Dexter the Tough

We have just finished reading the novel, Dexter the Tough. This is a nominee for the 2009 William Allen White Award. Let me know what you think about the novel? Is this a good nominee? Do you think others your age would like it? Tell me your opinion of the book. Finally, I would like you to MAKE CONNECTIONS with the book in some way. We have been taking about making connections in whole group.

OSCAR begins again!

Well, it's a new year of school and with it brings another great OSCAR reading group. This summer has been a very busy one for me that included a lot of reading, some for entertainment and some to learn information from. I'd like to get to know all of my new readers a little bit better. Tell me some about your reading habits:

- What types of books do you like to read most often?
- What has been your favorite book that you've ever read?
- Where in your house, is your favorite place to read?

Please leave a comment answering these questions in complete sentences and give any other information that you'd like to about reading. Reading is a lot of fun, it's time to GET HOOKED ON READING.

Another Year of OSCAR

Another year of OSCAR Reading Groups are now over, and you are ready to move on to the next year of your schooling at the middle school. Regarding your 5th grade OSCAR experience, what are thoughts? Did you like the novels that we read during our literature circle times and are there some that we should skip for next year? What did you think about the read alouds that we had this year, did you enjoy them and did they hold your interest?
We had the opportunity to create, collaborate, and share many different things about our reading through the use of technology. Did you like using the technology? We used blogs, wikis, made movies, created comics, characters, and communicated with other classes. What was your favorite thing to do? If you could be in our reading group next year, what would you be the most excited about using?
Lastly, what was your over all opinion of your 5th grade OSCAR class? What do you wish could have been different? What would you keep the same for next year?
Thanks for all of your meaningful input and thoughtful comments as we have progressed throught the year.

Read Aloud - Savvy

We have just finished the novel, Savvy, by Ingrid Law. We have had several good discussions about this novel in class and you've had a chance to do some predicting and reflecting in your journals as well. We even emailed, the author, Ingrid Law, herself because we were curious as to why she chose Salina as a setting for the story. Now that we've completed this story, I want to know, what did you think of the book? Let's hear your opinion. Do you have "I Wonder" statements about what we've read aloud together? If you could ask some questions of the author, what would they be? We've had the discussion about the author's use of similes in the story, can you use the author's writing style to come up with a description of Savvy by using your own similes?

Below is the Wordle that we created for the novel. You may want to click on it to get a bigger view of it. The words that are biggest are those that you felt were the most important. Is there any thing about the Wordle that surprises you?

Reading Class Technology

We have been reading about how advanced technology has become and have had several discussions about how it has made life more convenient for everyone. How has technology impacted your lives so far? How do you use technology in your everyday life? Do you think that the advancement of technology has had any bad effects and why?

Unsolved Mysteries

Bigfoot, Yeti, Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, Jersey Devil. Are these creatures real? We have been reading some expository texts about these cryptozoologial creatures. You've even had the chance to become an expert about one of them. After your readings and our own research (looking at pictures, checking out eyewitness accounts, video "evidence") what do you think? Do these creatures really exist? Despite being called crazy or other things, scientists and enthusiasts are always on the lookout for these elusive creatures. Why do you think people are so fascinated with these types of creatures?

Testing is Over!

Congratulations, you've just finished your experience taking the 5th grade state reading test! I know that everyone really took the time to do their best and I saw some great use of strategies that we've practiced in the classroom. How do you think you did? What did you think of the test? Were there any surprises or anything that you weren't prepared for? What are your general feelings about taking these state tests, do you feel like they are able to show the amount that you have learned over the course of 5th grade? If you could give advice to next year's 5th graders about testing, what would it be? If you were in charge of creating a test, what would you do differently or would you test student's knowledge in a different way? Now's your chance to express your opinion!