We have been reading the famous poem, known to most as “Twas the night before Christmas,” in class.  We read it aloud together, listened to a recording, and students are creating storyboards to share with their families.  Today, each child will bring home their storyboard and the poem.

Tomorrow the kids are going to the holiday program to sing holiday songs. And on Wednesday were going to have a class party. Also Monday through Wednesday we will be reading holiday poetry. Last on the Monday we start reading holiday poetry we will be making gifts.  We are also going on a field trip to watch a basketball game.  (Kid Reporter: AC)

Teachers note: We work on poetry daily.  This week we are practicing determining theme, and supporting our claims with specific evidence from the text.  The groups  engaged in close reading with their chosen poems.  `

In class 4D, we have been working on poems this week in small groups.  We chose our poems from Mrs. Derr’s books.  We carefully read and reread our poems, and determined the theme of each one.  Today, we shared with each other.

And here is what we learned….

RM, AD and AR: In Our Poem ” SomeOne” we learned that do not be scared if you hear noises because it might just be animals making noises and tapping.

AT, SL, MT: We read “Snowball” by Shel Silverstein.  We learned that you should not get your hopes up for something.

AC and LT:  One of our poems was called “The Snowflake” by Walter de la Mare.  “The Snowflake was about when a snowflake wanted people to take a closer look before  they vanish. Also the theme of the poem is that you cant have something that will go away or vanish.  You  have to let something go.  Sometimes you just have to let something go even if you don’t want to.   My evidence is that in the poem it says “before i vanish come look at me.  Breathe and I vanish instantly! This is what me and my partner have been working on.  Now we know a lot.

EG and SM:  life is a love the lesson of this poem is to always care about someone. i really liked this poem because it teaching you stuff to always care about someone.

VM, MN, ET, MT:  we learned that this poem The Owl and the Pussy Cat by Edward Lear is about two animals that are in love a cat and a owl. They sailed in a sail boat for a year and a day to go the piggy-wig and their ring , Because they wanted to get married. Though they were very different. They got married the next day and had a dinner and danced under the moon light. We think the theme of this poem is that  even though you are different it doesn’t mean you cant like each other.

AN and AK: The theme of Emily Dickinson’s poem is that loneliness is like being trapped.  She feels the same as a flower, and she feels trapped like a flower.

CB and CT: “Nature is…” by William Blake.  The theme is that nature is everything, because everything is made of nature.

 

In 4C, we worked on the same project.  Here are our thoughts:

JS and JA: Day Before Christmas By:Marchette Chute Theme: You should get ready for Christmas the day before the lesson we learned from our partners poem is you should ask before you eat so you don’t get in trouble.

AA and CD: It’s All I Have to Bring Today By: Emily Dickinson .Theme : The theme is that nature does not lie. I think that because the first person in the poem  is in a place were nature changes the world . Also that all the bees which on the cover dwell. What we learned was that nature can be apart of life.

NF, EG, KT, MB: “Flint”, by Christina Rosetti. Different kinds of gems can be helpful, like flint makes fire.

EB: “This is just to say” by William Carlos Williams. I think the theme is you should always say sorry and to always forgive, even if they take something of yours.  What I learned from my partners is that you should always make the food for Christmas dinner the day before and make lots of food.

GW and LD: “Daddy Fell Into the Pond” by Alfred Noyes.  We think the author is trying to tell us that even on boring days something funny can happen and make people laugh.  We learned from our partners that beaches are a nice place to relax after a hard day at school.

PD and AT:  The theme is a metaphor, how every step has an effect on the world.  I learned from the other group that Polar bears can wear underwear too, and that gems have various colors.

BR and AP:  “This is just to say” by William Carlos Williams.  We learned that you shouldn’t steal people’s things , and to tell them. We learned to be patient for Christmas..

Class 4C has just finished chapter 5, and boy are we excited!

At the beginning of the book, we met Matt.  He is the leader of the Adventure Club.  His sister is Katie, and she is tagging along on the first adventure, because she has secret information about something sneaky Matt did that could get him in trouble. The club is camping out in Tony’s backyard, but they would rather be camping out at Lake Levart.  The club is reading a book called Adventures in History, and they are learning about the revolutionary war. They would like to have an adventure like George Washington had.  The members of the club decided that they should go to the lake once Tony’s parents have gone to sleep.  Tony told a spooky story about Lake Levart, and now weird things are happening!

 

We can’t wait to read on!

Thank you for stopping by.  We will be filling this site with wonderful literary adventures.  For now, though, make sure you read for twenty minutes and finish chapter five of George Washington’s Socks tonight.