Telling Fibs in Third Grade

We discussed number patterns in third grade, and I introduced the kids to the Fibonacci sequence, named after a mathematician who lived during the 1200s. In the sequence, 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. Since it's National Poetry Month, we practiced writing our own poems. Here are some of the students' examples ... feel free to share one of your own in the comments!

Room 18 class poem:
Steak
Cake
Peanut
Cucumber
Spaghetti meatballs
I love food so much yum yum yum


Room 18 student poems:

I
like
and love
animals.
My poor guinea pig.
He passed this morning and I sad.
- S.W.B.


Crabs
move
side to
side and those
crabs can pinch pinch ya.
Crabs can do it all in their shells.
M.U.


I
love
monkeys.
They're so cute.
They eat bananas.
Monkeys are awesome, ooh ooh ah!
- L.T.



Who
lives
in a
pineapple
under the sea Sponge
Bob Square Pants. I eat him, yum yum.
- B.M.


Sup
Sup
Super
Mario!
1 million games.
There are so many characters.
- D.T.


I
love
Roblox,
BFFs,
cats, dogs, and family.
I love these things so so so much.
- L.M.



Room 17 class poem:

Math
Plus
Add
Fractions
Polygon
Multiplication
Geometry subtract minus


Room 17 student poems:

We
are
in the
library
with Mrs. Moore and
it is very fun in this place.
- A.T.


Is
a
puppy
the best friend?
It is the best friend!
I love puppies so so so much!
- B.I.


Love
is
piano
and music.
Play the piano please.
Eighty-eight keys has the piano.
- R.G.


Bragging
I
am
awesome.
You are good.
I will be your friend
We are all the best together.
- C.C.


Animals
Fox
Cat
Kitties
Elephant
Bunnies Giraffes Bug
Dogs Puppies Pandas Gorillas
- A.H.


E
L
A
is
very fun
and it is my jam.
Hopefully you agree with me.
- A.T.

Retelling Cinderella

In 4th grade, we are reviewing the difference between retelling and summarizing a story. Retelling has lots more details and may contain dialogue. The kids took turns adding sentences to the Cinderella stories below:

Ms. Moore's favorite retelling is "Ever After," starring Drew Barrymore.
Photo from thewonderfulworldofcinema.wordpress.com.

Retelling - Room 15

A long time ago, there was a princess named Mozzarella. (NOTE: I had to clarify at this point that we were retelling the traditional story v. making up a completely new version.)  She was being treated badly because her father died. She had a stepmother who was a grumpy witch, and her stepsisters treated her like a maid. One day, there was a fairy nana who told her to go to this really crazy dance that invitations had came for. But the very mean stepmother wouldn't let her go. But her stepsisters were allowed to go.

While M. was doing her chores, the mice and the birds made her this really beautiful dress. Then when she came downstairs with a beautiful dress, the stepmother and stepsisters tore it apart because they were jealous of it.

After that, she ran back up to the attic to do some chores. But she was tearing up. So then the magical fairy nana arrived again and made her a really really pretty orange dress to go with her name. Then she sent her to the ball in a big meatball. When they got there, the prince saw M. and asked her to dance.

When it became midnight, all of a sudden, she had to run out, and her orange slipper came off. The fairy nana's magic powers would only last until then.

When the slipper came off, the prince took it and wanted to find its true owner, so he went searching in the village. He met all these wonderful girls, but none of them fit the magic slipper. So then he came to a big old dusty house and went inside.

The stepsisters were there, along with the stepmother, looking really excited to see him. He tried each person, but it didn't fit. Then M. came down and tried it on, and it fit. Then M and the prince got married and lived happily ever after.

Retelling - Room 14

Once upon a time there was a girl named Ella. She had very slim toes. Her stepsisters and her stepmother were bullying her and making her do all the chores and not helping. The three of them started to turn into real brats. They were fighting and giving each other bloody noses and kicking each other in the face.

They called Ella "Cinderella" instead of her real name because she cleaned the fireplace and always got cinders all over her.

They all wanted to go to a dance. When the sisters ripped her dress, C. went outside and cried. Then her fairy godmother came and gave her a pumpkin carriage and a beautiful dress with glass slippers. All the magic wore off at midnight

As C. got to the palace, she saw the prince out back having a war with one of his servants. When she went to the dance, she found a man who she thought was just a regular pedestrian, but realized that he was the prince.                                                                                                                                            
Time was up! She lost a shoe and ran away. The prince ran after her but didn't find her. Then he had every girl try on the shoe. 

