VBQ Assignment: Lion Pride

So far this year, we've learned a lot about answering text based questions. You are all professionals when it comes to restating and answering the questions, citing information and explaining your responses by quoting directly from the text. Well done!

Now let's take what we know and apply it to video based questions! Click here for a printable version of this week's assignment... Wild Inside the National Zoo: Lion Pride.

Watch the following video as many times as you need to. Pause it and rewind if necessary! Listen and take notes, so that you can answer the above questions completely. For 4 and 5, remember to cite the video with quotes!

For help with the written response questions, you can use this modified version of the RACE method.

Please send me your completed assignment before Friday.

Thanks,

How NOT to Take a Math Test

Hey kids!

In honor of the state assessments coming up in April and May, I thought you might get a kick out of these silly math answers...

 

Hee hee.

Thank you for taking your tests seriously.  I'm proud of you.

Happy testing!

Your fan,

The Emerald Isle

 

St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday celebrated all around the globe to honor the patron saint of Ireland. To celebrate this holiday, do as the Irish would do...  dance a jig, speak in your best Irish brogue and learn something new about The Emerald Isle.

Visit the websites below for information about Ireland or St. Patrick's Day. What is the most interesting fact you learned? Type it in the comment box to share with the class! Try to find a fact that none of your classmates have already written.

• People and Places: Ireland
• Hello Kids: St. Patrick's Day
• Education.com: The History of St. Patrick's Day

 

"May your thoughts be as glad as shamrocks,
May your heart be as light as song,
May each day bring you bright, happy hours,
That stay with you all the year long."

Find fun St. Patrick's Day activities here!

Erin Go Bragh!

Sunday Punday

Bethany sent me this cheesy (and very cute) pun.

Hee hee. That is toadally punny.

Thanks Beth!

3.1415... It's Pi Day!

Today, March 14, is Pi Day.

...and by Pi, I mean Pi (as in the math kind of Pi).

However, if you want to eat pie on Pi day, that's okay with me!

In fact, I think you should start the day with a pancake pie.

Have pot pie for lunch.

Order a pizza pie for dinner.

Then go straight for the chocolate cream pie.

But that's just me.

So, what is Pi?

 

This year, Pi Day is extra, extremely special. Because Pi Day falls on 3/14/15, it matches up with the first four numbers that follow the decimal point - 3.1415 - marking a once-in-a-lifetime coincidence.

Awesome!   Here are a few fun Pi Day resources:   Pi Day at the Exploratorium Scholastic Pie Day Fun How to Celebrate Pi Day Mrs. Highley's Class Make a Pi Necklace Celebrate the Circle  Pi Day Around the World TeachPi.org   

 

Students enjoying Pi Day at Western Connecticut State University.

Seriously, celebrating Pi Day is as easy as 3.141592653.

Have fun!

Captain Connections!

This week in language arts we had a special guest. Captain Connections!

Captain Connections is an expert when it comes to connecting what we read to our past experiences.

There are three types of connections we can make when we are reading: text to text, text to self, and text to world. The descriptions are listed below. Making connections helps with reading comprehension and it makes the story more enjoyable

 Here are a few prompts to help you think of a connection to text. 

If you're asked to make a connection and you can't think of one, you can always start with,

"If that happened to me, I would..."

or something along those lines.

 

We learned about citing text when answering text-based questions, right? Well, you can use the same method for writing about text connections! Here is a variation on the R.A.C.E. method we discussed earlier. 

 The RA part of your answer can come from one of the Super Connection Starters above. 

Here's an example of a thorough written connection. You can click on it to enlarge the text.

In class this week, we read a passage from Henry Huggins, by Beverly Cleary.

Then students were asked to make a connection and write about it!

 

Here are three student connections I'd like to share with you:

According to this passage, Henry Huggins led a mostly normal life until something surprising happened one day. In paragraph three, Henry "thought he would eat the ice cream cone, get on the bus, drop his dime in the slot, and ride home. That is not what happened." I felt like Henry when I found out that I had brain cancer six months ago. Life was normal until POW! Everything changed in an instant.  - By Makenzie

In the text Henry thought, "I wish something exciting would happen." Nothing has ever happened to me like this because my life is always full of adventure.  However, if I were Henry, I would find a way to make my life exciting.    - By Oracle

I can relate to the text about Henry Huggins in my own life.  In the passage it says, "Every Wednesday Henry rode downtown on the bus to go swimming at the Y.M.C.A".  This reminded me of when I lived in Hawaii and after school,  I would go to swim practice.  The passage brought back memories of the long swims and really long days.  The good part is that I became a really good swimmer.                -  By Hayden

 

Excellent work kids! Three different connections to the same text!

For a printable version of our Captain Connections notebook pages, click here. 

For the complete PowerPoint lesson, visit my TpT store!

Remember to make super connections when you are reading for an assignment or for pleasure!

It's Super!

Sunday Punday

March Quick Writes!

That's right kids! It's time for another installment of Quick Writes!

Here are our prompts for this month.

Remember, you only get 3 minutes to write!

I checked my leprechaun trap in the morning and to my surprise…

 

He crossed his fingers and opened the box, but then…

As I reached the end of the rainbow, I found a pot of...
 

Our post wouldn't be complete without a few student samples!

He crossed his fingers and opened the box, but then... a bird came shooting out of the box. He picked it up. His head started spinning. He felt dizzy. When he opened his eyes, he was in another world! He was in a meadow full of flowers. He picked one, when suddenly...                  

 By Elizabeth

He crossed his fingers and opened the box but then... A leprechaun jumped out and said "Please help us we are in danger of disappearing! “How can I help?" said the boy whose name was Alex. “Take this piece of paper and read the directions very carefully," said the leprechaun, "If you do not do this we will be gone forever. Alex, you are our only hope." With that the leprechaun disappeared, leaving Alex puzzled.             

  By Kaya

He crossed his fingers and opened the box but then... the Cat in the Hat jumped out and said, "I hope it’s a rainy day! We have a lot of fun planned!”                

 By Oracle

As I reached the end of the rainbow I found a pot of... soup. I tried it and it tasted good. Then I ate it all when I heard something walking out of the woods. It was a leprechaun! When he saw I ate it all he turned an even brighter green then he exploded.               

 By Lacie

At the end of the rainbow I found a pot of... diamonds. “Oh my gosh!” I yelled. I took it home and made a diamond watch. I wore it every day and it sparked so brightly that it blinded everyone I passed. At night I put it in a sure safe that no one could get into. Security guards would watch over my watch, so I had a watched watch...      

By Jacob

He crossed his fingers and opened the box, but then... he found nothing but a wiggly worm in it. He thought to himself, "Mom was supposed to make me a ham sandwich." He called his mother who was at work. "Mom, there is a worm in my lunchbox." He left a message. His mom called back and said, "Happy April Fool’s Day!"         

  By Elise

I checked my leprechaun trap in the morning and to my surprise... right there, in the middle of the trap, was a leprechaun! It took many tries, but I finally convinced him to lead me to his pot of gold. We wandered down a winding path through the forest and into a giant field. There it was, a shimmering pot of real gold! After that, I was very rich.              

 By Makenzie

Hee hee. Nice job kids! As usual.

If you would like to share one of your Quick Writes, type it up and send it to me.

Have a marvelous March!