Stranded!, Novel Study, Word Work, and Birthday Fun

Our Wagon Trains are on the home stretch, but there's one last obstacle on our path! The pioneers were on the way over a Sierra Nevada pass when a storm blew in, stranding them in the snow. The teams had to decide how to handle the situation... hunker down, build shelter, and hope to find food? split up and send the strong ahead for help? stick together and struggle slowly ahead?... then present their experience in a short performance.

Here the students are reading aloud in their novel study groups. The 4th graders are reading Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie and the 3rd graders are reading Sarah, Plain and Tall. They're looking for character traits that define a chosen character and pushing their thinking about it with some sentence starters. They designed a poster to share the ideas that came out of the discussion.

Here are some examples of their ideas:

"Hattie likes being barefoot. She says that she will walk barefoot to Oregon. This makes me think that she likes the feel of nature on her feet."

"She notices small details, like when she sees Mrs. Kenker steal a silver spoon."

"She likes traditional names more than people that re named after trees. The thought I have about this is she is a more traditional person."

"The dogs like Sarah. This makes me realize that she is kind-hearted."

"Sarah loves the ocean because she was born in Maine. To add on, she is sort of wild."

"Hattie doesn't give up. For example, she was looking for the three sisters in a different wagon that had disappeared."

"Hattie has inside humor. The thought I have about this is it shows that her friendships are important to her."

 Reading Buddies with the Kindergartners

 The 3rd graders are playing a game to work with the Long "O" sounds in their spelling list.

 Happy birthday, Hugo!!!! Hugo shared this sweet monkey that he received as a baby and a photo of a place he would love to visit in the future: Nepal!