Our New Read-Aloud:

Wonder By RJ Palacio

We can't get enough of our new book, Wonder. It leaves us with so much to think about.

Be sure to record your thoughts and check out what others are thinking in our Edmodo site http://www.edmodo.com/home 

Nothing To Do by Douglas Wood

For best viewing, I encourage you to click on the title right above the video to view in YouTube, that way you can clearly see the words and pictures. Be sure to return here to post your comments!

When you finish watching the video, think about all the things you like to do when there is nothing to do. Post your ideas in the comment section. I encourage you to go beyond answering only video games. Try to show your understanding of the story by listing some really unique and interesting things you like to do.

Click the link to see the rest of the story: Nothing to Do part 2

Our new read aloud:

Chains

by Laurie Halse Anderson

They were supposed to be free. That was the promise that old Miss Mary Finch made to Isabel and her little sister Ruth before she died. She even put it in writing, though the man who wrote it up for her departed before her death, leaving no proof. Now the sisters have been sold to the Lockton household and things look bad. The Locktons are Loyalists living in New York City, and soon Isabel finds that the island itself makes for an ideal prison from which escape is near impossible.

With the Revolutionary War beginning and England taking over the city, Isabel is torn between aiding the Colonists or the Loyalists. Both sides fail to take slaves into account, using them as tools rather than people. To find her own way Isabel must use her head and determine whom it is that she can trust and how to use what little power she has. Each chapter begins with a quote from a real person or advertisement during this time period. An Author's Note at the end provides additional details, source notes for further reading, and clarifications on tricky points. ~ E.R. Bird, Amazon.com

Be sure to scroll down to the reader's notebook to fill in your thinking as we read parts of this moving story. We will not be reading the entire book, saving it for the 8th grade curriculum.

What we're reading in room 12

5th grade core literature:

Scroll through to preview the book

Sign Of The Beaver

by Elizabeth George Speare

When we return to school, each of you will receive a copy of Sign of the Beaver. Together we will read this interesting story about Matt, left in the woods to take care of himself, and his new indian friend Attean who helps him survive. This story helps us to learn how native Americans adapted to their environments, and the effect new colonists had on their communities. Along with this book we will be studying native tribes across the United States and how their way of life was related to the ecosystem they lived in.

The next class read-aloud:

Skeleton Man

by Joseph Bruchac

This native American legend, with a traditional story twist, is told through the eyes of Molly. Molly leads a fairly normal life until her parents suddenly disappear. The story is an eerie tale of her life since her parents' disappearance. She is convinced that her parents are still alive, but is not sure exactly where they are or why they have abandoned her. Molly is sent to live with a man who supposedly is her "uncle" even though she has never met him and whom she has very uneasy feelings about. Her "uncle" actually reminds her of an old Native American legend about a "Skeleton Man" that her father once told her about. Throughout the story Molly also has dreams that seem to be warning her of impending dangers. Although a bit scary, this story will leave you hanging on to every page as the mystery unfolds!

When You Reach Me

by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me, a young adult novel that was a winner of the 2010 Newbery Medal, was written by Rebecca Stead. Set in New York City in the late 1970s, it's an engrossing story about a young girl, her relationships with her friends, her single mother and her mother's boyfriend, and a mystery.

Miranda is in the sixth grade when she begins to receive a series of notes that indicate knowledge about Miranda's life that is seemingly impossible for anyone to have. Miranda's attempts to understand why she is receiving these notes and what they mean are beautifully illustrated through Miranda's interior monologues about growing up on the upper west side of Manhattan in 1979 and the trials and joys of sixth grade.

The story raises philosophical questions about the nature of time, the nature of friendship, courage and trust, and the meaning of life and death.

If you liked When You Reach Me,

you should try Rebecca Stead's other mysterious novel: