Several mysteries remain unanswered at this point in the novel.  Read the following mysteries of the book and using what you know about the characters and events from W2M, attempt to come up with possible explanations (at least 2 mysteries).

• Who is Mrs. Cadaver?


• Who is the lunatic?


• Why is someone leaving mysterious messages?


• Why has Mrs. Winterbottom disappeared?


• Where is Sal's Mother?


• Why does Ben live with MaryLou?

Questions:

1.  Based on your story and any other stories you  may be reading this week- why do people seek the unknown?

2.  How does science help us understand our world?

Can Cirque du Freak's message be summed up by one of the words or phrases below?

One of these words may lead you to understanding the theme of this Darren Shan story. Often, there are many themes.  What theme do you feel fits Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare?  Why? 

• 
  

  Birth - life after loss, life sustains tragedy

  
  


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  Death - death as mystery, death as a new beginning

  
  


• 
  

  Heroism - false heroism, heroism and conflicting values

  
  


• 
  

  Escape - escape from family pressures, escaping social constraints

  
  


• 
  

  Love - love sustains/fades with a challenge

  
  


• 
  

  Journey - most journeys lead back to home

  
  


• 
  

  Coming of age - boy becomes a man

  
  


• 
  

  Patriotism - inner conflicts stemming from patriotism

  
  


• 
  

  Peace and war - war is tragic, peace is fleeting

  
  


• 
  

  Hope - hope rebounds

  
  


• 
  

  Hopelessness - finding hope after tragedy

  
  


• 
  

  Generation gap - experience versus youthful strength

  
  


• 
  

  Home - security of a homestead

  
  


• 
  

  Betrayal - fading bonds of love

  
  


• 
  

  Power - Lust for power

  
  


• 
  

  Isolation - the isolation of a soul

  
  


• 
  

  Judgment - balance between justice and judgement

  
  


• 
  

  Fortune - a fall from grace and fortune

  
  


• 
  

  Family - destruction of family

  
  


• 
  

  Sense of self - finding strength from within

  
  


• 
  

  Good and evil - the coexistence of good and evil on earth

  
  


• 
  

  Duty - the ethics of killing for duty

  
  


• 
  

  Survival - man against nature

  
  


• 
  

  Conformity - industrialization and the conformity of man

  
  


• 
  

  Individualism - choosing between security and individualism

  
  


• 
  

  Deception - appearance versus reality

  
  


• 
  

  Race relations - learned racism

  
  


• 
  

  Suffering - suffering as a natural part of human experience

  
  


• 
  

  Alienation - creating emotional isolation

  
  


• 
  

  Loss - loss of innocence, loss of individualism

  
  


• 
  

  Discovery - conquering unknown, discovering strength

  
  

Hello Readers!What book do you have to recommend to our class?  Please share the following (but don't give too much away!)

• Title of the book (capitalize properly, please)


• Author of the book (check the spelling)


• A few sentences telling why you enjoyed it and why someone may want to read it.


• If you know where it can be found?  (library, classroom, you can lend it, or other...)

Hello Readers,

Don't forget to blog the progress of your most recent reading goal.  How have you been making an effort to improve as a reader?  Also, you may add any other reading thoughts that you have!

:) Ms. Hopkins

Freak the Mighty Thoughts & Wonders

Post your fun, funny, shocking, thoughtful, mind blowing memories or events of 5th Grade here!

.....

Thoughts?

Thoughts?

Thoughts?

Thoughts?

Thoughts?

Thoughts?

Thoughts?

What does the future hold for Melody?  Next week?  Next year?  High School?  Beyond? 

Explain the title of the novel.  What is your interpretation of this?

What is ironic about the events at the restaurant after the competition?  How does this scene foreshadow the events that led up to the airport fiasco?

What is the significance of the story of Ollie the fish?  How does Ollie's life mirror Melody?  Describe Melody's feelings when she is unable to tell her mother what really happened?

In a world that does not work for her, what seems to cause the biggest frustrations for Melody?

