Earthquake!

This morning at approximately 4:38 AM the Saint Louis Area experienced an earthquake. Tell us what you were thinking as you felt the earth shake!

Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop

I just finished my first Mark Twain nominee for the '08-'09 school year. As a lover of American history, I couldn't have picked a better book. Elizabeth Winthrop tells the story of young children working in Cotton Mills in Vermont in the early 1900s. Back then, kids as young as nine years old worked 13 hour days in horrible conditions. Entire families were forced to work just so they could eat meals that contained nothing more than potatoes. I was amazed when reading the conditions in which these families lived. Imagine being snatched from your lessons at school and forced to work in a factory with no open windows and no air conditioning with floors so filled with grease it was hard to stand. I would recommend this book to those readers who are confident in their abilities. It is a quick read but contains some challenging vocabulary. If you begin reading this book, let me know so I can assist you and engage in dialogue through this blog. It is in our school library.

Zach's Lie by Roland Smith

On page 97 Zach apologizes to Peter for punching him in the face. What are your feelings about Zach's apology and the conversation that takes place between the two boys? Be sure you are using complete sentences. Proof-read your post and check for spelling and grammar errors.

Great simile in A Week in the Woods!

On page 92 Andrew Clements chooses to use language beautifully with the following simile: "As quiet settled over the campsite, Mark Felt lie his ears were growing." Why do you think Mark was feeling this way?

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements

Mr. Maxwell refers to Mark as a "smart-faced kid" (p. 49). At this point in the story, what character traits does Mark have that allows Mr. Maxwell to form this opinion?

Monkey Man

We are reading Do You Know The Monkey Man by Dori Butler. What kind of thinking are you doing as I have been reading the book outloud? Share you're thinking here!

Introduce yourself!

Tell us how you came up with your nickname. Also, tell us what you enjoy doing in your free time. We are using this post as a practice to get us used to responding to blogs.

May-Bird and the Ever After Part 4

We have been studying the reading strategy of cause/effect recently. Identify at least two cause and effect relationships in our read-aloud book. Tell what is the cause and what is the effect.