Wednesday already?! Where does our time go?!
This morning we began thinking about the story we are going to write. We brought out the character trait sheet that we had done on our main character, and then got out one of the story maps we have been working with this week.
We talked about how we could use the story map to help us ensure we are including all of the elements in our own story.
Next students started filling in the map with ideas for their story. Tonight they should finish filling this out.
Who is going to be in their story? Fill in the characters
Where/when is the story taking place? Setting
What are the main events? plot
What is the problem/conflict the characters will face? conflict
What will be our message or what we want the reader to take from our story be? theme
We then talked a LOT more about producers and consumers. Not everyone understood the very important point that last night’s reading was trying to make: plants and animals (producers and consumers) depend upon each other for survival. Plants produce food, and oxygen for us. We produce carbon dioxide for them.
We watched a quick Bill Nye Video on plants. Tonight students should fill out a little worksheet about the video:
We read a lot more of The Mysterious Benedict Society, and things are really getting interesting as the kids are about to become secret agents at a mysterious school, from which devious signals are originating.
One of the students even tried to sneak the book off my desk and take a look ahead!
Finally, we talked about solving word problems. I ask that students begin solving word problems in a certain manner. Eventually we’ll get some freedom in how we solve them, but for now I would like them to follow my simple formula.
Read the problem. If you need to, underline important information, circle the question, etc.
Tell me HOW to solve the problem. DO NOT tell me something like “34 + 15”. There should be no numbers. Instead say something like
“First add how many apples Jim had to how many apples Dan had.”
Next do the operations. NOW we are actually doing 34 + 15. Make sure you have labels.
34 apples + 15 apples = 49 apples.
Next, tell me what that means.
This tells us how many apples they had altogether
Tonight students have a sheet of word problems. They only need to do the first 5 problems. They should do these on a separate sheet of paper. Included are the first 2 problems we did together, and the start of the third. These should serve as examples as to how the problems should be laid out and solved.
so, tl;dr
Story map about the story you will be writing:
Bill Nye video sheet
Word problems, done as the examples:
and as always, read read read!
Have a good one,
-Mr. Potter