What Do You Do With a Chance?

To all my Brookdale friends, this is the book I picked to read to all of you during the last week of school. You all have amazing chances in your future.  Take them, and let the excitement of something new be more powerful than the fear of the unknown. See you soon kids.

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1711393647

Also an Octopus

Also an Octopus is a wonderful book to inspire kids to write their own stories. We all have a little bit of nothing, especially now, so why not turn that nothing into something creative.  Enjoy the read aloud, and the writing possibilities kids. 

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1684106002

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton was first published in 1942, and won the Caldecott Medal.  It's been a favorite of my students for years, so I wanted to share a read aloud of one of the best picture books I have ever read. Enjoy! 

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1684066083

The Imaginaries, Little Scraps of Larger Stories

This is a wonderful story that I hope gets you in the mood to do some creative writing kids.  Enjoy and create!

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1683234852

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Pena

A fun read aloud for everyone.

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1683173035

Secret Garden Metaphor...

When we read The Secret Garden, we dug deep into learning about metaphors, imagery, and layers of symbolism in a well written story. I picked these flowers from my garden today, put them in this vase, and thought about that story. Why do you think this image reminded me of the novel? For 4PA and 5PA, think of an explanation for the first ten minutes of our weekly Zoom meetings next week.

PA News

PA tests results will be shared through email on May 1st, contact school with any questions.  It has been nice to see everyone online, I've seen every classroom Zoom meeting and PA meetings over the last few weeks. The activities below are optional for my PA friends, but the students asked for some ideas.

3PA: Create a way to share your own personal ranking of the top 10 discoveries of Ancient Egypt.  Number 1 should be the most important and 10 is the, while still amazing, the least important on your list. 1-10...create your list and fully explain your choice, 1-10,  in any way you want.

4PA: We left off with reading poetry by Langston Hughes, who wrote about life 100 years ago in Harlem, NY in the 1920's. I wanted to take you on a trip through a period of time known as The Harlem Renaissance during our last weeks together. This week, explore this link: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/interactives/harlem/faces/index.html 
We can talk on Thursday about what you can create or share about your thinking. 

5PA: Capstone is back, optional, but I know my students want to share their plans to make the world a better place, and it's a good time for big picture problem solving. So kids, basic Mr. Schumann directions, by now I bet you know them already:

1.  Create a way to share facts from your research, provide evidence, that the problem you want to fix is, in fact, a problem.
2. What is your idea to fix the problem.
3. Format is your choice. 
4. Due May 25th, as we discussed on Friday kids. I'm so proud of you guys. 

Made by Maxine by Ruth Spiro

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1648843885

This book makes me think of what can be created with virtually nothing. Why not make something? 

Making Inferences: Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1663757804

This book is a favorite. Listen and think of all the parts the author left out, he wanted you to find them on your own. That's what making an inference when reading means.  Look for the breadcrumbs left by the author...

Happy Easter