Short story to practice for graded assignment tomorrow.

Wishing Well Gets His Wish

“Look, Mom!” said Diana. “I won this frog at Irene’s backyard carnival. Isn’t he cute? I’m going to name him Wishing Well because I won him in the Wishing Well contest.”

            While Diana was talking to her mother, she put some water in the container and closed it up again. Wising Well bumped against the container as he hopped.

            “Do you think the frog will like being in that container?” asked Diana’s mother.

            “sure, It has water inside and holes in the top for air. I would like it if I were a frog,” Diana said.

            Really? Would you like it if someone put you in a tiny room with no toys, no friends, and nothing fun to do? You would have to eat whatever someone dropped in, even if it was Brussels sprouts.” Diana didn’t know what to say.

            “Well, you’d have to eat them if that was all you had. Think about it, Diana.”

            With a sign, Diana looked at Wishing Well bumping sadly around the plastic container. He was such a beautiful frog. It would be so nice to have him as a pet.

            Diana knew, however, that the pond was Wishing Well’s true home. She thought quietly for a minute. She could picture the frog lurking below the water with only his eyes showing. She could imagine him swimming under lily pads and catching bugs with his long tongue. Diana picked up the container. “Want to take a walk to the pond with me, Mom?” she asked with a smile.

Write Time

Setting Examples

Written by Mrs. Clark's class (We wrote these fast and did not get a chance to edit. :) )

I stood in my driveway. The crisp cool air of fall was surrounding me. I laid my bike, with only 2 weeks, next to my legs.  My dad should be out of the house momentarily.  The road looked long and skinny. I have never ridden a bike with 2 wheels before.  Luckily all of my neighbors were nestled in their house and not a person was to be seen on the street.   My dad exited the house and walked towards me. I knew I could do it but was scared for my life. “What if I fall and knock my 2 front teeth out? What if I break my arm?” I pondered.  “Let’s go dear!” shouted my dad. Here goes nothing I said under my breath.

Sitting at my desk I could barely keep my legs still. Today was our first Place Value test in Mrs. Tomlinson’s class.  The desks were in rows and each seat had a privacy fence, a folder to keep others’ eyes off your paper. The kid next to me was driving me crazy with the tapping pencil. He must have been nervous too.  The room was decorated with white posters teaching us all about Math and Science. Mrs. Tomlinson stood in the door way greeting each child as they walked in.  With my backpack next to my desk and my pencil ready, I sat waiting for the bell to ring and the test to begin.   “Ding!” went the bell. “Class let’s begin,” she enumerated.  Here goes nothing I thought to myself. It is my first grade of Fourth grade. I hope it is a good one.

         I stood and glared around isle 5. Cereal after cereal, there was Raisen Brand, Cheeries, Captain crunch but no mom.  We had come into the grocery store to grab just a few things. I turned around and she disappeared. My heart was throbbing. I didn’t want to have to live here forever.  People passed me by in a rush with their shopping carts filled to the brim. They must be pros at this grocery thing.  Above me, hung signs pointing to food in every direction. I could smell the fresh Rotisserie chicken from the bakery not far from me. The workers were announcing, “This store will be closing in 10 minutes.” I knew I shouldn’t panic. My mom would never leave me at Kroger. OR WOULD SHE? 

Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow

By: Nathan Bransford



Summary By: Michael Fernandez


Who:

Meet Jacob Wonderbar. He is a sixth-grader , and his teacher is Ms.Banks. When he is at school he always have tricks
to trick the subsitute that Ms .Banks gives his class. Until one day Ms. Banks gives a new subsitute to her class, Ms.Pinkerton.
See by her name she looks mean,right? Now Jacob cannot do his famous tricks when he tries it on this Pinkerton. So later that
evening his friends Sarah Daisy and Dexter Goldstein play with him until ,a man comes to his neighborhood and says he will
give the keys to his spaceship if someone gives him a corndog. Bad trade,right? So that 's just the beginning. Then exploring
the spaceship even gets worse when they get it on and test it. while reading the book you will find lots of things from Mick
Cracken to the Planet Paisley. So get ready readers for amazing blast-offed adventure with Jacob Wonderbar!






