What a Character!

For one assignment, students could choose a character, a setting, or a genre to describe in words or pictures. Here are some of the characters they sent in:

Telling Fibs

Fibonacci, a mathematician who lived during the 1200s, developed a number sequence named after him. Each number is added to the previous number to get the next number: 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 and so on.

Author Greg Pincus invented the “Fib” form of poetry, in which each consecutive line has the same number of syllables that appear in the Fibonacci sequence. During Poetry Week, students could choose to write a Fib. Here are some of their creations:

I
love
to swim.
My favorite
is the butterfly.
I also love video games

image from mocomi.com

- G.F., Rm 12

Me
Golf
Hit it
Very far
Mom, always cheering
In my dreams I feel like a pro
- M.F., Rm 13

Run     
Twirl             
Jump up     
Spin around
Jazz, tap, hip-hop too
There are so many ways to move
Lyrical, ballet, contemporary, acro too
- C.B., Rm 14


I
like
baseball.
The Yankees
are my favorite.
They have a lot of great players.
They've won twenty-seven World Series Championships.
- L.T., Rm. 14

bbrr
ice
its cold
snow falling
winter is coming
I can't wait to make a snowman .
- E.A., Rm 14

I
like
flipping.
I'm soaring!
Flying through the air.
Gymnastics is my favorite sport.
- S.W-B., Rm. 14

Hi
I'm
Joelle
and I like
chocolate ice cream
and I like to draw and make crafts.
- J.W., Rm 14

So
my
passion’s
basketball
but I also like
to play video games - all sorts.
- E.R., Rm 17

I
like
playing
games because
they are fun ... they are
only fun though when it is fair.
- A.R., Rm 17

I
love
football.
Gronkowski
goes for a touchdown,
lives in a very big mansion,
and he invites his brothers to Gillette Stadium
- G.Z., Rm 18

I
love
my pup.
He is cool.
Pup fits in my cup.
He likes to snuggle up with me.
- I.F., Rm 18

What Does That Mean?

image from thegreatcoursesplus.com

One option for the Reading Around the House assignment was to find a new word and share its definition. Below is the list of some of the words that kids found ... do you know them all?

If you would like to learn even more words, check out freerice.com or vocabulary.com.

• adjoining
• aglet
• amid
• ancient
• antidisestablishmentarianism
• archaeologist
• comrades
• convened
• cultivate
• dimwit
• durable
• forfeit
• holler
• inferior
• liminal (I had to look it up)
• lofty
• mumbled
• obscure
• pandemic
• pelt
• mysteries
• sensation
• substance

Celebrating the April Reading Challenge - 2

Governor Raimondo challenged every student in Rhode Island to read every single day during the month of April. Garden City students rose to the challenge, sending in "shelfies" and building book forts and reading nooks as their library assignments.

ABC Story by Ms. Moore and Ryan G.

(and a sentence from Avalena H.)

Photo found at twisterdsifter.com

When I looked out the window and saw a GIANT HEDGEHOG floating by, I knew it was going to be a strange day. I called animal control, but there was no answer; JUST as I hung up the phone, I heard a crazy sound from outside.

Animal control had evidently already been contacted, came, and they brought a huge cage that they KNOCKED together, but which the hedgehog was refusing to go into. LET me think ... MAYBE it would go in if I gave it a biscuit! But NO, the hedgehog stomped ON the biscuit and then PROCEEDED to take a running jump and fly into the air!

He flipped through the air and landed on my neighbors doorstep; my neighbor was QUITE surprised when he heard the hedgehog knock on his door. He thought that the pizza that he ordered had arrived, but when he flung open the door, the hedgehog RAN into his house. The hedgehog destroyed everything in his path, STOMPING on TOYS and crushing them UNDER its feet. My neighbor screamed, "Make it stop! Make it stop!" ... He was VERY WORRIED that this X-TREME animal would ruin everything. But what could I do to help? YIKES!

I was scared of the animal, but figured I could chase it with a giant ZIPLOC bag on a stick to scoop it up. ALAS, not only were there were no big enough bags for a giant hedgehog, but he crashed through the sliding doors at the BACK of the neighbor's house and CONTINUED through the yard, knocking DOWN a fence and EXPLODING through a garden.

Suddenly, FRED from Animal Control came with a new GIANT trap. I only HOPED that he would go in it. I JUST did not know if the hedgehog would go in. KILLING the hedgehog was no option. LUCKILY, in the sky, a shape took form as it buzzed closer. It was a spacecraft! With pictures of giant hedgehogs on its sides! The hedgehog MIGHT leave NOW!

Sure enough, he stood still and looked up into the sky at the approaching OCTOGON-shaped flying ship. Slowly, a hatch opened and a PLASTIC rope was lowered with a giant basket at the end. I was QUESTIONING how the spacecraft REALLY got to Earth, but right now I was just SUPER happy!

THE next day, I checked on the hedgehog. I was UPSET that the hedgehog was not there. But then a VERY small stuffed hedgehog floated down from the sky on a gentle WIND. I now had a souveneir of my eXciting eXperience. YES, it was a very good time after all.

What the Kids Have Been Reading

While we've been distance learning (and reading), I've been asking the kids to share the titles of books they've enjoyed. If you're not sure what to read next, why not check out some of the suggestions below. I've included book cover images from Goodreads for some of my favorites on the list.

