2012 Class Superlatives

Class Superlatives on PhotoPeach


Class Superlatives on PhotoPeach

Narrative Writing

Writer's Workshop is one of my favorite times of the day. We have learned about many different genres of writing. This past week we revisited Narrative Writing to see how we have grown as writers. Throughout the year, students participated in a series of mini-lessons focused on specific skills such as engaging beinnings, focusing on a moment, adding specific details and using dialogue. Many read alouds were done to emphasize these specific author's crafts.

We are so proud of how our students have grown as writers and have come to LOVE writing! Many students have even started writing their own chapter books :).

Here are a few examples of how some students chose to engage their readers.

It was a hot, sweaty, make you melt like a popsicle summer day. It was 12:00 noon and Carrie said, "I'm" pant...pant, "So..." pant...pant, "So HOT!" Even though she loves summer, it was 100 degrees, that was very hot. Her mother asked her, "Do you want to go to the swimming pool?" "Oh definitely yes!" Carrie replied. So the next day Carrie went to the swimming pool and she wore a white swimsuit with multi-colored flowers on it and pink goggles.

One bright, sunny day I was riding my bike with my BFF, Courtney to her house from Oklahoma town center. I whistled a little tune and Courtney joined in. We were riding home as fast as a cheetah because we REALLY wanted some of the DELICIOUS chicken noodle soup Courtney's mom made every Wednesday afternoon. "Hey, Courtney. (pant,pant) I need a (pant) rest break (pant,pant)," I huffed. "Well, now is a good time because we're about to enter Main Street and there is a ton of rest blocks there," Courtney replied with a smile. My feet were pedaling slower. "Alright, here we are!" Courtney said. We were starting to get off our bikes, but Courtney froze like a popsicle. "Courtney, come on, walk.Wait...Are you OK?" Courtney didn't answer. "Courtney!!!" I screamed while shaking her. She looked up at the sky, then at me. Courtney, what's wrong with the sky?" I said with no good feeling in my body. Then I got COMPLETELY nervous. My heart was pounding SUPER fast, I was not breathing well, I couldn't control myself. "Amanda, do you know htere is a TORNADO coming after us?" Courtney said with chills going down her spine.

Homophones

In skills block we have been learning about Homophones. Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings, such as moose (the animal) and mousse (the dessert).

Impressive Informational Text

For the past few weeks, our students have been working on report writing. Students chose a state or country of their choice to research information on. They used books and information researched on the computer to complete a graphic organizer that organized their notes. They then transferred their notes into chapters in their seed journals. Students learned how to engage their reader by adding a question or an interesting fact. Then Students used a rubric to assess their work. Finally, students published their reports including pictures with captions as well as charts, graphs and/or procedurals.
Here are a few chapters taken from some students' reports.
Welcome to Australia! (Introduction from a report written about Australia)
Australia is an island country located entirely south of the equator. Have youheard the expression "The land down under"? Well, that's about Australia. Would you want to learn more about Austalia? Then, you should read my report about Australia. My report can teach you about the land, the people, and the animals of Australia + much, much more.
Philadelphia (A chapter taken from a report on Pennsylvania)
Have you ever been to the most popular city in Pennsylvania? Well, here are a few facts on that city. Do you like cheese steaks? Well, I bet you didn't know that a philly cheese steaks home is in Philadelphia. "Slurp, Slurp" I love rootbeer and guess what!? Rootbeer was first made in 1866 in Philadelphia. Wow!
Conclusion (Conclusion taken from a report about Ohio)
So now you know Ohio's climate, food, state flag, capital, tourist attractions and nature. So now your head is full o ffacts and information! Everyone will think you're the cool kid because you know all about Ohio!
Don't you want to read the rest of our reports? :)

Energy

What is energy? Energy is the ability to do work. It can cause motion or create change. Energy comes in different forms and can change from one form to another. We use different forms of energy every day.
Forms of energy include:
Light- sun's energy
Heat- makes particles move faster
Sound- happens when matter moves back and forth
Mechanical- energy of moving objects or movement
Electrical- can pass through wires
Our students worked in cooperative groups to gather information about a type a energy. They created posters to show examples of ways that people use energy and how it causes a change in motion. Then each group presented their information to teach the class. Wow! we sure learned a lot from each other!!