He searched around and around the land. Finally, at the stepmother's house, the stepsisters cut off their feet to fit into the shoe and marry the prince.  So C. had to see if the shoe would fit her. It fit her! Then C. and the prince lived happily ever after. 

Summarizing

After we retold Cinderella in multiple paragraphs, it was time to summarize it in a couple of sentences. The method I taught the 4th graders is Somebody Wanted But So Then. Here are some of the summaries they came up with: 

Mozzarella
Wanted her slipper back
But the prince had it.
So he went looking for the owner.
Then he found her.

The stepmother and stepsisters
Wanted to be rich.
But the prince would only marry whoever fit the shoe.
So they cut off parts of their feet.
Then they still didn't fit.

Cinderella
Wanted to go to a dance,
But her mean stepmother and stepsisters kept stopping her.
So she went outside crying.
Then her fairy godmother gave her a magical dress and shoes. 

The fairy godmother
Wanted to give Cinderella a pumpkin carriage to get to the ball,
But the magic would only last until midnight. 
So she gave C. a warning.
Then C. went to the ball with her magical items.

In Other Words ... with Grade 4

Fourth graders are practicing their paraphrasing skills. First we worked together to come up with synonyms and ways to recast a sentence.

ORIGINAL: The automobile that went by very quickly was maroon. It went through a big puddle and splashed us.

NEW: The maroon car was zipping by at high speed and went through a puddle and splashed us.

ORIGINAL: The educator removed the unruly student from the learning environment because of the sounds he was making

NEW: The disruptive student was kicked out by the teacher for making a lot of noise.

ORIGINAL: In the metropolis, the recreation area was dilapidated. Youngsters received injuries when they attempted to utilize the equipment.

NEW: The children were harmed in the city playground that was very old; they got hurt trying to use the equipment.

Then they worked on an individual assignment, putting the following sentences into their own words:

During my earlier years, I experienced much conflict with my male and female siblings who were born before me. Now that we are more mature, we have overcome some of our differences and have the ability to interact pleasantly.

Here are some of the new sentences the students came up with:

When I was younger, I argued with my brother and sister, but now that we are older, we get along better and talk to each other nicely. - S.S.

When I was a kid, my older brother and sister [and I], we fought, but now we are older, we don't fight anymore. - J.W.

When I was young, my brothers and sisters fought me a lot. We are now more polite and do not fight as much. - C.W.

When I was little, me and my siblings always argued with each other in a mean way. Now that we are older, we stopped arguing and we can talk calmly together. - S.R. 

When I was young, I fought with my siblings that are older than me. We behave better now, so we don't fight much anymore and are nicer to each other. - O.C.

When I was a child, I got into lots of fights with my older brother and sister. Now we are older and we enjoy being around each other. - G.F.

When I was little, my brother and sisters annoyed me. We are older, so we get along. - P.K.

When I was younger, I had a bad time with my older brother and sister. Now that we are older, we get along nicely. - L.A.

When I was younger I argued with my older brothers and sisters. Now we are older, we have stopped arguing and we have fun. - A.J.

What Ms. Moore Read in January and February

here are some of the most recent books I've read and recommend for my students. They're all available from the public library, but any donations towards getting them into our collection are most welcome! Cover images and descriptions are from Goodreads. 

Picture Books

From ant to butterfly to caterpillar . . . to zebra and then back again, Animalphabet is an entertaining puzzle as well as a gorgeous alphabet book to treasure.

Who can slither better than a rabbit? A snake! Who can growl better than a snake? A tiger! There are clever hints and peekaboo holes within the artwork that will amaze and delight young children as they learn to use the alphabet. 

Easy Readers

Winner of the 2019 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. Fun-loving, mischievous Fox wishes he were a tiger. Tigers are big and fast and sneaky. So he decides to become one! Soon Turtle and Rabbit are joining in the fun. But will Fox want to be a tiger forever?

In Fox the Tiger, this winning trickster character and his animal friends learn that the best thing to be is yourself.

Middle Grade Fiction

For nearly a century, Victorian London relied on "climbing boys"--orphans owned by chimney sweeps--to clean flues and protect homes from fire. The work was hard, thankless and brutally dangerous. Eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow is quite possibly the best climber who ever lived--and a girl. With her wits and will, she's managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again. 

But when Nan gets stuck in a deadly chimney fire, she fears her time has come. Instead, she wakes to find herself in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature--a golem--made from ash and coal. 

