"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

Saturday at school...

Hello all you silly students,

      On a wonderful Saturday afternoon your teacher is here in the classroom looking over all your great Blog comments.  It is a great feeling to see all you guys and gals having fun posting comments to each other. 

      Does it even feel like homework?  My hopes and dreams for THINK SPOT is to have great disscussions and responses to each others ideas.  LEARNING IS SHARED!!  Remember that and continue to share your learning with me and others. 

Have fun!

Yours Truly,
C

High Five Friday!!

Hello readers and writers,

      Today is Friday, October 22, 2010.  I hope you are looking forward to the weekend as much as I am.  This blogging thing is kind of fun.  I found out from another teacher last night how to post comments.  If you check out the blog post that precedes this one you will see a little exercise in writing.  As a teacher i believe writing should be FUN, shared, interesting, a choice, a gift, and oh yeah did I mention FUN! 

      Our learning target for today is as follows...
Text can be analyzed: Students will analyze fiction and nonfiction text.
I CAN... EVALUATE AUTHOR'S PURPOSE, POINT OF VIEW, AND EFFECTIVENESS.

      As you dive into your books and read today, think about what the author's voice is.  What is the author trying to say?  What does the author want to tell you?  What does the author want you to think about?  The two "P's" of reading and writing are PROCESS and PURPOSE.  Authors have a purpose just like readers do. 

Can you find your AUTHOR'S PURPOSE?

Yours truly,
C
P.S. McFly, those boards don't work on water.  You need POWER!

Popcorn thinking...

 Hey reader's and writer's,

Someone once said, "A picture is worth a thousand words."  Here are some photos I've taken during my adventures.  Look at the three photos and write THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND!! 

      Sometimes people experience something called writer's block.  A great way to get over that is to just start writing.  As the Nike slogan says, "JUST DO IT".  By starting somewhere our mental juices start flowing and our thoughts begin to do something I call POPCORN.  They just start popping. 

      So, peruse(skim) the photos and choose one.  Choose all if you like, but once you have a thought just write it down.  What do you think the people in the photos are thinking?  What would they say at the time of the picture?  Do the pictures remind you of a memory of yours?  Write it down...

 

CAFE Menu!!

CAFE Menu!!

Hey readers and writers!

Today we will be perusing a menu, a CAFE Menu to be exact.  Check out out learning target from yesterday:

 

      Learning Target: TEXT IS MEANINGFUL...

      I can... preview text before reading to set a purpose for reading     

      Our Learning Target today is this...
      Text can be evaluated and extended.
      I CAN... read for a purpose, decide what is important and unimportant information, identify a need for additional information, and pinpoint likely sources.

      I found this crazy video I wanted to share with you.  It's about an interactive computer menu that restaurants in Israel have started to use.  How would this connect to what we are doing here in reading today?

http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/154/2002.html

Have fun choosing your purpose from our CAFE Menu.

Yours truly,
C