Brave Knight

"It was Freak who told me about King Arthur. How he got this round table, and how he got the bravest knights, and the whole world to sit at that table. You will be brothers, said King Arthur. And you will fight for all those who ask for help. You will be gentle to the weak, but terrible to the wicked. It was Freak who told me about King Arthur. It was Freak who told me everything." - Max

"By the time we get here, which I guess should be the end, you're going to know the story of Freak the Mighty, who slayed dragons, saved maidens, and walked high above the world." - Max

"A knight proves his worthiness by his deeds." - Kevin

"Every word is part of a picture. Every sentence is a picture. All you do, is let your imagination connect them together. If you have an imagination that is."  - Kevin

"Nothin's a drag, kid. Think about it." - Loretta


Choose one of the quotes listed above.  Explain what it means in the context of the story, as well as the way you can apply it to your own life.  Posts are due by Friday, May 20.

A little something about King Arthur.

Make Change

Last Friday, we had the opportunity to watch "Wil the Thrill" do some amazing basketball stunts.  He then gave a powerful message, and I don't want you to have missed it.  He gave 4 points to be successful in life: 

• Perseverence - having the will to complete a task, even when you have no desire to do it 
• Consistency - Practicing your skill over and over.  It could be studying for test or doing what you say you will do.
• Live by your Convictions, not your Feelings - Our feelings change from moment to moment.  Don't make decisions based on how you feel.  Make them based on what you believe.
• Serve Others - Each of us have been given gifts.  Find yours, and figure out a way to use your talents to serve others.  Go out of your way to be nice and helpful.

Of the four ideas that Wil presented, choose one to specifically work on this week.  In a post, explain what you will be doing and post again with the results of your experience.  First posts are due by Wednesday, May 11.  Follow-up posts are due by Friday, May 13.

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

Next week, we will meeting Steven Layne, author of many children's and young adult books.  Learn more about him here.  Below is an "on the spot" interview from a couple of years ago with Dr. Layne discussing some of his books. 

After learning a little about Steven Layne, take a moment to think about what it means to be an author.  This week you have two choices:

1) Post 3 questions that you would like to ask Dr. Layne (or to any author for that matter)

or

2)  Answer 1 of the following questions:

• Is being an author a difficult or easy job?  Why?
• If you became an author, what lessons would you try to put into your books?
• Where do you think authors get their ideas for writing?

Posts are due by Friday, April 29.

The Power of Words

This week we are thinking about lessons learned from Mr. Peabody's Apples.  In the story, Tommy sees Mr. Peabody take an apple from Mr. Funkadeli's fruit market without paying for it.  Pretty soon the entire town believes that Mr. Peabody is a thief.  

Mr. Peabody asks Tommy to cut open a pillow and shake the feathers out.  Thousands of feathers cover the field, and Tommy is asked to collect them.  Realizing that he can not, Mr. Peabody says that each feather represents a person in Happville that now believe the rumor Tommy started. 

Look at the picture of the crumpled heart at the beginning of this post.  Even though we could flatten it out a little bit, it will never look as clean and crisp as it was when it was first cut.  When we don't think about the words we say, we begin crumple hearts around us. 

Think about the questions written below.  Choose two to answer in the comments.  Comments are due by Friday, April 22.

• What was the meaning of having Tommy cut open the pillow and letting the feathers fly?
• What should Tommy have done when he saw Mr. Peabody take the apple?  Why?
• How are words powerful?
• Can Tommy ever repair the damage? 
• After the feather scene, what would you do if you were Tommy?
• Has anything like this ever happened to you?

I Believe in You.

“I can do anything…
be anything …
create anything …
dream anything …
become anything …
because you believe in me."

- Dalton Sherman

As a 10 year old boy from Dallas, Texas, Dalton Sherman was asked to address a crowd of teachers before the beginning of the school year.  In his speech, he asks teachers to believe in their students.  Watch the video below a post your responses in the Comments.  Comments are due by Friday, April 8.

Next week, you will be facing the MAP test.  As you go into it, be ready for some tough stuff.  But, know this:  you are ready for it.  You have practiced.  You have grown. You are capable. And, I believe in you.

Uncover Their True Identity

                                                                     Blue Xerces Butterfly
In Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective: The Big Swat, we meet a few interesting bugs.  Click on the links below to learn some information about the real versions.

Ace Lacewing - green lacewings
The Stinkbugs - stinkbugs
Xerces Blue -xerces blue butterfly
Madame Damselfly - damselflies
The Pillbugs - pillbugs
Roach - cockroaches
Zito Mosquito - mosquitos
The Tigerfly's - tigerflies
Hoppi Leafhopper - leaf hoppers
Mickey Mantis - praying mantis

Choose at least one to reseach using the provided link and summarize your findings in the comments section.  Comments are due by Friday, April 1 (no fooling :).

Extras:  Click on the book cover. 

User name:  jjtalburt

Password: trial

Search:  Ace Lacewing

View Online

A Bull, a Bee and Being True to Yourself

This week we are reading The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf.  Ferdinand is a bull who would rather sit and smell the flowers than fight the other bulls.  A group of bullfighters misjudge him as being ferocious when a bee lands on his back and choose him to be their next challenger.

