Tellus Museum Visit

On our field trip to Tellus last week we learned and saw many things about rocks and minerals. What was your favorite part of the field trip? Did this experience help you understand rocks and minerals better? If so, how?

I Love Fall!

Fall is my favorite season! I love the crisp weather, football, pumpkins, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Do you like Fall? Tell me why or why not...

Visiting Dogs

In our story this week, Rosie the Visiting Dog, Rosie is a working dog. She helps people in many different ways. Have you ever met a visiting dog? What did they do?

"Siblingitis"

In our story this week, Ramona Forever, the Doctor writes Ramona a prescription for her "siblingitis." What was the prescription the Doctor wrote? Was this a normal prescription? Do you think it was a good prescription for him to write? why or why not?

In Because of Winn Dixie, Opal has been making new friends. She keeps finding out that many of the friends she has made were different than she thought they were. Amanda isn't so pinch faced after all and Gloria Dump is far from a scary witch! Do you think that Gloria Dump was right about not judging people before you get to know them?

Have you ever judged someone wrongly before you got to know them and then found out that you were very wrong? Tell us when and what happened.

Opal's New Friends

In Because of Winn Dixie, Opal has been making many new friends along the way in her new town. Who is your favorite friend so far? Why? Do you think that you would like being friends with this person too?

Name That Dog!

In the book, Because of Winn-Dixie, the main character Opal comes up with a very creative dog name. She has to quickly name the dog when she lies to the manager that the dog was hers. Do you think the name Winn-Dixie is a creative dog name? Do you like the name? If you had to come up with a creative dog name what name would you pick?

Friendship Helps!

In our new novel this week, the main character, Opal, makes many new friends. The people that she becomes friends with are people that she wouldn't normally become friends with because they are "different" than other people.

Have you ever made friends with someone that you wouldn't think you would normally be friends with? Who was it and why?

Basketball Dreams

In our story this week, Allie's Basketball Dreams, we learned about the main character Allie. She really wanted to be good at basketball. At first she wasn't the best player but she didn't give up and practiced very hard. Eventually she became a great player and really enjoyed playing the sport.

Has this ever happened to you? Write about a time that you had to work hard and practice at something to get better. Did it work?

Welcome to 3rd grade!

Wow! You are a third grader now! This week I want to know how you feel about coming back to school. Are you excited about third grade? If so, what are you excited about? Is there anything that you are nervous or worried about?

Also, tell me something that you hope to do this year.

Thanks for blogging! :)

Summer Reading List

The summertime is perfect for reading! Help our class make our very own "summer reading book list" by sharing with us your favorite book and why we should read it. Be sure to include the complete title and the author's name so that we can find the book. If you want to share more than one book, please do :)

Mother's Day is coming...

Mother's day is coming soon...which is why we are working so hard on our poetry! Mother's day is a special holiday that was created to honor our mother's and everything they do for us. Why do you think this holiday was created? Do you think it is a good idea? Why do you think your mom should be especially honored? What does she do for you that you think NO other mom does?!

My mom lets me talk to her on the phone for hours and listens to every little detail about my day :)

Poetry is as Open as a Box

The title is a simile! One of the many elements of poetry we have learned about so far. There are so many types of poems that poetry is like an open box- you never know what it is going to be like or what is inside!

What is your favorite type of poetry so far? Why and do you know any examples?

Rhymes with Orange

This week we learned about rhythym and rhyme- two elements of poetry! In thinking about rhyming words, one of my favorite comic strips popped into my head- "Rhymes with Orange"

Ha. Love it. Why do you think the name of the comic strip is clever? Can you think of any words that rhyme with orange? Are there are any other words that you can think of that don't have a rhyme match?

Brain Food

Did you know that eating a good breakfast can increase your memory and improve your concentration?! According to this website you need to eat a good mix of protein and carbohydrates to have a good school day! This will be especially important this week for the CRCT :)

I usually eat yogurt or cottage cheese for protein and fruits or an english muffin for breakfast. What do you think you will eat?! Will this help improve your concentration?

Spring Break

Spring break is almost here! woo hoo! On Saturday I am going to travel to California to see my brother, Miles. He lives in Laguna Beach, which is a really beautiful city along the coast. You can see the ocean from his balcony! We are going to take walks on the beach, visit San Diego, and maybe swim in the ocean. I can't wait to see my brother.

What are you doing for Spring Break? Write a paragraph about your plans, and what you are looking forward to.

Cocoa Ice

Our story this week has two settings; Santo Domingo and Maine. They are very different places with different cultures and climates. Which place would you like to live and why? Is there something specific about the place that makes you want to live there?

Boom Town

In the story Boom Town, the main character, Amanda, lives in a small town in California. Would you have liked living in a town like Amanda's in those days? Why or why not?

Yippee Yay!

In most movies and books, cowboys are depicted as wild, adventurous and "cool" characters. Do you think that life as a cowboy is really this way? If not, what do you think it is REALLy like? Would you like to be a cowboy? Why or why not?

Making Predictions

People make predictions everyday. The weather man predicts the weather and scientists predict experiments. Making predictions when you are reading is an important skill too! When you make a predicition you make an educated guess about what you think is going to happen in the story based on what you already know about the story so far.

What predictions can you make about the book you are reading for your lit circles. What do you think is going to happen? Will anything change for the characters? What will the outcomes be?

(***Do not ruin the book if you have already read it!!!)

The Crowded House

In our story this week, Bartholomew teaches the family a lesson in a clever way. Sometimes we don't appreciate things that we already have until they're gone!

I never would have appreciated having a sweet dog like Palmer if we hadn't had a crazy dog like Jerry! Have you ever learned a lesson like this?!

Lessons Learned

At the end of Chocolate Touch  the main character, John Midas, learns an important lesson. What lesson did HE learn? Did you learn any lessons from the story? If so, what lesson did you learn?

Chocolitis?!

When John's mother takes him to the doctor he is diagnosed with "chocolitis." Thank goodness this is not a real disease! Do you think you could come up with a better name for his disease? What would you name it and why?

Chocolate Touch

In the book Chocolate Touch, the main character John LOVES chocolate. He loves it so much that he would eat it ALL day long if he could. Do you think that you could eat chocolate all day long? I think I could!!!

I would eat dark chocolate if I could eat it all day long. What kind of chocolate would you eat? What is it like? Use adjectives to describe the chocolate and tell why you could eat it all day long!

Silly Coyote

This week we read Coyote Places the Stars. The coyote in our story makes constellations in the sky by shooting a bow and arrow. Can you find a sentence in the story that has an adjective in it? Write the sentence below and see if you can think of another adjective to add!

Papa Tells Chita a Story

In our story this week Chita asks her Papa to tell her a story. But this story is really more of a "tall tale." This means that parts of the story are exagerated. For example, Papa swims with a giant alligator and he makes it through safely!? Wow- that is definitely exagerated.

Have you ever told a "tall tale?" Have you ever told a story to someone that you exagerated a little bit? I know I have!!!

Sayings We Share

Aesop sure was one smart guy! Tell us about the fable you decided to listen to or read. What happened in the fable? Who were the main characters? (write a short summary). Also, be sure to tell us what lesson you learned!

"Slow and steady wins the race"