Category: Writing

Graphic Novels

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As a new unit in writing and reading, a teacher named Mr. DeBerry has been coming in and teaching us about graphic novels. At first, we were just reading graphic novels but eventually, we began to write our own. As we were reading the graphic novels, we made noticings about how each page and chapter was structured.

The reading was very different compared to reading other genres of books. I like reading graphic novels so I was very excited to start this unit. The reading went by much faster and you had to pay very close attention to every page. At times I got very confused about who was who because the names were rarely mentioned in graphic novels. The story had many details you needed to find in the pictures. I learned so much from reading graphic novels and all of this knowledge helped me write my own graphic novel.

Writing a graphic novel is also very different from writing a novel. I thought it would be a lot easier than it was. You have to plan out your story and then do a draft. Then you have to draw each picture carefully with a lot of detail. Then you have to color everything in. I am not very good at drawing so this took a long time. I am sure I will try again to make an even better graphic novel!

If you cannot see the slideshow, click here:

http://blogs.scarsdaleschools.org/cboyer?s=graphic+novels

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Capstone 2 – My Interview

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On Monday I had my interview for Capstone. I did it with a doctor/professor from the Universary of Montreal. His name is Antonio Zadra. He studies dreams, sleep, REM sleep, NREM sleep, parasomnias, sleep disorders and lucid dreaming. I was very happy to have the interview because it took me a long time to find an interview and I had begun to get worried about it. I had emailed a few other people but they either didn’t reply or couldn’t do it.

When I emailed Dr. Zadra he said yes almost right away, and we decided on a time and date. We did our interview over Skype. My best friend, Audrey, helped me set it up. We talked for about 20 minutes and he answered a bunch of my questions. I am very happy that my interview went so well and I can’t wait for my site visit.

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So B. It

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In school my book club has been reading a book called So B. It by Sarah Weeks. It is about a girl named Heidi. Heidi’s mother has a mental disability so her neighbor, Bernie takes care of them.

One challenge Heidi faces is her mother’s disability. This is a challenge because Heidi’s childhood was affected by her mother’s disability. Bernie has agoraphobia. That means she is afraid to leave her house. Bernie and Heidi’s mother can’t drive Heidi to school so Heidi had to be homeschool. This meant she didn’t meet any kids her age. Heidi had to grow up too fast! She had to act grown up because if Heidi was upset, Heidi’s mother would throw a tantrum. When Heidi’s mother had tantrums she would hurt herself.

This affects how Heidi interacts with the world when Heidi began to lie. She wanted a different life so when people asked about her life she would lie. Once she sat with a woman named Alice on a bus. Alice asked about Heidi’s family. She told Alice she had a mother, a neighbor named Bernie and a grandma. Heidi then began to lie that her fake grandma knew Shirley Temple. She said Shirley Temple would come over and bake at their house. Heidi’s lie grew bigger and bigger until she had a completely different life.

Heidi barely knows anything about her mother so she makes list about her mother in her free time. She made a list of all the words her mother knows. Heidi also made a list of everything she knows about her mother. She knows almost nothing about her mother though. Heidi also made a list of questions she had about her mother. Heidi’s whole life revolves around her mother and her mother’s disability. I can’t imagine what Heidi is going through, and I think she is more patient then I would ever be.

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A Long Walk to Water

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In class we are reading a Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park. It is based on a true story about a boy during the Sudan War. We were asked to answer some questions about the book:

In A Long Walk to Water, one of the main themes is leadership. Some qualities of effective leadership are kindness, intelligence, bravery, persistence and confidence. Salva shows many of these qualities throughout the book. Salva is very persistent because he keeps walking even though it is tiring and difficult. Salva is intelligent when he didn’t cry or complain. This is intelligent because if he had cried or complained his group would have left him behind. Salva is brave because he left his friends and family behind and his uncle and best friend were killed but he just keeps on walking. He doesn’t know where he is going, he doesn’t know anybody but he just keeps on walking.

In the book, Salva says “Do things bit by bit, one step at a time.” Salva’s philosophy can help me in my life when I am playing sports. I go to the track sometimes with my dad. When I am running a long distance I can just tell myself one more step, one more step until the end. Perseverance is important because even when things get tough you will just keep on going. Salva was very persevered because he just kept walking. If Salva had stopped walking he may not be alive today. You can develop the ability to persevere by doing sports like soccer, track and field hockey because in these sports you have to keep moving the whole time. In soccer you have run and pass the ball for the whole game, in track you have to run long distances without stopping and in field hockey you have to run down the field and score goals. Perseverance is a very important quality to have because it can teach you many things.

Categories: 5th Grade, Reading, Writing1 Comment

My Comparison Essay

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This essay is comparing Thank You Mr. Falker and Chicken Sunday, both books are by Patricia Polacco.

