My Choose Your Own Adventure Yard Sale Finds: Amazingly enough, the book on the right links to the Grade 5 Social Studies curriculum. Talk about karma!
Hello again,
We're down to the last two weeks or so. Although we have a bit of finishing up work to do, I realize brains are quickly slipping into summer mode, so we'll keep things as fun and breezy as possible for the remainder of the year.
Writing/Reading: At a yard sale this weekend, I bought two Choose Your Own Adventure books (for the incredibly low price of ten cents each). These books were as popular as Diary of a Wimpy Kid when I was in grade 4/5. Our narrative writing task for the week will be based on the concept of Choose Your Own Adventure books. Each child will be given the same introduction that they will expand upon. For each section they write (a quarter page to a full page), they will think of two possible extensions, which will be written on two different pages. Starting with the very beginning of the story, all pages must be numbered for this to work. The reader will choose one of the two scenarios they wish to follow. They'll turn to the correct page and read. They will then be given two additional scenarios and so forth.
Here is the blurb from the back of the book we will be rewriting. "One day you are walking along the beach when you find a strange-looking bottle. Inside you see a genie! You know that genies are supposed to grant your every wish. But is this a good genie or a bad one? Too late- he's already out of the bottle! If you decide to run away, turn to page 26. If you stay and face the genie, turn to page 28. Think fast. He's waiting for your first wish."
This could easily spiral into a huge story. I suggest that students limit each additional section to a half page or less.
I suggest it look something like this:
1. Introduction (already written for student). Student then writes instructions for two different directions the story could go and the page numbers to look to for each continuation.
2. Student writes these two new parts of the story (on separate pages).
Next, student will write instructions for two different directions the story could go and the page numbers to look for each continuation.
3. Repeat the above directions to end the story.
I will be reading selections from one of the Choose Your Own Adventure books in class and we will go over the concept/instructions in class tomorrow. They will write their adventure with the genie in his or her Home Writing Journal and bring in their rough draft for Friday.
Math: We will be working on addition with decimal numbers (regrouping).
Science: Rocks and Minerals cont. We will be discussing minerals in greater depth and we will begin making our own crystals from salt (nothing bling-bling, unfortunately).
Social Studies: Grade 4s Medieval Times: the long journey to becoming a knight. Grade 5s will be concluding their comparison between ancient Greece and ancient China.
Health: Growth and Development.
Art: Hopefully we will finally get to the avalanche of paper rolls behind my desk for the metallic bas relief. The janitor must think I'm the nutty teacher.
Homework: The aforementioned writing task.
