See below for two great examples of personal narratives. I love the word choice and the use of dialogue! These two young authors really know how to tell a story! Stealing Candy I was at my house when my sister told me to come into her room to play. I went anyway to see how boring it was. There was pink paint on the wall and the smell of candy from the candy bag sitting on her bed. It all started on Saturday when a voice in my head told me to steal Brooke’s candy because it was Easter. A thought came to me, if I got caught what would happen? I did it anyway. When I saw her jumping up and down because she found something she wanted, I told her there was a present in the kitchen and she fell for it! So after she left to go find it, I snuck into her room and saw the candy bag sitting on the bed. It was almost heaven, my eyes grew wide and I was day dreaming about how much candy I would have after I stole it. So I quickly grabbed the bag and ran to my room. Thoughts were rapidly flowing about how much candy I would have. Nevermind why I wanted it, I just knew I wanted it. I opened the bag and my eyes grew wider and wider until I saw there was not much candy in there. There were two lollypops and a jawbreaker. After that I sat on the couch and ate the candy right in front of her. But she didn’t see me. When I was done, I threw it into the trash and waited for her to find out it was me. She saw the candy bag in the trash and yelled at everyone in the house. “WHO ATE MY CANDY!!!” I told her it was me who ate it and she chased me around the house for about 27 minutes. Of course she couldn’t chase me for that long but she actually did. Another thought came to me. “Don’t take things that are not yours!” --By Blake Sterling, 4th grade The Go Kart Race
I was waiting in a long crowded line, smoke was in the air. Finally the race in front of the people in front of me was over. Five boring minutes went by it was my turn. I rushed to number one. In the background you could hear, “I bet I’ll beat you,” first person. “Psh nuh uh,” second person. “Yu huh,” first person. “What kart will you pick?” third person. “Number 2, what about you?” fourth person. “Number 5,” third person. We started our engines slowly 3…2…1…go! I passed numbers five, four, six, eight, seven, nine, three, ten. Now I needed number two! I swerved, swirled, tossed and turned to-n-fro still no use. Then number two slowed down, now was my chance! I sped pass number two happily. Then I heard laughing of the twins. They hit my go kart SUPER hard. Then I got mad, REAL mad. I hit one twin then the other twin till they lost all of their speed. I passed them with a grin. Right when I was excited, number two passed me. “Guess I celebrated to early,” I said. But right then I knew what to do. I passed him nearly hitting his go kart. He got scared and stopped with a screeeeechh! Still he kept going. When he was about to pass me I passed the finish line! “I won! Victories mine!” I shouted. In the past 3 years before…I saw number one go by, I smelled the smoke and walked away step by step. I ran into a grown-up who asked, “What’s wrong?” “I’ll never be a cool kid,” I said. “Don’t let your hopes down, kid,” he said. I never knew what he meant until now. --By Andrew Pensiero, 4th grader I can't believe it's already the end of October. I love this time of year...the smell of the fall leaves, cozy blankets, candles, and EVERYTHING pumpkin...or better yet, a pumpkin candle! In school, we've gotten settled into our routines, and lots of learning is happening! Math: We are on cruising along in math, and I'm getting into some new lessons with both groups. It's so important to know your math facts, and the kids have a pretty good handle on those times tables! It sure is helping with long division with my 5/6 group. The 5/4 group is pushing trough "missing addends",(54-N=37), a pre -algebraic concept. Anytime you want to challenge your kiddo, give them a random problem or two. Writing: We continue the personal narrative "5 Step writing process" and are on Step 3, the revision phase. I will share the rubric for grading below. I know this is new to all of them, so we're taking it really slowly. I'm sure it will pay off in the long run. There is more to the writing process than you can imagine! Reading: I have sent home the graded rubric for their September book project in today's folder. Remember that the Oct. book project is due Nov. 9. In class, we are learning about story elements, and the official names for story structure. Again, this is new information for them, and I can really see the wheels spinning as they are taking in all this new information. Below you will also find a great description of all the different parts of a story. Please see if your child can identify them in the books they are reading at home. This is a big part of their book project every month. Religion: This chapter is focusing on the sacrament of the Eucharist. There will be a Unit 1 test coming up before the end the first quarter. Happy Halloween!!! Tuesday afternoon the kids are welcome to dress up and share a treat! Please keep both the costumes and the treats simple, and nothing too scary! Boo! Reading: We've had the first round of book project presentations and I have been really impressed! The next group will present today, and I'll send the rubrics home next week. Remember to keep reading every night. The Oct. book project will be due November 9. Students can choose any of the projects other than the one they did this month. See above for descriptions of all the choices. Writing: This week we are peer editing the first draft of the personal narrative. Next week we will take all those suggestions and work them into draft #2! I hope to have these all completed in time for the parent teacher conferences. Math: Assessment #4 will be this Friday for students in my classes. With the implementation of our new "G Suite" email, the best way to contact me is through this address:
[email protected] In a few weeks I will close the [email protected] email. Also, in the interest of doing my little part in saving the planet, I'd like to discontinue printing this weekly newsletter. If you would still like a paper copy, please let me know and I will send one home in the Wednesday folder. Book Project Ideas 1. BOARD GAME
2 HANGING MOBILE
3. BOOK JACKET
Create a timeline for the book you read. You need to include
Since some students seem to be having a problem with missing work, I’ve started a little incentive program. Each student has a “HOT” card(Homework On Time). Every time their assignment is done on time, they will get a punch. A full card equals a small treasure from me! Math: Unit 3 assessment will be Thursday.
Writing: We started our first draft last week. This will be due Monday. The expectation is two pages for grades ¾, three pages for my 5th graders. Mr. Davies has been working on how to punctuate dialogue, so each narrative should have at least 3 sentences of dialogue! Remember, I am looking for dialogue, feelings, and the inner thoughts of the writer. Use your senses! Tell me what you are hearing, seeing and feeling..maybe smelling? Reading: If you haven't heard, we started our September book projects this week. The students have had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to get a good head start. These projects are due Monday, so they will need to finish at home. I will post the expectations sheet below this post on the website as well. Students should have started a new book for the month of Oct. Please make sure they are still reading nightly at home. |