Sunday, September 23, 2012

Unit 2: Inventive Thinking


We will start Unit 2 this week.  Our Essential Question for this unit is:
 
How does creativity change the world?

Brief Summary of Unit:
Through the pairing of fiction and nonfiction books on related topics, this unit builds on students’ understanding of the Renaissance as a period of new learning and discovery. This unit is particularly effective for teaching the research process, since the people involved or the historical context of particular inventions are most likely new to students. Students publish and present their research papers to the class. Students then find commonalities among inventors and innovators, share these insights in group discussions, and use this information as a springboard for their own innovative and creative writing. This unit sets in motion the reading, writing, researching, and word analysis processes that will be a hallmark of their fifth-grade year.

I have attached some information about the books we will read in this unit. 



Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer
Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series)
Toys!: Amazing Stories Behind Some Great Inventions



Here is a link to an interactive look at DaVinci's notebooks:


http://www.bl.uk/collections/treasures/leonardo/leonardo_broadband.htm?middle


Friday, September 21, 2012

Independent Reading Presentation

Students received information on a presentation due Friday, September 28th.  Students need to have finished reading a chapter book in order to give the presentation.  Students can present on any book they have finished since August 20th. 

I have copied the directions for the presentation below and included some examples I shared in class:
 

Example of a movie poster
 
Example of PowerPoint slides 


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Research Performance Task

 
 
 
 
Students will research a woman who has changed the world in the book, Amelia to Zora.  Students will create a word document about their person in the library on Thursday.  Students had classtime Tuesday and Wednesday to create a rough draft for the document.  Students will share in small groups.
 



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Unit One "Playing with Words" videos

Poetry Quiz Friday

Students completed a practice quiz today which will serve as a study guide for the Poetry Quiz on Friday.  I've attached a copy of the Practice Quiz in case it didn't make it home.




Name:                                                                          Date:                                       Period:           
Unit One Playing with Words - Poetry Test


1.)    Which of the following is a simile?
a.      His brain was soup
b.      My skin crawled
c.      Her hair was as black as a ravens
2.)    Which of the following is a metaphor?
a.      Her face is a beautiful rose
b.      Break a leg
c.      She is as shy as a mouse
3.)    Which of the following is an idiom?
a.      That’s a horse of a different color
b.      His voice stood out among the crowd
c.      He is a monkey gone wild
4.)    Which of the following is an adage?
a.      Sally sold sea shells
b.      All’s well that ends well
c.      Gigantic, purple monster eyes
5.)    Which of the following is a proverb?
a.      Blood is thicker than water
b.      He is right as rain
c.      Peter Piper picked peppers




6.)    Explain the meaning of the underlined idiom.
I will go to the movies with you when pigs fly.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7.)    Interpret the meaning of the following simile:
Mandy is mean as a snake especially when she is angry at you.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8.)    Interpret the meaning of the following metaphor:
He tripped over the television and ran into a table. Mom says he is a bull in a china closet.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9.)    Explain the meaning of the proverb.
“A bird in the hand, is worth two in the bush”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10.) Explain the following Adage.
“Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11.) What is the theme of a poem?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12.)  What does summarize mean?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13.) What is the meaning of the underlined phrase?
But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball;
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14.) What is the meaning of the underlined phrase?
The skylark and thrush,
The birds of the bush,
Sing louder around
To the bell's cheerful sound,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15.) What is the meaning of the underlined phrase?
The sun does arise,
And make happy the skies;
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Book Orders

Book Orders will come home Friday, September 14th.  Orders will be taken until Friday, September 28th.  You can order online and pay with a debit or credit card, or you can send cash or a check to school with your order form. 

If you choose to order online, you can order from a wider variety of choices than the paper book order offers.  Feel free to order for siblings as well. 

Here is the link to our ordering page:
https://orders.scholastic.com/GLWM2

Ordering online is fast and easy:
  •  REGISTER at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
  •  ENTER the Class Activation Code at the top of this letter
  •  CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia eBooks
  •  SUBMIT the order to your child's teacher
  •  EARN FREE Books for you and the classroom too!