Kindergarten

A Bad Case of Stripes
Bunny Days
Predators (x 2)
Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?
The Bad Seed
How the Rattlesnake Got its Rattle
How the Crayons Saved the Unicorn
Lucy Plays Soccer
Splat the Cat
Giraffes Can't Dance (x 3)
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Ladybug Girl
Be Brave Little Penguin
Would You Rather books
The Cat Encyclopedia for Kids
Waiting Is Not Easy
Rosie Revere Engineer
Penny the Rude Penguin
Please Don’t Tickle the Tiger
The Principal from the Black Lagoon
Berenstain Bears books
Walter the Farting Dog
Fancy Nancy books
Elmer
Black Lagoon books
Old Hat, New Hat
Pete the Cat books
Unicorn Diaries series
There’s a Giraffe in My Soup!

Grade 1

Pout Pout Fish
Turkey Trouble
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Monster at the End of This Book
The Tooth
Itty Bitty Animals
Jurassic World
Inspector I. Guana
Tooly and the Snortsnoot
Drama
Captain Underpants
"Boy" by Phil Cummings and Shane Devries
Skylanders
Harry Potter (x 2)
Sophia the 1st: Perfect Tea Party
Pete the Cat books
Rhode Island Alphabet
My Strong Mind
Mother Bruce
The Watermelon Seed (x 2)
A Bad Case of Stripes
Mercy Watson series
Supercars
Peter Rabbit
Judy Moody Was in a Mood!
Bink & Gollie
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Dog Man series
Junie B. Jones series
My Green Lunch
Chrysanthemum
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell
Phoebe and Her Unicorn series
My Weird School series
Scruffy the Tug Boat
Magic Tree House series
Elephant & Piggie series
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
The Peach Boy
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake
Santa is Coming to Rhode Island
The Owl Goes on Holiday
5-Minute Avenger Stories
That is NOT a HIPPOPOTAMUS!
How to Train Your Dragon
Owl Diaries series
LEGO Batman
Charlotte’s Web
The Pokey Little Puppy
Rainbow Fish
How to be a Jedi

Grade 2

Dork Diaries series
Owl Diaries series
Roscoe Riley series
Love Monster
Hilo series
Nancy Clancy series
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (x 2)
The Treehouse Heroes and the Forgotten Beast
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Purrmaids series
Eerie Elementary series (x 2)
Runny Babbit
A Bargain for Frances
Critter Club series
Harry Potter series
Dog Man series (x 2)
Explorers Tales Around the World
The Enchanted Forest
The House that Jane Built
Flutter Butter Fly
The Big Book of Amazing Animals
Interrupting Chicken
When Someone Has a Very Serious Illness
Dear Girl
Black Beauty
Ready Freddy series
Judy Moody (and Stink) series
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Amelia Bedelia
Ninjago Masters of Spinjtzu Warriors of Stone

Grade 3

Star Wars Revenge
Jumanji
Kid Scientists
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Amazing Women
Purrmaids series
Harry Potter series
Comics Squad series
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Amelia Bedelia series
Beacon Street Girls series
Guts
Holes
The Haunter
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Dog Man series
Dance Moms
Crow Call
See Inside Great Cities
Oliver Twist
Pokemon Alola Region Handbook
The Wild Robot
Where the Red Fern Grows
American Girl Forever Friends series
Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
Bears Can’t Sleep
What is the World Series?
Tua and the Elephant
Showoff

Grade 4

Press Start series
Matilda
Dog Man series
The Book with No Pictures
Big Nate series
Middle School series
Ginger Pye
Anne of Green Gables
Pokemon Essential Handbook
The Witch Boy
The Midwinter Witch
I'll Love You Forever
Small Spaces / Dead Voices
Seekers series
My Weird School series
Turtle in Paradise
Dork Diaries series
Christopher Robin (movie novelization)
Evil Smurf Invasion
Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja
Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation
Baby Sitter's Club series
"Camp" by Kayla Miller
My Epic Fairy Tale Fail
The Crossover
Kitty’s Magic series
The Friendship War
Full of Beans
Shouting at the Rain
One for the Murphys
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Room One
Rocket and Groot : Stranded on Planet Strip Mall!
When Friendship Followed Me Home
Owl Diaries series
Wish
Fudge books by Judy Blume
Dream Jumper
Guts
Sheila the Great

Grade 5

A Dog’s Purpose Puppy series
Last Kids on Earth series
Holes
See You on a Starry Night
The Candymakers
Series of Unfortunate Events
The Hunger Games
Fortune Falls
Inheritance series
Magnus Chase series
Small Steps
"Brilliant" by Roddy Doyle (x 2)
Because of Winn-Dixie
Flunked
Ballet Shoes
Wimpy Kid series
Harry Potter series
7th Grade VS The Galaxy
Out of Time series
Adventure Kingdom
Treasure Hunters
Secrets and Scones
Land of Stories series
Artemis Fowl series

Celebrating the April Reading Challenge - 1

Governor Raimondo challenged every student in Rhode Island to read every single day during the month of April. Oak Lawn students rose to the challenge, sending in "shelfies" and building book forts and reading nooks as their library assignments.