End of Quarter Three

This week was the last one of quarter 3. We reviewed and took a Persuasive writing test and RLA benchmark exam (multiple choce, 32 questions). The RLA benchmark was challenging, but most students did great. I hope all the student Champions of Room B9 have a wonderful and restful break.
Maybe they will even read a book or two?
Below is a chart of the students performance (green is proficient and advanced students.

Our Poem Books!

 Scroll Down to see what these amazing Poets are doing...

Quarter three standards have a huge focus on poetry terms. All quarter we have been writing and studying poetry. Each poem has been added to a book. Today we shared our books with each other, then students choose one poem in their book to read to the class. Of all the activities we have done this year, this was my favorite. Students did an amazing job writing, publishing and sharing their poems! I am so proud of my poetic champions!

Last Day With Master Poet Mr. Newsham

Today was our last day with Mr. Newsham. Of course he brought our way another amazing poetry lesson. We started with using our imagination by imagining we were in a time machine. It was a guided science fiction time machine! Students wrote, then shared their creative work!
Our net activity was having students read some classic poems about "lists", then students were able to try it.
Here is what our awesome kids came up with:)

• Philip R
  Dogs barking,
  Birds chirping,
  Wind blowing,
  Kids playing,
  Waves crashing,
  People laughing,
  Engines purring,
  Sun shining,
  Music playing,
  Horses clip-clopping,
  People talking,
  This is life.
  
  
  Today
  
  Delete
  
  
• Courtney C
  Waiting
  I am waiting for my owl from Hogwarts
  I am waiting for the reaping
  I am waiting for my book to be published
  I am waiting for my words to be heard
  I am waiting for money not to be an issue
  I am waiting for no war
  I am waiting for no poverty
  I am waiting for issues to be resolved
  I am waiting for peace
  I am waiting for one thing,
  Hope
  
  
  Today
  
  Delete
  
  
• zainab r
  What I Ate For Lunch
  Today I had an excellent lunch,
  It was mm good,
  With long red vines,
  And a melted Klondike®,
  A candy cherry,
  A donut or two,
  And caramel syrup,
  A couple of cookies,
  There Girl Scouts you know,
  Thin mints and Samoa’s
  A chocolate bunny,
  With a side of Sour Patch Kids®,
  There was a box more of this kind of stuff though my stomach hurts,
  And I don’t want to write,
  Remind me to never pack my own lunch when my mom sleeps in.
  
  Today
  
  Delete
  
  
• Tabitha M
  I am waiting to come out
  I am waiting for my 1 year
  I am waiting for the bike I will ride
  I am waiting for the car I will love
  I am waiting for the job then the money will come soon
  I am waiting for retirement
  I am wanting for my 76 year
  I am waiting for death
  So that I will remember the moments of the past so that I will see the ones that I love
  I am waiting for the more people like me to come.
  
  Today
  
  Delete
  
  
• Angelina G
  I Am Waiting and Hating
  
  I am waiting
  For World Peace
  I am hating
  On angry people
  I am waiting
  On time to slow down
  I am hating
  On World War
  I am waiting
  For the end of the world to approach us all
  I am hating
  On impatient people
  I am waiting
  On the night to come
  I am hating
  On no sun
  I am waiting
  For world happiness
  Even if it lasts a second
  I am hating
  On an angry life
  I am waiting
  On rap music to take over
  I am hating
  On country music
  I am waiting
  For someone inspirational
  I am hating
  On everything
  I am waiting
  On everything
  
  Today
  
  Delete

Master Poet Mr. Newsham encouraging students to be creative!

 Students totally engaged in being creative!

 Mr. Newsham walking away after making our lives better with poetry and letting the students know that they have the power of poetry in them!

"Dream" Lesson

Quarter Three is all about following directions and poetry terms. Today we watched a short video on Langston Hughes, then studied his poem "Dreams"

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow

After reading it several times, we went over the literary devices that were used to make it so powerful.

