Language Work - Adverbs

Hi, everyone! This week we're going to talk about a very special part of speech called the ADVERB! Adverbs are words that describe verbs or adjectives. They answer questions about verbs - specifically WHERE? WHEN? HOW?

Watch this video and see what I mean!

Let's do some practice. Try to find the adverb in the following sentence:

We're going out tomorrow to see if we can find any good carving pumpkins. (clue: It's an adverb that answers the question "where?")

A tip to finding the adverb is to first find the verb. This makes sense because adverbs describe verbs. So, what's a verb in the sentence? The word "going" is a verb. Now, look for the word that describes WHERE we're going. The answer is "out"! Let's try another one!

We're going out tomorrow to see if we can find any good carving pumpkins. (clue: There's another adverb in this sentence that answers the question "when?")

We already answered the question of where we're going. Now we can answer the question of when we're going. The answer is "tomorrow"! Let's try one last example.

The little boy waited patiently for his mom to finish talking on the phone before he asked for candy. (clue: This adverb answers the question "how?")

Again, look for a verb. Most sentences have more than one, so just start at the beginning and see what you can find. I see the verb "waited". How did the boy wait? The answer is "patiently". That's an adverb that answers the question "how?"

For your language work, I want you to find FIVE sentences in your independent reading book that contain adverbs and for each one tell me if the adverb answers the question where, when or how. Copy the sentence onto a piece of paper, circle the adverb and write where, when or how above it. If you have questions or need help, ask me before Friday! I'll be checking it then!

Language Work - Subjects and Predicates

Since most of you are spending lots of time during your independent reading intervention working on responses, and since you did such a great job with prepositions, we're going to add some language work to your weekly independent reading assignments. Sounds fun, right?! Let's get to it!

On your language pretest, almost everyone bombed the subject and predicate sections, which we all pretty much knew would happen since we've never talked about any of that before. So let's talk about it, shall we?!

I bet I know what your first questions are: What is a subject? What is a predicate? Simply put, a subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about. The predicate tells something about the subject - usually the action of the sentence.

Here, watch this School House Rock video and you'll see what I mean:

 
Mr. Morton was the subject of all of the sentences in that song. The various things he did were the predicates of each sentence. Need more help understanding? Watch this short prezi: http://prezi.com/_af1oxhxetzw/subjects-and-predicates/

Your assignment for the week is to identify the subject and predicate of five sentences from your independent reading book. It should look like this:

 

Just simply write the sentence out and then circle the subject and underline the predicate. Do that with five sentences and you're done! Check in with me throughout the week if you have questions or just want to see if you're doing it correctly. Have fun! :)

Independent Reading Responses!

Hey, if you'd like to use the blog to respond to your independent reading books, go ahead and leave your comment here! :)

Journal Question #1 - Week of 5/13/13

Sometimes I read a book that really changes the way I think or see the world. Has this novel changed you—broadened your perspective? Have you learned something new or been exposed to different ideas about people or a certain part of the world?

Journal Question #2 - Week of 5/13/13

Were there any particular quotes or passages in this book that stood out to you? Maybe something that you thought was very wise, powerful, funny or particularly sad? Why did it stand out to you?

Journal Question #3 - Week of 5/13/13

Has anything ever happened to you similar to anything that happened in your book? How did you react to it differently?

Journal Question #4 - Week of 5/13/13

If you could be friends with any of the characters in your book, who would you be friends with and why? What would make that person a good friend for you? If you could smack any character upside the head, who would it be and why?

Computer Games

Need some good sites for computer games? Try these out!

Ferry Halim - This website has dozens of games to play that are fun and addictive. Try my first favorite The Amazing Dare Dozen, the hauntingly beautiful Constellations, or the extremely frustrating Cats. Stupid cats.

CLOP - Use the HJKL keys to try to get a unicorn to run. Sounds easy right? Riiiiiight...

This Is Sand - Click on that link, and you'll just be looking at a blank gray screen. Lame. Or is it? Double click and see what happens. :)

Color - Think you know color? Try this game! It's really fun!

Incredibox - Like music? Conduct your own a capella beatbox vocal group. Add dudes to your band and assign them effects, beats, and vocals. Take guys away, bring in more, and craft a killer composition.

Draw a Stickman - Or, if you like to draw, try this game and see what kind of trouble you can get a stickman (or woman) into!

Factory Balls - This is a tough one! Paint a ball to look like the one on the box - harder than it sounds!

QWOP - You thought CLOP was tough? Oh dear...

GIRP - This time you're a rock climber. Good luck!

Code Orange - Extra Credit Responses

If you are reading Code Orange for extra credit in Mr. Williams' or Mrs. Faichney's class, put your responses here. Yay for more points!