 

My Comparison Essay

In life, people aren’t always as they seem. In the stories, Chicken Sunday and My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, there are two people who aren’t as they seem. Throughout the story they change for the better. The protagonist, Tricia, begins to see them differently.

In the beginning of the story, Chicken Sunday, Mr. Kodinsky, yells at the kids because he thought they threw eggs at his shop. The yelling gave off a mean, grouchy vibe that made Tricia and her friends upset. In My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, Richie, Tricia’s older brother, is always bragging to her, saying he is better than her. He challenged Tricia and when she lost he would sneer at her “And I’m four years older than you… Always have been and always will be,” Both characters, Mr. Kodinsky and Richie, gave off a very negative vibe in the beginning of the stories.

 

In the middle of the story Tricia and her friends went back Mr. Kodinsky’s shop and they brought decorated eggs with them. The style of eggs they brought to Mr. Kodinsky turned out to be from his homeland. He realized what kind children the were and he invited them in for tea. Over tea they talked about their lives and they became closer. In My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother Richie saved Tricia from the ferris wheel. He ran and got the doctor for Tricia when she got hurt. Richie and Mr. Kodinsky were beginning to change.

 

In the end of the story Mr. Kodinsky gave the hat that Tricia and her friends had been working hard to get for free. He was impressed with what good people they were. He knew that the grandma wanted the hat and they wanted to get it for and he just let them have it. In My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother when Tricia and Richie were laying in the grass Tricia thanked Richie. Richie responed, blushing “What’s a big brother for anyway?” By the end of the story all of the characters had developed great friendships.

In life, people aren’t always as they seem. In the stories, Chicken Sunday and My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, there are two people who aren’t as they seem. Throughout the story they change for the better. Richie and Mr. Kodinsky become closer to Tricia because of this. In life, people can change.

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CHRISTMAS!!!!!

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With Christmas coming up next week my family is so excited. Every year we go to Michigan and see our grandparents and cousins. We don’t see our cousins that often, maybe twice a year, so it is great when we get to see them. One of my favorite things about Christmas, besides my family, is all the sweets! There is cookies, cake and sometimes even ice cream! On Christmas day there is always coffee cake for breakfast too! (I am almost always on a sugar rush!) All of my cousins are boys and I have no sisters so that means there are FIVE boys! When I am there I play more sports games than usual. We play on the Wii a lot too. We play baseball, bowling and boxing games, I normally lose! I love Christmas and I am always so sad to come home!

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Writing Expedition

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In class we have been writing a LOT!! We are going to share our writing in a writing expedition next week. My writing has definitely changed changed this year. For each subject we have done I have learned so many new things. Because Ms. Boyer is such a great, unique teacher everything is different in writing. It is more creative and we have more freedom. In essay writing I have learned a new way to organize my writing (that I find easier.) This year we have also been able to free write more. I got to write I a fiction story, and I haven’t gotten to do that for a while! Overall writing has been so much fun this year, and I can’t wait to do more!

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My Constitution Project

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In my classroom we have been learning about the Constitutional Era. About a week ago we began a Constitution Project. There were two dice with different categories. One had things like documents, art, people, places and events on the sides. The other one had things like WeVideo, Padlet, Social Media, Explain Everything, and Design Something. I got Documents and Social Media. That meant my project would be about documents from the Constitutional Era in the form of some kind of social media.

I though for a while and then I remember a video I had see on YouTube. In there was a fake texting story. That was how I thought of my project. I downloaded a few apps on my phone and began to text it out on my favorite one. Soon I had everything designed and I was ready to start my first draft. I had decided to my a story for the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

I made my stories and once they were done I read them over. The next day I read them over again, fixing any problems I found. I did this for a few days. Finally when I thought I was done, I created a video of each story. But then I began to wonder were was I going to present my videos. So I made a slideshow and put a video on each slide. Finally, finished with my project, I showed it to my teacher. She loved it! I can’t wait to present!

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HOME of the BRAVE

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In our fifth grade class we are reading a book called HOME of the BRAVE. The book is about a boy name Kek who lost his family and his home. He needs to move to America because his country is at war. He is struggling. He finds a farm and a cow. We have been talking about why Gol is important. Here was one of our questions.

Gol is a cow, but Katherine Applegate (author of Home of The Brave) also uses her as a symbol. How does Gol represent Kek’s past, present, and possibly his future?  

I think that Gol represents his past because at his home he used to herd cattle just like Gol. Gol also means family. All of Kek’s family is either dead or missing. Cattle and family were a huge part of his past. Gol is a symbol in the present because he is also lonely. Gol is old and lonely just like how Kek feels. Gol is going to need to leave the farm soon and I think that Kek might want to leave with Gol. Kek really gets how Gol is feeling.  Gol is Kek’s only piece of his old life. 

This picture is from Goodreads, Home of the Brave.
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