Next we went to the following website to follow direction on how to make a heart orgami style:

http://www.origami-instructions.com/easy-origami-heart.html

After succesfully making our hearts, students wrote their own dream poem to place in the heart.

Then they placed their heart/ poem into their poem book that we have been working on during quarter 3.
Student Poem:

By Maritza

Dreams
Dreams are like kites
They are sometimes funny and sometimes silly
They keep us living
A reason to go on in life
They might fly away in the air
But you can always get a new one
When your dreams fly away you have the feeling to fly away with them
But you have to stay to find a new one
Dreams are like kites
They have to fly away in the wind
It is part of life

Delete

Well Done Students!

Anceint India

For the past few weeks we have been learning about Ancient India in a variety of ways (using the text book, the Internet and high interest short video clips)

• Learning about the geography and timeline
• Researching the Caste System and creating an interactive PowerPoint slide in the information about the various social groups
• Reading and writing about Buddha, then presenting the information in a summary slide with a timeline of Siddhartha's life
• Understanding the key components of Hinduism and Buddhism and how they are similar and different.
• Reading an Ancient Indian story titled The Tiger, the Brahman and the Jackal, then acting it out for the class.

We will continue our studies of India for the next few weeks. Check back to see student work samples and pictures of us learning.

"An Art Shiver" With Mr. Newsham

What is an "art shiver"? Read on to find out. We had our fourth of five poetry lessons with Master Poet Mr. Newsham. We started with talking about Imagery and the power of memory. Students were encouraged to think about a powerful memory they have about someone in their life. Next, we read a few poems that helped students remember the connection with people important to them through examples. Then students participated in a "lighting writing exercise" getting their thoughts about someone they care about on paper/ screen.. a word portrait if you will. Then students revisited "personification" and were asked to become a shape-shifter and write a personification poem.

Examples of Poetic Champions Compositing their personification poem:

• Julia F
  Personification
  I am the Ocean,
  Strong, mighty, and proud.
  I can be soft and gentle,
  And softly rock people,
  But you have to remain kind.
  Some people throw things at me,
  And I find it very rude.
  Some people complain about my rocky feet that they step on,
  Well, all I can say is that you stepped there,
  Not me.
  At that point I stomp my feet and throw my hands in the air,
  Out of fury and aggravation.
  I may bring you down,
  And reel you back in to me,
  Whether you want to or not,
  Then I can eat you up,
  Or make you stranded.
  However,
  I am usually nice.
  Just be gentle with me,
  And I will be gentle with you.
  I see people sucking up my insides,
  And with one last wish of hope,
  I send a huge wave,
  But I know that the people have taken part of me as food,
  By standing on the hard wooden pillars,
  Which were placed deeply into my side.
  I am crystal clear and beautiful when humans care about me.
  But when you throw trash around,
  Or drop it into me,
  I become ugly and a mucky green,
  And I am unloved.
  But I am the ocean,
  I am strong and mighty!
  I care for you humans (most of the time),
  And I apologize in advanced for any further temper tantrums.
  But everyone gets them,
  Right?
  So please understand.
  Thank you for your consideration,
  And I am proud to be me!
  
  Today
  
  Delete
  
  
• Shiara C
  Personification Poem
  I am the basketball,
  You shoot through the hoop,
  I am the basketball,
  You dribble down court.
  
  I am nothing but abused,
  And I have been my whole life,
  You guys throw me on the ground,
  And throw me at a loop.
  
  I can barely sleep at night,
  In my lone basketball bag,
  I sit and stare at the zipper,
  Hoping it may never open again.
  
  But the rush is worth it,
  With all the beating I get,
  When I finally do get through the loop,
  The crowd goes wild, literally.
  
  Everyone screams and shouts,
  Like I’m the best thing in the world,
  Like I jumped from the hands of the player,
  And went right through the hoop
  
  They scream many names,
  When I go in the hoop,
  Such as Kobe, Dirk,
  Jason Kid and Lamar Odem
  
  I finally zone back to reality,
  They aren’t talking to me,
  Their talking to the player,
  I’m getting absolutely no credit.
  
