Learning is fun!
Posted in bilingual, displays and deco, fifth grade, fourth grade, poetry, third grade, and writing
April is National Poetry Month! Third through fifth grades had fun in the Jackson Library writing Spring poems! Some wrote diamante poems about the atmosphere layers, some wrote acrostics in English, and some wrote Spanish acrostics. We used kite templates (see TPT links below) so we could post them on the library windows. The kids had fun writing the poems!
Posted in fifth grade, games, poetry, and writing
This week in the Jackson Library, fifth grade read Kobe Bryant’s Dear Basketball poem (we used MrsBlewettELA’s TPT Questions) and watched the Oscar-winning short animated movie. Fifth graders wrote a letter to SOMETHING they love. If they wrote a poem, they wadded up some paper to shoot a basket into the trash can. This idea is from Michael Bonner. Fun!
Embedded: Arthur, Garcia classes
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Posted in displays and deco, fifth grade, holiday, how to, picture book lesson, poetry, technology, and writing
Last week, in the Jackson Library, fifth graders had fun writing spooky haikus! This idea is from the book, Boo! Haiku. To get our brains warmed up, I showed the kids some student samples from a couple of years ago and then had them draw a spooky scene. Thinking about how to describe the scene helped the kids to get ideas for their haiku. The bilingual classes chose to write in English or Spanish. Other helpful tips: scatter SPOOKY words1 & spookywords2 on the tables as vocabulary enhancers, don’t ‘require’ use of the form/template- many kids wanted to write their poem rough draft right next to their drawing… Check out their spoooky creations!
MODIFY LESSON: SPOOKY words1
Posted in current events, fifth grade, picture book lesson, and science
Fifth graders learn how to track a hurricane after reading A Storm Called Katrina. We discussed Louis Armstrong and listened to his cornet skills. I showed them some elephant ear plants and we discussed why we are reading this story now and not in January. We talked about coordinates and mapped out Katrina’s path. The author’s use of imagery and foreshadowing was the reading focus of the lesson. We discussed what a levee is and showed photos of a levee break. The kids turned and talked with each other at their tables about the one thing they would grab if their home was about to flood. The author is very good at making the reader empathize with Louis and his family. You could tell the kids were really thinking about what the people in Louisiana had to endure and the resilience of the parishes rebuilding after every disaster.
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Hurricane Tracking
NOAA chart – use for copy center
Posted in fifth grade, poetry, technology, and writing
Fifth graders had fun in the library week before last creating selfie acrostics. It was a challenge to think of ways to use the letters in our names but it sure was fun!
Student Work 2021
Posted in fifth grade, holiday, poetry, and writing
This week in the Jackson Library, fifth graders learned about Dr. Martin Luther King’s powerful, peaceful words used to spur change for equality. I asked them to think about things going on in the world and what causes are important to them. They wrote their own ‘I Have a Dream’ excerpts to convey ways they want the world to improve. Check out their poems below!
George Couros
Student Template – short
Student Poems
Posted in apps, augmented reality, character education, fifth grade, fourth grade, holiday, technology, and third grade
Last week in the Jackson Library, I read excerpts of the Martin’s Big Words book to third and fourth graders. We discussed the power of his peaceful, persuasive words and how Martin’s use of words caused laws to change to promote equal rights in America. They used the augmented reality app, WeirdType to use some of Martin’s words as art. Check out more about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the WeirdType/Pokemon Go app designer below!
How To
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Student Work
This week in the Jackson Library, fifth graders explored the fascinating picture book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. First, we discussed topiaries and looked at pictures. Then we discussed foreshadowing and prepared ourselves to find how Van Allsburg uses the literary technique in his book. During the story, we completed the puzzle and discussed the vocabulary words. During check out, the kids rotated on the computers to play a Quizdini game about the book. After the story, the kids had to decide if the magician tricked Alan or if he really knew magic. It looks like FOX/Disney might be adapting the book into a movie version soon!
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Posted in fifth grade, fourth grade, third grade, and writing
February of this year, we read Kobe Bryant’s Dear Basketball poem (we used MrsBlewettELA’s TPT Questions) and watched the Oscar-winning short animated movie. Then, third through fifth grades wrote a “love letter” to SOMETHING they love. Check out their awesome work! Then, watch our video and check out the three-pointers!
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MrsBlewettELA’s TPT Dear Basketball Poem and Questions
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Student Writing
This idea came from Mr. Bonner! Check out his site: Bonnerville!
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Harlem Globetrotters
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2020 Quotable Quotes, Assoc. Press
“We are all Lakers today.” — Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, in a remark to reporters after the death of Kobe Bryant, Orlando, Fla., Jan. 26
Posted in character education, displays and deco, fifth grade, poetry, TTESS 1819, and writing
Last week in the Jackson Library, fifth graders researched famous African Americans. They synthesized research information into an acrostic poem highlighting important contributions of the person. Click through to see the people, A to Z!
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