text.  Now I know you guys and gals are like, "What Mr. C?".  What is INTERACTING WITH TEXT? 

      INTERACTING WITH TEXT is like having a conversation with the author.  One way we can interact with text is to make connections.  Ms. Bestul and I will be helping you review what you already know about his comprehension strategy.  Oh wait, if it's a comprehension strategy where could we find that on our CAFE wall?

      Your homework tonight is to read 30 minutes and make a comment on this blog post.  You need to post three things...

1. What book are you reading?
2. What book have you finished?
3. What connections have you thought about today either in school or at home? 

      Remember, do your best and forget the REST!!!

Sincerely,
C
P.S. I hear and forget.
I see and remember.
I do and I understand.

Happy Tuesday to all!!

 

Hello Little Learners,

      Today is Tuesday, November 2, 2010.  I hope your extended weekend was as great as mine was.   Horses are amazing animals, and they are good for the heart.  What are some fun things you all did this weekend? 

      As we begin our reading workshop today I would like to know what books you are reading so take a minute to post it here on the Blog.  I took some time over the weekend to put you all in to separate reading groups.  At the end of our independent reading time today I would like you all to get into your reading groups and share one thing from your reading today.  It can be something your learned.  It can be something you didn't like about the book.  It can be something you LOVED about the book.  It can be a question you have after reading your book.  ANYTHING!!  I want the rest of the people in your group to demonstrate agreement 1 by writing what they heard on a post it note.  As you leave today you will need to put your post-it note in the parking lot and take a reading response journal for the week. 

      Your homework tonight is to come into reading tomorrow with a response to share with your new group first thing!!  

Let's review shall we...
1.  Post the book you are reading on your blog.
2.  Read independently
3.  Share in your new reading groups with POST-ITS
4.  Put post-its in parking lot and TAKE YOUR HOMEWORK.

Yours truly,
C
P.S. Do your best and forget the rest!!
P.P.S. "Mighty strong words runt!  You man enough to back 'em up with more than just a pie plate?!"

Galileo would be pround of 5th grade STEM!!

Dear STEMers,

      We hope this works.  Your STEM teachers have tried to attach the video of our Galileo vs. Aristotle experiment.  If you make observations of the video you will see what our experiment looked like.  The observations we made during the video will now be used for the last parts of the PROCESS we call THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD.  

      Our next step in the PROCESS is to use our experiment and observations to DRAW A CONCLUSION.  That means look back at our HYPOTHESIS to see if it is CONFIRMED, BUSTED, or still PLAUSIBLE yet unproven due to a lack of information. 

      Take a look at the footage.  Let your teachers know what you think by posting a comment or two.  Have fun and enjoy. 

Always remember...  DO YOUR BEST AND FORGET THE REST!! 

Yours Truly

C, Mr. Murray, and Mrs. Lambert

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Hello 5th Graders,

      Remember today during class I used a big word called METACOGNITION.  This means that you think about your thinking.  When you dive into your reading homework tonight this is what I am asking you to try.  Think about your own thinking. 

1. Reflect on the past work you have done in your double entry diary.  
2. Choose the best entry you did and highlight it. (You may hightlight more than one if you are proud of another)
3. Give yourself a grade and tell me why you think you deserve that grade. 

      Do your best and forget the rest! 

Yours truly,
C

P.S.  It is optional to post, but I love reading your comments. 

HAPPY MONDAY!!

Good Morning Guys And Gals,

Today is Monday, October 25, 2010.  We will have our spelling test this morning to start off our day.  Before we do that I would like to play an energizer I call sparkle.  It will help us see our spelling words and get out mental juices flowing for the test. 

After the spelling test I thought I'd give you all more time to work on your writing so we can share some more before recess.  What doyou think?

During our rotations today We will be looking at AUTHOR'S PURPOSE.  Think about what we know about those two words.  Author's  Purpose

For STEaM time this afternoon we are carving pumpkins!  Make sure you are responsible, and showing me you can handle it. 

Sincerely,
C