This week we are determining important information when reading nonfiction.  One technique to record facts, questions and responses is to use the FQR chart. 

Assignment:

1.  Please choose one of the links below and give a 2 sentence summary of the article (don't forget the the title!) and what it is generally about. :

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/animalsnature/can-animals-be-nice/

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/fuzzy-was-he/35321

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/rats/34351

http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-philadelphia-phillies/phillies-talk/Five-years-later-Thome-again-takes-the-f?blockID=685234&feedID=693

http://kidshealth.org/kid/nutrition/eat_pro/giants.html#cat20838

2.  Describe SIX total facts, questions and responses that you put into your chart.  (Please have at least one of each!)

3. Proofread and post by Thursday April 12.

This week we are talking about a wonderful reading technique : VISUALIZATION!!!  Visualizing what we are reading transforms us from being PASSIVE readers to ACTIVE readers!!!

This week, I would like you to search for 2 parts of your independent reading book that cause YOU to visualize and see the mental images.  Tell us what the author said (quote the passage) that made you visualize and then tell us what you pictured in detail.

Ms. Hopkins' Example:

In class we read, Where the Wild Things Are and here is one part that caused me to visualize:

"That very night in Max's room a forest grew and grew and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around."

As I read that passage, I thought about the words and I imagined what the characters looked like, what they were doing, and what their surroundings were like. I imagined a window with a moon shining through it. Saplings began to sprout and quickly grew leaves and stems. (The scene was like those time-lapse photography images you see on the Discovery Channel.) I saw little vines spreading their tendrils down the walls and across the ceiling, creeping until the leaves touched and overlapped each other. Before I knew it, the entire room was green and leafy, and much darker than before.

Hello!

This week in writing we have been focusing on persuasion. We have decided on topics, developed a thesis, and constructed our three supporting reasons.

In class you recieved a Time for Kids article "In the Middle." After reading this article use what we learned in class to complete your assignment:

- Develop a thesis on whether you think sixth graders belong in Elementary school, middle school, or a K-8 school.

- Decide on two reasons to support this thesis.

- Remember to keep in mind your audience when developing your thesis and reasons.

Check out other classmates blog and comment appropriately!

Dear Readers,

This week you've been discussing inferences with Ms. Paprocki. You have made inferences about visuals, articles, and poems. Now try to make some inferences about a book you are reading at home. Remember you can make inferences about word meanings, plot, and character analysis.

Here is your assignment:

- Read independently as you regularly do each night

- Listen to your inner voice as you make 3 inferences and note them with post-its

- Type up your blog in word or something similar

- Proofread

- Post it to the Blog by Thursday 2/2 before you get to school.

Check out other classmates blogs and comment appropriately.

Hello Bloggers!

 This week we are starting to talk about how persuasion is used in our world and most especially in advertisments (commercials).  In class, we noticed that there were THREE ways that advertisers try to appeal to consumers (people that buy stuff) or to try to get them to agree with their point of view. 

The three ways were:

1.  Emotional Appeal- try to make YOU the viewer feel emotion (excitement, pity, love, sorrow, etc)

2.  Trust- to to make YOU the viewer feel trusting because of the name or person in the commercial

3.  Logic/Reason- try to give you information that tells you this product or opinion makes sense

Tonight you must do one of the following to collect 5 ads and analyze them for how they are trying to appeal to you (remember, many ads use combinations):

1.  Watch kid-friendly TV (with parent's approval) and view at least 5 commercials.  Summarize the commercials, the product/opinion, and how they tried to appeal to you/why.

2.  Look through a magazine or newspaper and check out 5 appropriate ads. Summarize the ads, the product/opinion, and how they tried to appeal to you/why.

3.  View 5 ads/commercials on the Internet.  Summarize the ads, the product/opinion, and how they tried to appeal to you/why.

4.  Use a combination of the above to obtain 5.  Summarize the ads, the product/opinion, and how they tried to appeal to you/why.