Why read it?:


1. If you like science in space you will love reading this book , because it will have lots of things in "space".
his book to your
2. Second , if you are a boy and get in to trouble this might be a book for you because Jacob Wonderbar usually get into trouble a lot.

3. Adventurous? Jacob is so adventurous. That is how he got into this space non-sense. You'll love this book if you like taking hikes
or you in boy or girl scouts. L

4. Want a laugh? Well here is a book for you from " What you are prince of space?" to" Ms Banks you Itake vacation here? "

5. Want 7.0 points for Accelerated Reader ( AR ) well read the book and get points BIG Time!

6. If you love to read fiction books , Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow , is fiction. Maybe it is time to add to your
need-to-read-book-list .
to read book list

How to Help My Child with Grammar?!

http://www.ellwood.goleta.k12.ca.us/GrammarGames/grammargames.html

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/la-grammar.html

http://www.chompchomp.com/exercises.htm

Write Time

More Moments Exploded

Let the Games Begin

Then came the games. The room mom announced to the kids in their seats, “Form 2 lines. It is girls against the boys.” The kids were a herd of elephants running to the floor. The adults all stood back for fear of death. “I wanna be first, no me,” rang out through the crowd. The room mom calmed the children and reviewed the directions. Each child was passed a chocolate shaped cone covered in foil. The first student was handed a pair of minutes. They had to open the candy with their mittens and pass them back. The timer started and the children were off.

Two Wheels

The training wheels were off and it was time to ride my two wheel bike. The kick stand held my bike just enough so the handle bars were off the ground. With dad trailing behind me, I approached my bike. I grasped my right hand around the rubber handle bar. My right leg was planted strongly on the cement for balance. I lifted my left leg and bent my knee into my chest. I reached for the left peg and planted my booty on the seat. “ Dad, I’m ready!” I hollered back.

Batter Up!

Batter Up!

Step by step. I nervously approached the batter’s box. My legs felt like jelly with each step. I spread my feet shoulder length apart. I gripped my hands around the cold metal bat with all my might. I crouch down, bending my knees just enough to have a little spring. Bringing the bat over my right shoulder about 6 inches above it, I bend my elbow and get ready! To my left in the diamond, stands the pitcher on the mound. He lifts his leg, winds up, and throws.  I see a white round circle with stitches coming towards me as fast as lightning bolt.  I thrash my arms forward.  “Strike One!” the umpire bellowed. My heart sank. I prepared myself again. The pitcher winds up. Within seconds, I hear a smack. It sounded like the 4^th of July. The ball went soaring through the air.  Over the first tree, over the fence, and it was gone. The crowd goes wild! HOME RUN!

How can I help my child in writing?

NARRATIVE

How can I help my children with narrative writing? I am so glad you asked! J

It is important that students are completing their pre-writing (STARS) and complete story for every prompt. After they have finished here are a few questions you can help conference with your child:

Did they describe where they are at in detail? They should build their setting, not describe it.

Did they pick one small moment and describe it?  One setting and one place.

Can you tell what they are thinking throughout the story?

Do they have a Show, Not tell?

If they answer yes to all these questions they should be ready to go. There are a few examples on my blog.

This week...

Reading- We are studying the elements of fiction  this week. It is important to identify the plot elements in stories, and to be able to use those events to write a summary. Students will take a literary fiction plot quiz on Friday!

Writing: Students will begin writing their second narrative paper of the school year. This piece of writing will focus on a favorite moment with a special person.

Math – This week students will continue using addition and subtraction to solve problems. We will also round and estimate to approximate results in problem solving situations. The Addition & Subtraction Study Guide is due on 9/27 and the test is on 9/28 – Major Grade.

Science – This week students will continue learning about the classification of animals and how to compare adaptive characteristics of various species.

