Poetry Night!

SST Discovery's first Poetry Night will be on November 10th at 5:30.  Three lucky fourth grade students were invited to share their poems written earlier this year at the event.  Book fair will be going on in the library at the same time so be sure to come out and soak in the literary experience!

Biography Writing Assignment

BIOGRAPHY INTERVIEW


Students are beginning to work on their next writing assignment: Biographies!


In order to write the history of a person's life, students should choose a friend or family member to interview before they begin the rough draft on Friday.  

Your subject must be…

1)    Human, a real person

2)    A person you can talk to by Friday

3)    Over the age of 10

4)    Someone who is not in your 4^th grade class

Each class came up with their own set of questions, but feel free to change them to work for your individual person.  Sit down with your interviewee, ask your questions, and take good notes on their answers.

4A

a)     What are the places you have lived.  Did you move a lot?

b)    What are some things you did in your childhood?  What were your dreams?  Do you think your childhood was difficult or easy?

c)     What school did you go to?  What was it like when you went to school?

d)    How old are you now? 

e)     What are some things that are special about you? 

f)      What are some talents you have?

g)     What were some of you greatest accomplishments?

h)    Tell me about your family.

i)       What job do you have? Do you like it?

j)       Are you happy with your life so far?

k)     Can I have a picture of you?

4B

a)     What is your name, birthday, and how old are you now?

b)    Where are some places you have lived?

c)     Can you tell me some things about your family when you were young?   What were they like?

d)    How was your childhood?  What things did you like to do?

e)     What school did you go to?  What was it like?

f)      What are your hobbies?

g)     What are some big events that happened in your life?

h)      What place do you work at?  Do you like your job?

i)       What is your family like now?  Are you married? Do you have children?

j)       What inspires you?  What are your dreams?

k)     Can I have a picture of you?

The requirements for the Biography assignment is as follows: 

Biographies must…

1.     Be nonfiction with all true facts.

2.     Include facts about a person’s WHOLE life from birth until now in chronological order.

3.     Tell how the setting affected your subject.  What was the world like?

4.      Tell about their family, childhood, important events, schooling, and adult life.

5.    Show a picture (drawing or photo) of the person

A teacher reading comics!

That's right boys and girls! I, an English teacher, am reading a comic book! That can't be possible! It's true. I was so awestruck by the recent "X-men First Class" movie that I began to wonder if I had been destined for comic book nerd-dom my whole life but never realized it. So I called on my good friend Molly who is working on her doctorate in Media Studies. (Hopefully my follower TJ, who is her husband, will correct me on this if I am wrong and coerce Molly into writing a reply.)

Molly told me that like regular books, not all comics are equal. Some are written better and some are more entertaining. Joss Whedon's series of comics called "Astonishing X-Men" is both. I was excited because I was familiar with some of his other writing. Do Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Dr. Horrible ring any bells? Once again, I saw how an authors style is carried over in their work. I loved seeing Joss Whedon's humor in this comic. The same witty and unexpected quips were present as the ones I might see in one of his TV shows.

I also loved this comic because it provided me with an escape to a world unlike my own that has supernatural beings in it, just like all books in the fantasy and science fiction genre. In the X-men world, authors like Joss Whedon and many others have written about these characters for decades. That means that each character has been deeply developed and each has their own story. You can find the character who you like the best, the one you think is the most interesting, and the one you identify with the most. These are more than just superheroes in fancy costumes now. They are people, with personalities, flaws, dreams, and fears. I loved getting to know the characters I loved in the movies even more.

Remember to check with your parents and teachers before reading a comic. There are some comics like the Bone series that you can read in school, but most should be for after you reach you AR goal or as a break in between books. I would love for you to experience graphic novels and comic books for yourself, but does that mean you can write a book report on one? Sorry, but the answer is still "no."

How to Train Your Dragon Book 1 Finished!

Well, I’ve finished “How to Train Your Dragon” book one!  I found it a very entertaining read, even though it was so different from the movie.  One of my favorite things about this book is the style of the author.

Style: the way an author writes as opposed to what they write about.  It is the voice readers can hear that is unique to the author.  The author’s personality shines through writing.

Cressida Cowell, author of “How to Train Your Dragon,” has such a funny and playful way of writing that would appeal to kids and adults alike.  For example, the Cowell writes clever lines such as:

                “The first Dragon was enough to give you nightmares.

                The second Dragon was enough to give your nightmares nightmares.”

She includes fun songs and poems:

                “Watch me Great Destroyer,

                                As I settle down to lunch,

                Killer whales are tasty ‘cos they’ve

got a lot of crunch.

                Great white sharks are scrumptious,

                                But here’s a little tip:

                Those teeny weeny point teeth can

                                Give a nasty nip……”

Lastly, the edition I had contained fun illustrations and excerpts from Viking books that were hilarious.  Some pages gave Dragon stats or showed Hiccup’s attempts at writing his own training book.  All were complete with scratched out mistakes, ink blots, library stickers, and emphasized TEXT.