  It’s fine though,
  Because when they wake up,
  And want to play with me,
  I will be gone.
  
  I am running away,
  They won’t abuse me anymore,
  I am now half way to Miami,
  But now everyone is talking about the Miami Heat,
  
  Is it hot out there or something?
  
  Today
  
  Delete
  
  
• Alejandro L
  The Poem:
  I am a soccer ball,
  With my pentagons,
  Black and white.
  I start to wonder,
  Why do you kick me?
  Why couldn’t you treat me
  Like a basketball, or a
  Baseball or even a handball?
  But then I realized that I
  Was destined to be a
  Soccer ball.
  Nothing more,
  Nothing less.
  
  Today
  
  Delete
  
  
• zainab r
  Popcorn
  I am here in the pantry,
  And it is Friday night I am excited,
  Because it is movie night,
  The Rangwala’s love a snack,
  While watching a movie,
  I think it is time I am the only one left in the box,
  I hear the advertisements and the kids asking when the movie will start,
  I was waiting for a while straitening my wrapper,
  And the box moved,
  I was on my way,
  I was set in the microwave,
  I started popping,
  Then before I knew I was taken out of the hot room,
  I was opened and then eaten.
  
  Today

Needless to say, an "ART SHIVER" is what I get after reading the amazing poems that the students write after Mr. Newsham teaches and inspires us with his thoughtful poetry lessons. To check out days 1-3 with Mr. Newsham please follow the links:

Day 3: http://datab9.blogspot.com/2012/03/power-of-images-with-mr-newsham.html

Day 2: http://datab9.blogspot.com/2012/03/poetry-today-day-two-with-mr-newsham.html

Day 1: http://datab9.blogspot.com/2012/02/spill-words-onto-page.html

Silly Poems

Today we focused on quarter three standards using silly poems. First we read a few, then we tried making our own. They turned out great!

Poems for Tuesday

Dr. Lynch-Thorpe  
Page: Q 3 work

check these out:0
http://www.poetry4kids.com/poem-330.html br />
http://www.poetry4kids.com/poem-349.html br />
After reading these silly and funny poems, try to write your own!

Post a Message

• Philip R
  There once was a kid from New York,
  When he will get older, he will be from Old York,
  And when he is middle aged, he will live in York.
  Just York.
  
  When he wants to go to Phillie,
  And he is also feeling silly,
  He ends up going to Willie, Nillie, Silly, Phillie.
  It must be awkward when he wants to order a Willie, Nillie, Silly, Philly Cheesesteak.
  
  Today

Stage Fright by Chloe

My choir met up today
And voted me the soloist.
I said “If your make me sing,
I’m going to hit you with my fist.”

But, or course, my teacher had to make it worse.
She said, “But Chloe, you can hold the best note!”
Some girls (who thought they were great) started crying,
Because that comment, hurt as if they got hit with a boat.

When I usually get on stage, alone,
I freeze, right on the spot,
Then when I open my mouth
My mouth gets dry and my forehead gets hot.

Then, as if things could get worse,
My legs give out, and I fall to the floor.
As I’m lying there, embarrassed as can be,
Someone shouts “I want more!”

Apparently my stage fright is funny,
But really it’s not.
People howl, kids shout with laughter,
And all I want to do is get out of this lot.

But that is was normally happens,
And my teacher only tells me,
“That it will be different this time.”
But, I know, I’m going to break my knee.

When the big night comes,
I am as nervous as can be!
My bright red dress,
Is not helping me!

When I walk on stage,
I feel okay; maybe the fright is in my head.
When the music starts
I, surprisingly, don’t get red.

I open my mouth,
And begin to sing; “Can You See Me”.
My fright is gone.
And I am as happy as can be!