**You may add a link to an appropriate ad or picture of an appropriate ad, if you'd like, for your classmates to view.

**Remember to check spelling, capitalization and grammar.  Proofread, please!

**You may add a comment or publish on your own blog.  Remember- hyperlinks and pictures don't work for comments.

Example: 

In the Pet Smart commercial, the cute puppy had a favorite toy and it became dirty. The owner threw it out and bought him the exact same toy from Pet Smart.  He was happy again and carrying his new toy with him. This had emotional appeal because many people feel happy seeing a cute, little puppy.  It also showed that we can trust Pet Smart to have the things we need to take care of our pets and make them happy.

Happy Holidays Class!  I hope that you are enjoying your winter break.

  Ms. Hopkins

Hello Readers!

This week we are still discussing all of the ways to activate our brains while reading.  One great way is to ASK QUESTIONS AND WONDER about the the text.  Your assignment for the weekly blog is this:

1.  Read independently, as usual.

2.  Keep your brain activated by asking questions and wondering about the text and jot those down -STOP & JOTS  (3-5 is a good amount for a 20-30 minute reading).

3.  Collect at least 2 nights of stop-and-jots that focus on questioning the text.

4.  Choose at least 5 of your best questions (perhaps you even discovered the answer) to post in your own blog. 

**Blogging Tips:  Type in word ...just in case.  *Spellcheck * Reread to make sure it sounds your best.  *Post on time and make sure it's been approved and posted (must check off "Publish").  *Comment on a classmate's post.*

Hola Bloggers!

This week we are taking a closer look at nonfiction text and its features.  We are also talking about using our inner voices while reading nonfiction.  Here is what you need to do for the blog this week (don't forget it is due before you get to school on Friday 11/11/11):

1.  Go to the Time for Kids Website and find an article that interests you

2.  Preview, read and reread the article, paying close attention to text features (titles, headings, labels, photos, captions, maps, graphs, etc).

3.  Notice your inner voice as it wonders, questions, and learns as you read.

4.  Use abbreviated notes to quickly note facts and what you are thinking (I never knew...Wow!...I learned...I was surprised... Cool!...I didn't  know...I can't believe...Oh no!...,That's news to me..Amazing!, etc)

5.   On your blog  tell the title/author of the article you read and share 3 of your thinking/fact jots about the article.

6.  Check your caps & spelling :)

7.  You will be graded on all of the above!

This past week each of you read non fiction pieces.  Please do the following:

1.  Make a comment about the story that you read- INCLUDE-> the title, a SHORT summary of the main idea or plot & your reaction to the piece.

2.  Read other kids' comments and make connections between your text or other connections. 

Hi Bloggers,

In class we have been practicing how to make inferences with books, paintings and song lyrics.  In your blog post this week, please leave a comment below that shows an example of an inference you made in a book, painting, song or even a commercial.  Remember, a proper inference, takes a logical guess (like being a detective) based on evidence and personal knowledge/ experience (schema).    If you would like to post the painting, (appropriate- only, please!) song lyrics, part of the text or upload the commercial that you used to infer....that would be GREAT!

Here's a link to paintings by Norman Rockwell, which work wonderfully for making inferences about the situations: http://tinyurl.com/3n8ju2q

 

Make sure your post uses proper grammar and spelling.  You may post more than once.

I'm looking forward to your first professional reading blog post!

Ms. Hopkins

All comments are due by Friday 10/28 at 8:15 am. 

What are your thoughts about the book Fig Pudding by Ralph Fletcher?

• Have you ever eaten fig pudding?


• Have you read other booksby Ralph Fletcher? 


• Here are some interesting links:  Figgy Pudding recipe ; Where did Fig Pudding Idea come from?; Books by Ralph Fletcher

 

Hi New Bloggers!

This is Ms. Hopkins checking in with you.

Let me know what you're going to be for Halloween?  What do you think the most popular costume will be?  Do you have any fall family traditions?