I did have a pretty big problem with this book though.  In most stories, there is a conflict that the character must overcome.  It may be an external problem, like a giant dangerous dragon threatening to eat them, or a internal problem, like fear, selfishness, or weakness.  While Hiccup shows growth over his internal conflicts in a believable way, some other conflicts in the book are ended somewhat abruptly without much explanation.  Toothless has a change of heart, but even the author doesn’t say what made him do it.  Some theories are tossed out but in the end it is just left to the reader to decide what that “something” was.  Furthermore, remember that giant hungry dragon?  Well I won’t tell you how the dragon is defeated but the answer comes out of nowhere, was not mentioned previously in the story, and just seemed like a way for the author to solve the problem without much effort. 

I’d love it if you read “How to Train Your Dragon” yourself and let me know what you think of the conflicts’ resolutions.  I’m not sure I’ll be reading the next book in the series anytime soon. 

Next time I'll be discussing my next summer read that may surprise you.  Hint: Can comic books and teachers mix?

How to Train Your Dragon Book 1

Some students think that teachers just want them to read award winning, critically acclaimed, classic literature.  That is so far from the truth!  It's important to read certain books in your life, but it is also important to read what interests you!  That is why my next book to read is "How to Train Your Dragon" by Cressida Cowell.

Well, first let me say that I LOVED the film.  It was one of the best animated films I've ever seen and the fact that it lost the Oscar award for best animated movie is debatable.  I love books that are also movies, so since I loved this movie, I'm sure I'm going to love the book as well.

I know what everyone's first question is going to be; "Is it like the movie?"  The answer is a surprising no.  Many of the characters are the same.  Hiccup and his dad Stoick the Vast are pretty much the same along with Fishlegs and his teacher Gobber.  However, his love interest fails to make an appearance and Toothless, his dragon, is a very different kind of dragon than in the movie.  Differences don't stop at the characters.  The plot was definitely changed for the movie.  In the book, all Vikings raise dragons, not fight them.  How do they train them?  They YELL at them!  Sadly Hiccup is sort of wimpy and pathetic so his yelling skills are not great.  He has to figure out a new way to train his dragon.

Even though the plot is very different, it makes me excited because it will be a whole new story to read.  More to come soon on the original tale of "How to Train Your Dragon!"

Island of the Blue Dolphins: Part 3

Well I apologize, dear readers, for not posting as of late.  However, I have good news!  I finished The Island of the Blue Dolphins.  I really enjoyed to book and found Karana to be a wonderful character, just as Ms. Martinez promised.  It was so interesting to read about her survival in the wild and her ability to use the resources around her.  At the end of the book, it told how “The Island of the Blue Dolphins” was based on a true story!  There was actually a girl who lived on an island off the coast of California by herself from 1835 to 1853.  You can even visit her grave and see artifacts from her Indian tribe displayed at the Southwest Museum of Los Angeles.

My favorite thing about Karana is that she tried so many new things.  For example, it was considered wrong for girls to make weapons and hunt.  However, Karana was persistent in performing this new task, even when she messed up a couple of times.  She had never built a canoe, but she did it!  She had never killed an octopus, but… well the squid was too strong, but the point is she tried!  After reading this book, I feel inspired to go try new things myself this summer.  Although, it probably won’t be killing squid.

Summer Read: Island of the Blue Dolphins Part Two

My prediction was correct.  Her canoe started to leak and sadly she had to turn back.  But now she is making a house.  One of my favorite things to do as I read this book is to try to picture in my head what the places look like.  She talks about how she builds things, like the fence to protect her food, and I try to imagine it in my mind.  Sometimes it’s hard, because these items would be so different from what we are used to.  I try my best, because good readers use visualization, making pictures in their heads, to understand the text.  

Check out this picture I drew of what I think Karana's house looks like!

Summer Read: Island of the Blue Dolphins

I was excited to begin Island of the Blue Dolphins this summer.  I remember how Ms. Martinez dressed up as the main character, Karana, for he wax museum project.  Inspired by her love of the book, I wanted to check it out!  Getting recommendations on books to read from friends, family members, and coworkers is a great way to find out about interesting reads.

After the first few chapters, I wish Karana would share more with me.  She talks about her brothers death, the events that occurred, but doesn’t go very deep into how she felt.  She must have felt terribly sad, and maybe even guilty.  The whole reason she jumped off the ship was for him.  Now even though she risked her own life to save him, it was sort of all for nothing.  I feel very sorry for Karana but I want to know more about what she’s thinking, what she feels, and what she believes.

At this point in the book Karana has lived for several months all by herself.  She must be incredibly lonely.  But the book can’t go on forever like this.  So now she is taking a canoe to try and get to another island.  How can she make it?  I predict that she will have to turn back to her island.  The book is supposed to be about the Island of the Blue Dolphins and if she leaves it before the book is even halfway done that wouldn’t make sense.

Read to Succeed Six Flags Tickets

Not all fourth grade students picked up their Six Flags Tickets!  As a result the tickets will be mailed to the current address listed for the students next week.  Thanks to all students for reading over 300 hours this year!

Welcome to Mrs. Asterman's 4th Grade Blog!

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Get ready for a great summer!