How to Make a Hexaflexagon

Try it!

3D Printing - How Does it Work?

After watching the 3D pen video, some people had questions about how it works. Really, 3D printing technology has been around for a few years. Here's a video that shows the basics of how a 3D printer works. Check it out!

What would you create if you had access to a 3D printer?

Cool Stuff I Found While Looking Around

Hey all! I hope your ISAT tests are going well and you're trying your best on each one! I know it's going to be hard to be super quiet for the next week, so I thought I would put up some "fun" stuff for you to watch and respond to.

Below this post you will find several video segments. They might be silly, thought-provoking or informative. Feel free to respond to any or all of them. This week's blog is not a grade - just something fun to do to keep you from going insane with all the quiet. Remember to make sure your headphones are plugged in and keep the volume to a reasonable level so you don't bother anyone too much. Have fun clicking around! :)

Video #1 - Caught Red (Sprinkle) Faced

I feel like Max would do something like this. What shenanigans did you pull when you were little?

Video #2 - Christian the Lion

This is one of my favorite animal stories of all time. Watch what happens when two guys who raised an abused lion are reunited with him after he was released into the wild.

Video #3 - Kid President

Kid president!

Video #4 - Hexaflexagons

The maker of this video is Vi Hart, and she's pretty much my math hero. Watch this video on hexaflexagons, be AMAZED, and then go try to make one yourself!

Video #5 - Ball Pit Friends

This is one of my favorite videos right now. Such a simple idea, and yet, who would ever think to do this? Would you sit in the ball pit and make friends with a stranger?

Video #6 - 3D Pen Lets You Write in the Air

Holy cow! This is crazy! I had heard of 3D printing before, but to be able to WRITE and DRAW in 3D. That's NUTS! What do you guys think? What would you draw?

To This Day Project - Shane Koyczan

Feel free to respond to this amazing spoken word poem.

The Beatles - Hey Jude

Remember last week when I told you that music was poetry? It was no joke! This week I want you to choose a video to watch and study the lyrics of. You get to pick the video - this is not categorized by hour! After you watch the video, I want you to talk about what you think the song means in the comments section. You can respond to what other people have said or ask them questions about their responses.

Something to keep in mind - when you say what you THINK the song means, you need to be able to back it up with evidence. So in addition to saying what you think the meaning is, you also have to tell me why you think that. Have fun!

This one is just for today. :) Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall

Remember last week when I told you that music was poetry? It was no joke! This week I want you to choose a video to watch and study the lyrics of. You get to pick the video - this is not categorized by hour! After you watch the video, I want you to talk about what you think the song means in the comments section. You can respond to what other people have said or ask them questions about their responses.

Something to keep in mind - when you say what you THINK the song means, you need to be able to back it up with evidence. So in addition to saying what you think the meaning is, you also have to tell me why you think that. Have fun!

Muse - Uprising

Remember last week when I told you that music was poetry? It was no joke! This week I want you to choose a video to watch and study the lyrics of. You get to pick the video - this is not categorized by hour! After you watch the video, I want you to talk about what you think the song means in the comments section. You can respond to what other people have said or ask them questions about their responses.

Something to keep in mind - when you say what you THINK the song means, you need to be able to back it up with evidence. So in addition to saying what you think the meaning is, you also have to tell me why you think that. Have fun!

Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love?

Remember last week when I told you that music was poetry? It was no joke! This week I want you to choose a video to watch and study the lyrics of. You get to pick the video - this is not categorized by hour! After you watch the video, I want you to talk about what you think the song means in the comments section. You can respond to what other people have said or ask them questions about their responses.

Something to keep in mind - when you say what you THINK the song means, you need to be able to back it up with evidence. So in addition to saying what you think the meaning is, you also have to tell me why you think that. Have fun!

The Beatles - Let it Be

Remember last week when I told you that music was poetry? It was no joke! This week I want you to choose a video to watch and study the lyrics of. You get to pick the video - this is not categorized by hour! After you watch the video, I want you to talk about what you think the song means in the comments section. You can respond to what other people have said or ask them questions about their responses.

Something to keep in mind - when you say what you THINK the song means, you need to be able to back it up with evidence. So in addition to saying what you think the meaning is, you also have to tell me why you think that. Have fun!

Adele - Set Fire to the Rain

Remember last week when I told you that music was poetry? It was no joke! This week I want you to choose a video to watch and study the lyrics of. You get to pick the video - this is not categorized by hour! After you watch the video, I want you to talk about what you think the song means in the comments section. You can respond to what other people have said or ask them questions about their responses.

Something to keep in mind - when you say what you THINK the song means, you need to be able to back it up with evidence. So in addition to saying what you think the meaning is, you also have to tell me why you think that. Have fun!

