Day One of MAP Testing is complete!

Excellent work, peeps!

Now... let's DANCE!

    See you tomorrow for Round Two!

Alumnus Shout Out!

Meet my friend and former student, Garrett.

He's an alumnus of Mrs. Sol's Class.

And he's awesome.

Top 5 Reasons Garrett is Awesome:

1.

He is friendly.

2.

He has a great sense of humor. 

3.

He's creative.

4.

He sends me cool stuff, like this...

5.

Even though he's in middle school, 
he still checks the blog and sends me k-mails!

#awesome

Thanks for keeping in touch, Garrett!

Take Vamp, for Inference

This is Vamp. She may look innocent here, but don't be fooled. 

Vamp is not a normal cat. She does things. Bratty things.

More on that later.

Today in class we learned about making inferences. This is something we do all the time when we are reading, enjoying movies, or even watching television commercials. To infer you need to find clues in the text and look for evidence in the pictures. You also use your background knowledge and pull from your past experiences to "read between the lines."

Here's a movie about inferences to help you understand the concept.

Got it?

Okay, let's give this a try.

What can you infer from this picture?

Mrs. Sol's response: I can see the boy has a blue tongue. From my past experience, I know that kids usually have blue tongues when they are eating something blue. I infer that the boy in the picture recently ate a blue popsicle, lollipop or candy (and he's happy about it). 

Now, use the same skills to infer details from a text passage...

Why is Jacob upset?

Jacob walked out of the shopping mall with his arms full of bags and the sun shining on him. As he approached his car, he started awkwardly feeling around his pockets with his arm full of bags. He did not find what he was looking for so he transferred the bags on one arm to the other arm, which already had bags. Jacob had a lot of bags on one arm. He still couldn't find what he was looking for. Now he dropped the bags and plunged both hands desperately into all of the pockets on his jeans. With a look of despair, Jacob ran to his car. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Then he saw something on the passenger seat of the car. He stopped looking and pulled his phone out of his pocket.


Based on evidence given in the text, why do you think Jacob is upset? What happened? What can you infer from the information you have?

Finally, here's a commercial that you may have seen.

What does the boy think when the car starts?

This commercial tells a story, but without words. Can you infer enough information to answer the question? Inferencing skills you must have, young padawan. 

Here are some fun resources to help you practice your inferencing skills.

Detective's Notebook Game

Inference Practice

5 Fun Inference Activities
Readquarium

Now back to Vamp.

[click to enlarge]

What is happening in the photo of Vamp? 

What evidence supports your answer?

Type your answer in the chat window.

Keep up the great work!

Pippi Connections - Chapter 2

One connection I made to Chapter 2 is when Pippi is being a Thing-Finder, because I like finding things too. On page 27, Pippi says a Thing-Finder is “someone who hunts for things, naturally.” She also says, “the whole world is full of things, and somebody has to look for them.” Like Pippi, I like hunting for things because it’s fun and you never know what you might find. - Andrew


I related to Pippi when she got into a fight with the bullies and said "you are cowards." At my school in Wisconsin there was always one boy in particular who would bully everyone, including me. He tried to act like he was tough but I knew he wasn't. I thought he was a coward because was he was scared to get told on so he would threaten kids. He would threaten them by saying he would punch them or beat them up. - Vivian


A connection I made in chapter two is how Annika and Tommy enjoy going to Pippi's house. This is similar to going to a friend's house, which I also enjoy. The texts states on page 24, " 'I knew, even while I was sleeping, that something exciting was going to happen today, but I didn't remember what it was'..." This explains Tommy is excited about going to Pippi's house. - Ember

Excellent connections, students! I love the way you used a quote directly from the text to support your response. Keep it up! 

We've Got Connections... Pippi Connections

Well, Chapter One of Pippi Longstocking started with a bang! We're enjoying this silly book already!

Neighbors?

Pets?

Friendship?
Pancakes?

Parents?

Monkeys wearing little hats?

Bedtime?

We can definitely relate to the characters and events in Pippi Longstocking! While reading we made a ton of connections. Check out our TEXT CONNECTIONS brainstorm from class today (click to enlarge)...

...and that's only Chapter One!

When we read we make connections to the setting, events, and characters.

 

Here are a few student connections to Chapter One: Pippi Moves into Villa Villekula. 

One of the connections I made is when Pippi wanted to make pancakes for Tommy and Annika. In the story it says, "She took three eggs and threw them up in the air. One fell down on her head and broke so that the yolk ran into her eyes, but the others  she caught skillfully in a bowl, where they smashed to pieces." This reminded me of the first time I tried to make eggs, it was really hard. This event also reminds me how much I like pancakes. - Melissa

A connection that I made with a character is Pippi's optimism.  I also like to think everything is going to work out in the end just like Pippi did with how she believes her dad would come back one day and was living on an island. I think she has a crazy idea about the island having cannibals and that doesn't seem very promising for her dad, but I think she is optimistic anyway.  

- Donovan

A connection that I made between Pippi and I is that we both would rather have caramel candy over cod liver oil. As it states on page 1, "No one to tell her to take cod liver oil, when she would much prefer caramel candy." We also both have longed for a horse. In the first paragraph of page 14 it says, "She had always longed for a horse, and now she has one, living on her front porch." Finally, we also both live in a very old house. In the first sentence of the whole book, it states, "In the garden, there was a very old house, and in that house lived Pippi Longstocking." - Lauren

One of the connections I made with the first chapter of Pippi Longstocking is about going to bed. On the first page it says "that was of course very nice because there was no one to tell her to go to bed just when she was having the most fun." The connection that I make with that is that my parents always tell me to go to bed right when I am having the most fun.  - Erik

Nice job kids!

I can't wait to hear what connections you make with Chapter Two!

Geo Lingo

Hey kids! This week are learning important geometry words that will come in handy. Remember to add pictures to your notebook Lingo pages too!

 

 

 ---------------------------------------------------------------

Please make sure your math notebook is up to date before our next class.

Here's a look at my notebook from this week...

Click on any image on this page to enlarge it.

Happy 2016!

Welcome back, Scholars!

Here is our January calendar. A printable version can be found in your k-mail inbox.

[click on the calendar for a closer look]

Remember, you'll need a copy of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren this month! 

You can find it at the library or a book store. It's a classic, so it's easy to find. 

More information about our novel unit can be found here.

Yay! 2016!