The book was released just before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, and many saw it as a message for peace.  They thought that like Ferdinand, people should stop and smell the flowers instead of being caught up in challenging one another.  Countries who felt the war was necessary even banned the book for a time.

More recently, the book was featured in the movie The Blind Side, the true story of Michael Oher.  Michael was essentially homeless, living among poverty, drugs, fighting and desperation, until a family took him in as their own. The book and the movie both share the same message:

Follow your heart, and just because you're a bull, doesn't mean you have to act like one.

Explain what the message means to you and give an example of how you can apply it to your life.  Posts are due by Friday, March 18.

Faithful Elephants

"Above them, in the bright blue sky, the angry roar of enemy planes returned.  Bombs began to drop on Tokyo once more.  Still clinging to the elephants, the zoo keepers raised their fists to the sky and implored, 'Stop the war! Stop the war! Stop all wars!'"

Earlier this year, we studied the toll that World War 2 took on the Tokyo zoo in the book Faithful Elephants.  For fear that the zoo would be bombed, the animals set free and their people killed, zookeepers chose to put down their own animals.  The author, Yukio Tsuchiya, clearly takes an anti-war stance.  In a short paragraph, use at least three details and/ or from the story to support (agree with) or refute (disagree with) Tsuchiya's point of view. Posts are due by Friday, March 11.

Ueno Zoo Elephant Memorial

 Tokyo, Japan

The Great Kapok Tree

Last week we used nonfiction texts and the tale The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry to study the harmful effects of humans on ecosystems.  Read the questions below.  Select one to answer in the comments section.  Make sure to explain your thinking well.  Comments are due by Friday, March 4.

• Rewrite the ending of the story and tell what would have happened if the man had cut down the tree.  Predict what happens to the animals now that their home is gone.

• Think of some examples of ways humans harm the ecosystem.  If they know what they do is harmful, why do you think people still do them?

• If you were one of the animals in the rainforest, what would you say to the man to try to save their trees?

• Which animal do you think left the biggest impression on the man?  Explain why.

Exploring Ecosystems

Last week we began studying rainforest and desert ecosystems.  Click here to go to National Geographic Kids website.  Research an animal and post details that you find about your animal's ecosystem.  This can be what they eat (prey), what eats them (predators), a description of their habitat, etc.  Post your findings by Friday, Feb. 25.
  

Think Like a Detective

Detectives think critically about the crimes they are asked to solve.  They know that answers lie in the details of their investigation and keep track of everything in an organized way, like a notebook.

Using all that we have learned about reading nonfiction, we will be creating a Research Notebook about a topic of your choice.  Your Research Notebook might look like a collection of organized notes and drawings about your topic.  It might be a mini-nonfiction book that you've published about your topic.  No matter what you form you decide to present your findings, you will be asked to include many of the features we have been studying.

What nonfiction topic interests you?  Think like a detective.  Be specific.  What things do you want to know about your topic?

Post your topics and ideas by Wednesday, Feb. 16. 

Then, by Friday, Feb. 18, comment on another student's topic, suggesting  more questions or ideas for them to consider studying.

Let it Snow!

Snow Towards Evening by Melville Cane
Suddenly the sky turned gray
The day,
Which had been bitter and chill,
Grew soft and still.


Quietly
From some invisible blossoming tree


Millions of petals cool and white
Drifted and blew
Lifted and flew,
Fell with the falling night.

Read the above poem and comment on your thinking.  These can be connections, visualizations, powerful words or questions about the author's purpose or word choices.  Please comment by Friday, February 11.

Are Fables Better Than Facts?

"Fable is more historical than fact, because fact tells us about one man and fable tells us about a million men. "

-Gilbert K. Chesterton

Chesterton thought that fables were a better source to tell us what life was like in the past than history books.  In his opinion, history books only tell us about one person at a time, but fables tell us something about the flaws of all mankind.

Do you agree or disagree with Chesterton? Explain why or why not.  Make sure you give an example to back up your thinking.

Check back and comment on another student's thinking.

Your posts are due by Friday, Feb. 4.

Book Tweets

Twitter forces its users to share their ideas in 140 characters (letters, punctuation marks and spaces) or less.  It's based on the idea that "less is more."  Sometimes it is easier for us to talk on and on and on about our thinking than to simplify it to just a few words.  


Practice choosing your words carefully.  In the comments, "tweet" a summary of your book.  It needs to be short and to the point, but still give us a good idea of the book's meaning.


Check back to comment on other's ideas. 


Post due by Friday, January 28, 2011.

The Process

Reading and writing to respond to our classroom blog will be your Bellwork for the next few days.  Please read the posts and follow the directions to respond in the comments section.  

• Your comments must demonstrate good thinking.  Back up your opinions with evidence from a text whenever possible. 

• Responses to the prompt or to other students' thinking need to be appropriate.  Name calling will not be tolerated.

• If you disagree, that's fine.  Do it appropriately and back up your thinking.

• You must leave your name.  Choose the anonymous comment. Type your first name and last initial under your response (Jenny T.)

• You will receive a grade each week for your comment and your responses to your classmates.

• If you are waiting for a computer, you should be reading your IR book.  Don't waste your time.

Good luck!  I'm excited to see your thoughts!