Hi guys! Sorry to be out today. Timmy is sick so I needed to stay home with him. I bet all of you have been having a fun time with Miss Wills.

HERE IS YOUR SCHEDULE FOR THE COMPUTER LAB:

1.) Read the post below about SIMILES. Then leave a comment with a simile that you will be using to describe your hero/heroine in the fairy tale you are writing.

2.) Go to the ON-LINE WORK tab and choose one plural noun game AND one prefix/suffix game to play.

3.) You may spend the rest of the time doing math or language arts games from our blog.

While reading fairy tales the past few weeks, we have been noting some of our favorite character traits and descriptions used by the authors. We noticed that in many of The Brothers Grimm tales, characters are compared to something so that we can better imagine them.

 

“… child white as snow, red as blood, and hair as black as ebony…” (Snow White)

“Her golden hair shone like the sun.” (Rapunzel)

Remember that when an author compares two unlike things (hair and sun) using like or as this is called a SIMILE.  (Still not sure what a simile is? Rewatch  this amazing Simile Video - scroll down- made by Mr. Clarken’s 4th Grade class.)

Now that we are writing our own fairy tales, start thinking of ways in which you can use similes to describe your hero/heroine and your supernatural adversaries or deceitful/ferocious beasts. 

Please leave a comment below sharing a simile to describe one of YOUR characters. (Metaphors are also welcome…)

…a charming group of students joined the class of a cunning queen who sometimes transformed herself into a wicked witch…

Hansel and Gretel

How much fun are we having with our unit on Fairy Tales??!!  Many of you asked for links to some tales that we have not yet read in class. I have added some below!  Please choose one. As you read, be thinking of the MOTIFS that we’ve been discussing in class.  Which motifs apply to your story?

Please leave a comment noting the hero/heroine and any motifs you noticed in the story. Also mention any…

supernatural adversaries, ferocious beasts, supernatural helpers, magical spells, wishes, or objects, transformations, extreme conditions (beauty, riches, poverty), rule of 3’s…

Here are the links…

Hansel and Gretel

The Frog Prince

Rumpletstiltzkin

Shoemaker and the Elves

I have had such fun reading fables with all of you this week. We learned a lot of great words to describe the characters in these fables. We also discovered that a lot of fables involve characters who trick- or attempt to trick- others. I was especially impressed by the way you were able to figure out the moral- or lesson- of each fable.

I’d like to know…  which fable is YOUR favorite? Which characters do you like?  Did any of these lessons speak to you?

Please leave a comment letting me know your favorite fable.  Include a character and their trait OR a trick OR a moral.

I hope that all of you enjoyed your time at home with family and friends! I was thrilled to get emails from many of you over the break and look forward to hearing about all of your adventures on Monday.

Chula Vista Nature Center Touch Tank

We have LOTS of exciting happenings coming up in Room 25!  Although we have completed our M.A.R.E. learning rotations, we will be decorating our M.A.R.E. T-Shirts and taking our wetlands field trip to the Chula Vista Nature Center at the end of this month.

Solid, Liquid, and Gas

In science, we will be starting a new unit… Physical Science! Do you know some forms of matter? How can they change?… We’ll have fun finding out!

Aesop's Fables

We are also moving into my favorite literature study: Folktales, Fairy Tales, and Fables! To get ahead, click any of the new links that I added to the right under Literature Study.

Inch Ruler

In Math we will all be starting Measurement this week.  We’ll start by talking about Inches, Feet, and Yards.  Want to get a head start? Click HERE to watch a measurement BrainPop movie. (Log in with username and password: nationalsd nationalsd)

Check out the On-Line work for Spelling (Homophones this week!) and Grammar Games (Plural Nouns!)

See you Monday!

This month we participated in M.A.R.E  (Marine Activities, Resources, and Education) and it was a blast!

Our second graders studied the SANDY SHORE. They joined the other 2nd Grade classes and learned so much from Mr. Schall, Mrs. Camba-Jones, and Mr. Anderson. Click HERE to  see what Mr. Schall’s class  has to share about Mollusks.  Read all the smart comments from the students!

Our 3rd Graders had fun with the WETLANDS. Still not sure what the wetlands are?  Click HERE to see a short movie about the wetlands.  Then share what you know in a comment down below so others can learn from YOU!

Hi all! This week we’ve been comparing two types of fiction: Fantasy and Realistic Fiction. We found that a fantasy often contains both realistic events and those which could never happen. Below you’ll see some of the books we read this week. Please leave a comment below, offering examples of both realism and fantasy from each story.

Today we’re going to talk a bit more about WHY authors write these types of fiction.  What is their PURPOSE? Is it to… Inform us? Entertain us? Persuade us? Click HERE for a review of AUTHOR’S PURPOSE.

Hey guys! We have been studying tropical and temperate rainforests this week in class. Today is the day to get to show off some of what you’ve learned and also time for you to go on a quest for more information. Again you are off on a quest! In this WebQuest you will explore the types of rainforests found in North, Central, and South America. You will compare and contrast the two types of forests and learn about the plant life that flourishes there.

Here is your task:

* compare and contrast a tropical and temperate rainforest.
* find out why rainforests are disappearing and why they should be preserved.
* discover plants that live in both types of rainforests.

Please use your Rainforest WebGuide to guide you! Get ready, get set, go! Click here to get to the website.

When you are finished, click HERE to play the Butterfly Discovery Game where you get to create your own butterfly! You are going to LOVE this! 

Time for a quest! Grab your Grasslands Webquest Guide and Click HERE to get to our favorite site for biomes.

Sean getting Amber in the PIE TOSS! The Fall Festival was a BLAST! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our parents who were involved. Clearly we have the greatest PTSO ever! Special thank you to Ana Garcia and Monique Posada. Check out the Fall Festival / Flag Ceremony Slide Show on our Picture Page.