1st Hour - Week of 1-28-13

Εμπρός, tι κάνεις? That means "Hello, how are you?" in Greek and it's pronounced "Embrós, ti kánis?"

As you know, last week and this week we're focusing on words we use in everyday English that have Greek and Latin roots. You guys made some really helpful posters that are now hanging in the classroom, but in case you'd like to see a list of roots online, here's where I got the ones we used in class: https://www.msu.edu/~defores1/gre/roots/gre_rts_afx2.htm?...

If your root word isn't on that list, try looking it up on dictionary.com. I've found a few there that surprisingly weren't on our original list (like "trans" and "ad").

Something a few people have asked me since we started talking about Greek and Latin roots last week is if you're supposed to find words you don't know or words you do know. Either is fine. The goal is to find words you don't know that contain Greek or Latin roots and use your knowledge of the root word to help you figure out the meaning of the overall word. However, if you can't find a word that you don't know, but you spot a familiar root in a word you do know, you can use it for your assignment. Clear as mud? :)

If you have questions or need help figuring out if a word contains a Greek or Latin root word, just let me know! Διασκεδάζω (pronounced diaskedazo), or in other words, have fun! :)

1st Hour - Week of 1-14-13

Last week, lots of you were asking if you could write about words you didn't know, and I told you we would talk about those kinds of words soon. So, that's what we're doing this week! I hope you're all ready to talk about words you just flat out don't know!

Today we read the short story "Mr. Entwhistle" by Jean Little. In it, we read about a misunderstanding between a substitute teacher and a student named Kate. Mr. Enwhistle is the kind of sub that wants to show everyone right off the bat that he is in charge and won't put up with any funny business. Kate is in trouble for not answering Mr. Entwhistle when he asks what her name is, and Kate is very confused because she didn't even know that Mr. Entwhistle was talking to her. Mr. Entwhistle's anger escalates to the point of him frantically shrieking at her and threatening to send her to the office, when he suddenly realizes that he has made a mistake in being angry with Kate.

The paragraph where he finally realizes his error goes like this: "Then it was as though someone said, 'Will the real Mr. Entwhistle please stand up?' The bombast went out of him. For one more moment, he hesitated." The word "bombast" was somewhat unfamiliar to me. I felt like I had seen it before, and I thought maybe it meant "fight". I thought about the way Mr. Entwhistle suddenly changed - how he went from being very angry and flustered to being calmer and realizing he was wrong. "Fight" made sense to me - like all the fight went out of him. Still, I wasn't sure that was right, so I looked it up in the dictionary and found that it meant "pretentious speech or talk", which means he was speaking in a manner that made it seem like everything he said was very important. So, basically, Mr. Entwhistle thought he was very important and was talking in a way that reflected that, and then he changed his mind when he realized how that attitude had steered him wrong.

I was way off! I'm glad I looked up that word! This week, as you're trying to figure out words you don't know, stop and use information from the story to help you figure out the word. Get the best definition you can from what you know. If you still don't feel good about it, look it up in the dictionary. Good luck this week! Let me know if you have any questions!

1st Hour - Week of 1-7-13

Hi, kids! :) This week, and for the next several weeks, we're focusing on figuring out words that confuse us while we're reading. Remember that you're trying to practice a specific strategy based on the mini-lesson I taught you on Monday. This week was all about those tricky words that have more than one meaning.

Sometimes a word has more than one meaning and we can be super familiar with some of the definitions of that word, but not understand other ways it can be used. This happened to me when I read the book The Little Ships. On the first page, I read the word "smack", but it wasn't used in a way that made sense to me. The sentence it was in read, "My father, Martin Gates, owned the Lucy, a sturdy fishing smack." The definition I know of smack is "to hit someone or something with your hand" or like the sound you make when you smack your lips. But neither of those definitions of "smack" made sense in that sentence.

To help myself figure it out, I decided to use other information on that page that might tell me more about this kind of "smack". The author said the Lucy smelled of herring and mackerel and cod, which I know are types of fish. Later on the same page, we find out that the narrator's father is a fisherman. From these context clues, I can infer that the Lucy is a fishing boat. I looked it up in the dictionary to make sure, and I was right! It said a smack was a fishing boat, sometimes with a well for keeping live catches. Woohoo!

So now that we know that words we're normally familiar with sometimes have meanings that are completely foreign to us, we can stop ourselves to make sure that we understand the correct definition before we move on. If I had read on thinking the Lucy was a way to hit someone, I would have certainly been confused!

You're ready to do one on your own! Use your vocabulary blog organizer to write a response like the one I did above. Since you guys didn't get to hear the mini-lesson until Wednesday, you only have to define one word. Have fun and let me know if you have any questions!