Today

"The Power of Images" with Mr. Newsham

Today was our third in a series of five Poetry lessons with Master Poet Mr. Newsham. First we talked about how poetry is a "speaking picture". Then we read three powerful poems with strong imagery. Next students looked at five powerful art pieces from the Ventura County Art Collection. Finally students chose one to write a poem about, by giving the visual words that "speak".
Here is one of the poems we studied:

by Percy Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Here is one of the four images the students had a choice to write on:

Students "working"

Student Poems:
The Image Lizy chose:

Lizzy U
The Flamingo Tree
By: Elizabeth U.

I came to a tree that I never thought I see
It was the most unusual thing
At first you think it’s a kite or a wind chime
But when you get up close,
You’ll see what it really is.
It is a tree made of flamingos
that forms a big kite,
with little kites to keep it company
in the dead of night.
Once you see this tree,
You will never forget it
It reminds you of a mask,
or a heart thumping loudly.
It forms a different image for every single person.
But whatever it reminds you of,
It always has on meaning.
It is meant to fill puzzle and mystery,
So everyone will think
this painting is their own.
Just like it is for me,
a flamingo tree.

Ancient Greek Board Games (fun)

Students summirzed all the information we have been studying for the past month about Anceint Greece. Then students created a board game with standards based questions for their game. Next they created the game in the theme of Anceint Greece and played!

Putting it together

 Playing!

Room B9 students challenged students from another class. It was a great review for all!

After the game, students sent a reflection message to me in Thinkquest about the activity:

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

We read "The Sneetches", then created poems in a similar theme.

FUN:)

"Write Like the Wind" (Second Friday with Mr. Newsham)

Today students "cut away" extra words in the poem "Some Advice to Young Poets" by Nicanor Parra. It was fun to watch students cut/ edit and delete a published work. It allowed the students to "cut away the chatter and get to the main message".
Then we focused on similes and metaphors, which helped us to see two things at once.
The goal today was make an unusual connection.
Students looked at a series of masks on the white board and read a few poems titled "The Mask Speaks".

Students chose their own mask, then made a poem as if their mask had a voice using first person. Students wrote with "vivid picture taking" in mind including many metaphors and similes.
Courtney C
Sometimes I wake up,
Gazing at the burning sun
The heat burning my skin,
The desert dry and waterless
I stare until my eyes are storm clouds,
Rain tears of joy
My nose houses the many,
Secret of the Sioux
Thunder clouds electrifying my face,
Trying to uncover my secrets
But I will never tell
My forehead holds,
The sweet songs of the mountain birds
My cheeks holding,
The footprints of mankind
My mouth are two fishes,
Just squirming to speak
And though they shoot arrows at me,
And I have cuts in my face
I never fail
My eyebrows are thunder bolts,
Scaring my enemies away
My chin,
The flower of life


To read about our first day with Poet Newsham follow the link here:
http://datab9.blogspot.com/2012/02/spill-words-onto-page.html

Happy (Leap Day) Birthday to Hector!

How fun to have a student who is turning three! Yes, he is really 12, but he was born on a leap day. We had fun celebrating with cookies, juice and a Dr. Suess short video during lunch. Hector looked very nice in his suit on his special day that only comes around once in four years!

Greek Dramas!

Students researched the history of Greek Dramas, then created their own comedy or tragedy. Working in groups of three, students presented them to the class in our outdoor amphitheatre at DATA! Students also made Greek masks to go with their performances. After each group performed, we reflected on our experience in a message board on Thinkquest. Students did a great job!

Refelctions:

grace c
I did like the activity, it was fun to make the masks and then act out a scene from Greece. The mask making was fun because we got to look up different designs on the computer and pick out the one we wanted to make. My group did really well. We got along with each other and memorized our lines. Hannah E. and her group did a good job performing because they were creative. I would like to do this again.
Today

Delete

Jamar E
I kind of liked the activity. Yes I did like making my masks. I think my group did well. The group that did a great job was Estelle`s group because they put a lot of effort in their performance. Yes I do want to do something like this again.
Today