Social Studies – Now that we have learned about the Native Americans, we are ready to discuss the explorers who came to Texas next. These explorers were all in search of land and riches.

**Retests are only offered on major grades. Major grades will be labeled as such in the newsletter.

Write Time

This week...

Reading- Students will delve into the world of characterization this week. We will analyze text to discover clues about character traits and relationships.

Writing: Students will finish the rough draft of a narrative paper centered on a special place. We will also complete the revising and editing process to polish our writing before publishing. There will be a grammar quiz on Friday covering the rules we have learned so far this year.

Math – This week students will begin using addition and subtraction to solve problems. We will also round and estimate to approximate results in problem solving situations.

Science – Students will demonstrate knowledge of safe laboratory practices and scientific process skills. Scientific process skills test on Tuesday.**  Students will begin next unit by learning to compare adaptive characteristics of various species.

Social Studies – We will continue to look at the first Texas, the Native Americans. We will learn about the differences in tribes.

**Retests are only offered on major grades. Major grades will be labeled as such in the newsletter.

Explode the Moment

    I sat with my fingers glued in my mouth. I had bitten all my nails off earlier this morning. My legs trembled with fear. Today, A&M started their SEC season and we really needed a win. The T.V. screen grew quiet. "The moment we have been waiting for," announced the commentators. The stands were bleeding maroon. Young and old stood to support their team. "I wish I could be there," I pondered aloud to myself.  The whistle blew. We won the toss and were going to kick first. I felt sick. Peering at the screen, a line of Texas A&M football players charged towards the middle of the field. "Gig em; Aggies" was all I could hear.  Next thing I knew, the football was soaring.

FANBOYS

FANBOYS Chant

Do you know your conjunctions?

FANBOYS are our conjunctions.

Do you know the rule of thumb?

Comma then a conjunction.

Sound off:  One.  Two.

Sound off:  Three. Four.

For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Sound off:  One.  Two.

Sound off:  Three. Four.

Break It On Down

One, two, three, four

Break It on Down

One, two, three, four

Objectives This Week....

Reading- This week in reading our focus is on visualizing, drawing conclusions, and questioning as we read. All of this helps us determine what is important. Being able to acknowledge the important features of what we have read is one of the keystones of being a good reader.

Writing: Students will work on the prewriting and rough draft for our first paper. We will focus on our senses and incorporate our thoughts and feelings into our writing.

Math – This week students will continue to use place value to read, write, compare and Decimals. We will have a Decimal Place Value Test on Tuesday for our first Major Grade.  We will then be working on rounding whole numbers to the nearest 10, 100, or 1,000 to approximate reasonable results.

Science – Students will describe how to demonstrate safety during investigations, discover new information using the scientific process, as well as identify and explain how to use scientific tools. Students will conduct experiments in a laboratory setting and explore the functions of controlled variables.

Social Studies – We will continue to look at the first Texas, the Native Americans. We will learn about the differences in tribes and focus on our vocabulary words. There will be vocabulary test Friday.**

Spelling Test

First test this Friday! :)

Today we are working on Text Features for Literary Fiction/Non-Fiction Text.

This week...

Reading- Students will look at text features across different genres. We will discuss why they are important and how they help us understand. We will create a notes flip chart that students can use for an open notes quiz on Friday!

Writing: This week students will focus on how to generate good ideas for narrative writing. We will also learn how to make an everyday moment exciting and new.

Math – This week students will continue to use place value to read, write, compare and order whole numbers. We will also begin Decimal Place Value.  Comparing the decimals to money will be important in student understanding of decimals at this point.  Later in the year we will compare decimals in more detail to fractions, which will also aid in student understanding.

Science – Students will describe how to demonstrate safety during investigations, discover new information using the scientific process, as well as identify and explain how to use scientific tools.

Social Studies – Students will learn about the Native American tribes that were the firstTexans. We will begin work on a flip chart to record important information about each tribe. Students will also get their vocabulary for this unit to begin studying for a quiz to come.