Captain Connections!

This week in SLASH 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.

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

Teachers, 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!

TBR: Ecosystems

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QUESTION:

According to the text, why does a temperate zone support many varieties of organisms?

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!

US History: The American Revolution

Hello fellow Americans!

Here is today's lesson. Feel free to watch, pause, rewind, pause again, as you complete your 5Ws Summary!

When?
 Where?
Who?
What?
Why?

Use the 5 W's to complete your notebook page. Then, combine all of the info into a short summary (not more than a few sentences)!

 

When you are done, edit your summary. Type it for your notebook page and then copy/paste it into the Google Form here. 

Here is my favorite video summary of the Revolutionary War...

Rebels with a Cause

Click here to find out how an untested army of American minute men were able to defeat a British superpower during the American Revolution.

US History: Road to the Revolution

Hey kids! Nice job in class today! As we navigate through our US History unit, we'll continue to work on summarizing.

Speaking of summarizing, here is a summary of what we've learned so far...

  Oh, how I love Schoolhouse Rock! Splishin' and a splashin'...

One nifty template to use when summarizing a story or historical event like The Road to the Revolution is a SWBST Chart.

Somebody...

Wanted...

But...

So...

Then...

The SWBST method will keep your summary concise and to the point!

Take the events that led to the Revolutionary, for example... 

"Somebody" could be the colonists. 

What did the colonists want?

But...
So...
Then...

Get it?

Use information in the lesson below to summarize the events that led to the Revolutionary War. Combine all of the information you listed and create a paragraph. Print your edited paragraph and glue it onto the notebook page above. Then, copy and paste your edited summary into this Google Form.

US History: Colonial America

5th graders are continuing along with the study of early American history. This week, Colonial America!

Here is today's lesson. Use this video as a review and to copy the vocabulary definitions into your SLASH notebook.

Use the lesson above to complete this week's SLASH assignment (due Friday):

RACE to SLASH!

Today's SLASH class was riveting! We continued working on ways to answer text-based questions completely. We have a fool-proof way to remember all of the parts of a convincing and thorough response. Just R.A.C.E. through it!

When we talk about R.A.C.E. Mrs. Sol's class is referring the "recipe" we use to remember the parts of a complete text-based response...

Read the question carefully. Does the question have many parts? Once you understand what is being asked, read through the text one more time and highlight the text evidence you find. If it's a magazine or book that you can't write in, you can use a sticky note to mark the spot.

When defending your answer, always cite information directly from the text! In our class, we take a quote from the text and copy it word for word. Since we are using someone else's writing, we always use quotation marks and cite where the quote came from.

The sentence starters above and in the R.A.C.E. printable will help you think of good ways to begin each sentence. For example, when quoting text, a good way to start might be:

In paragraph 2, the text states...

On page 32, Avi wrote...

In the article "Eskimo Life"...

Line 6 of the poem states... 

After citing the text and adding a direct quote, explain how the text excerpt proves your answer is correct. This is a good time to elaborate and add your own thoughts. Really convince the reader with the information and commentary you provide in your answer!

To explain further, here is an example of a complete text-based response. Click on the image to enlarge. 

What makes this a thorough and convincing answer?

We restated the question in our answer.

We answered all parts of the question.

We cited text, adding a quote from paragraph 3.

We explained our answer and added our thoughts.

So, in other words, we are awesome.

But what else is new?

Here is the TBR assignment for this week. Read the story called "The Wink" (above) and then answer the questions completely in your notebook. Use the information on this page and in your notebook to guide you. Edit your response as needed. Make sure words are spelled correctly, sentences are capitalized, and you remember all parts of the R.A.C.E. writing strategy. Then complete the online form before Friday (check your k-mail for the link).

Here's a peek at our notebook page for this week. The R.A.C.E. Flip Book!

You can print it at 75% if you want it smaller.

Thanks,

SLASH!

What's SLASH, you ask? It's Language Arts with a little Science, Social Studies and History mixed in. Since Language Arts involves a lot of reading, discussion and writing, many of our lessons will feature historical events, famous Americans, Washington history, scientific wonders and other general awesomeness. We'll even dive into a novel or two!

SLASH is a multiple-subject smorgasbord, if you will.

Anywho, I enjoyed seeing my students in Class Connect this week! Wow, I have a bright group this year! In SLASH today, students did an impressive job of reading aloud, finding evidence in the text and answering questions like old pros... AND IT WAS THE FIRST DAY!

 
We learned a handy "recipe" for making sure our answer is complete and convincing when talking about something we've read.

Are you ready to R.A.C.E.? 

Here is an example...

[click on any picture on this post to enlarge it]

If you'd like to print R.A.C.E. strategy information 

and sample text above click here.

Every week we will practice our text-based responses in one way or another, so by the end of the year you'll all be experts! This skill will come in handy in all courses from now, through college... and beyond.

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This year we will save all of our Math and SLASH Class Connect notes and assignments in a spiral notebook. By June, you will have a cool (and super-fat) spiral notebook with all of the lesson information from the ENTIRE YEAR in one place! Please remember to bring your math and ELA notebooks to class each week. Notebook pages will be sent via k-mail, so you can add them to your notebook before class. You can also find many of them here.

Here is a peek at my 5th grade SLASH spiral. 

Today's R.A.C.E. printable should be added, right after the Table of Contents.

I used the Grip and Rip technique to add my pages...

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Homework Due 10/7/15:

• Buy a spiral notebook (8.5 x 11 inch size), add cover label (4th or 5th), Table of Contents, and Intro to R.A.C.E. printable.
• Watch this R.A.C.E. Strategy presentation on Prezi. Read through the information and enlarge the text as needed (the zoom icon is on the right). Answer the questions thoroughly in your SLASH Spiral.