Theme

A good story usually has a theme or lesson learned. The theme doesn't tell who did what, instead the theme connects the story to all people. We have been reading books in Reader's Workshop and deciding what the theme or lesson learned is by thinking about the main character and watching his or her actions in the story. Check out some of the books we read and the lesson we learned from the story.
Verdi by Janell Cannon- The lesson learned is "It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, what really counts is on the inside." Eryka, Aden, and Gerniah
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon- The lesson learned is "It is okay to be different." Natalie D., Sabrina, and Valeria
Otis by Loren Long- The lesson learned is "Old things are sometimes better than new things." Amanda T., Adrain, and Natalia
Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski- The lesson learned is "Be yourself." Isaiah

Poetry

In Writer's Workshop, our class is learning about poetry. We have learned some different styles of poetry. Here are some examples from our class.

Acrositc-In acrostic poems, the first letters of each line are aligned vertically to form a word. The word is often the subject of the poem.
Kind
Intelligent
Remarkable
Super
Talented
Excellent
Not mean
by: Giuseppe
Alphabet Poem-Each line begins with the letters of the alphabet in order.
A giant gust of wind
Blew straight into Tommy's face. "It's
Cold," his friend
Daniel said.
"Eeeek!" Daniel's sister screamed.
Falling snow. We better get inside!!
by: Eryka
Autobiographical Poem-A poem about yourself
Amanda
Fashionista, friend, model
Sister of Ally
Who loves school, family, and CUPCAKES
Who feels happy about LIFE
Who needs friends, family and teachers
Who gives kindness, talent and warmth
Who fears toy helicopters, spiders (big) and basements
Who wants to meet Justin Beiber
Who dreams of being a celebrity
Who is a student of Mrs. Shaffer, Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Rossignol's class
Mandy
by: Amanda G.
Cinquain-Poem with 5 lines
Dog
beautiful, cute
runs, eats, sleeps
I love my Rosey
Puppy
by: Bethann

We are enjoying learning about poetry and can't wait to learn more and write more poems!!

Happy Holidays

Holiday Fun on PhotoPeach

Elf Yourself 2011

Have a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year !!!
Press play to see a message from your Teachers.

Persuasive Writing

To jump start our study of Persuasive writing, our class brainstormed topics and audiences to write a persuasive letter to. Our class decided on writing a letter to our principal, Mrs. Phillips, to try and persuade her to build a pool at our school.
Do you think we did a good job trying to convince her??

Dear Mrs. Phillips,
Are you feeling stressed out that kids are coming inside from recess and/or P.E. all sweaty and stinky? Well, the class of room 217 thinks we have the solution to this stressful problem...BUILD A POOL! We think we should build a pool at our school because it's good exercise, it's fun and we won't be hot!
First, it's good exercise. Have you ever tried water aerobics? Well, it's a great way to get healthy. Exercising in the water builds strong muscles in your arms and legs.
Second, having a pool at our school would be fun. You could have the time of your life at Family Swim Nights we could hold for parents and students. You would also enjoy watching the swim team we could put together at our school. Wouldn't that be a cool idea? And what about all those little kindergartners that don't know how to swim yet? No problem, the swim team will come to the rescue and teach them. Now don't you agree that having a pool would be so fun?
And the last MOST IMPORTANT reason is we won't be hot and sweaty if we have a pool. Imagine this...you are outside on a hot day playing tag and you feel like you are going to pass out. What would you do? Jump in the pool of course! A pool would be as refreshing as a huge glass of ice cold lemonade!
Now you know all the reasons why a pool would be useful at our school. If you build a pool at our school we promise, not only to read every single night, but we will also give you a great big hug and love you forever!
Love,
The Super Friends of Room 217

Field Trip Fun

Today we took an educational field trip to the IMAX Theater. We watched two shows in 3D. The first show we enjoyed watching was Hubble 3D where we learned all about the Hubble Space Telescope. The second show we watched was Under the Sea where we learned about some of the most mysterious and stunning creatures of the sea. We had a great time!

Readers to Leaders Campaign

Thank you to Mrs. Phillips for getting "Caught in a Web of Reading" as a reward for the students who met their reading goal for the first nine weeks. Two students from each class were chosen to participate and help tape Mrs. Phillips to the wall. Our class is motivated to keep reading so we can see what our next reward will be!!

Animal Projects

To end our Animal Unit of study in science, students choose an animal of their choice to do a project on. Students chose from a menu of options such as a powerpoint presentation about their animal, create a poster about their animal, create a book about their animal, write a report about their animal, or create a brochure about their animal. They worked in class and at home on their projects. We had some great presentations and we are so proud of all their hard work!