The Breakfast Club meets middle school mystery in this story of six very different seventh graders forced together in the aftermath of a vandalism incident.

When Theo’s photographs are vandalized and trashed beyond all recognition, there are five kids at the scene: The Nerd, the Princess, the Jock, the Weirdo, and the Screw-Up. All anyone will say is “It wasn’t me.”

Theo doesn’t care who it was, he just wants to stop being the victim. The sooner the school forgets the whole humiliating thing, the better. But his favorite teacher is asking the six of them to spend vacation week together “learning to trust” and getting to the truth. She calls it a Justice Circle. He calls it his worst nightmare.

Mock Caldecott Results

The American Library Association awards the Caldecott Medal to the artist of "the most distinguished American picture book for children." This year, first- and second-graders ended up with a tie when the Oak Lawn Mock Caldecott votes were tallied.

One of the winners of actually won an Honor in the real ALA election: The Rough Patch by Brian Lies. The other winner was Niblet & Ralph by Zachariah O'Hora. Here are some reasons why the kids chose the books they did:

Grade 3 FICtion covers

Third graders are learning how to use the online catalog and convert call number listings into shelf locations. Right now we're working on the fiction section. Every fiction call number has "FIC" as the first line, and then the first three letters of the author's last name as the second line.

For example, if I wrote a book, the call number would be

FIC
MOO

What would YOUR call number be?

Students figured out the call numbers for a list of books and and then created their very own for a fiction book they "wrote." Here are some of their book covers: 

What Ms. Moore Read in December

Here are some of the most recent books I've read and recommend for my students. They're all available from the public library, but any donations towards getting them into our collection are most welcome! Cover images and descriptions are from Goodreads. 

Picture Books

All Jeremy wants is a pair of those shoes, the ones everyone at school seems to be wearing. But Jeremy’s grandma tells him they don’t have room for "want," just "need," and what Jeremy needs are new boots for winter. When Jeremy’s shoes fall apart at school, and the guidance counselor gives him a hand-me-down pair, the boy is more determined than ever to have those shoes, even a thrift-shop pair that are much too small. But sore feet aren’t much fun, and Jeremy comes to realize that the things he has — warm boots, a loving grandma, and the chance to help a friend — are worth more than the things he wants.

Rhyming, lyrical text describes the sights and sounds of a nighttime journey from country to city on a passenger train in the 1940s. Largely painted in black and white, breathtaking illustrations feature pops of color as the train continues its trip until the full-color spectrum appears as dawn breaks and passengers arrive at the station.

There's a wall in the middle of the book, and our hero--a young knight--is sure that the wall protects his side of the book from the dangers of the other side--like an angry tiger and giant rhino, and worst of all, an ogre who would gobble him up in a second! But our knight doesn't seem to notice the crocodile and growing sea of water that are emerging on his side. When he's almost over his head and calling for help, who will come to his rescue?

When a substitute teacher named Miss Pelly comes to class, one student bristles at the change in routine-Miss Pelly doesn't follow the rules like Mrs. Giordano. But in time, our student learns that even though the substitute may do things a little differently, and she may be a bit silly, mixing things up might not be so bad.

Jim the chimpanzee is in a terrible mood for no good reason. His friends can’t understand it—how can he be in a bad mood when it’s SUCH a beautiful day? They encourage him not to hunch, to smile, and to do things that make THEM happy. But Jim can’t take all the advice…and has a BIT of a meltdown. Could it be that he just needs a day to feel grumpy?

When you live in a village at the edge of the No-Go Desert, you need to make your own fun. That's when you and your brothers get inventive and build a bike from scratch, using everyday items like an old milk pot (maybe mum is still using it, maybe not) and a used flour sack. You can even make a numberplate from bark, if you want. The end result is a spectacular bike, perfect for going bumpity-bump over sandhills, past your fed-up mum and right through your mud-for-walls home.

He's always been a happy little utensil. But lately, he feels like life as a spoon just isn't cutting it. He thinks Fork, Knife, and The Chopsticks all have it so much better than him. But do they? And what do they think about Spoon? A book for all ages, Spoon serves as a gentle reminder to celebrate what makes us each special.

It's not fair! All Little Owl wants is to go to bed at a reasonable hour, like his friends do. But no . . . Mama and Papa say little owls have to stay up late and play. So Little Owl spends all night jumping on his bed, playing on the jungle gym, and doing tricks on his skateboardbut he's hooting mad about it ! Children who have a hard time going to bed will love this fun twist on the universal dilemma

Middle Grade Novel

Ethan’s dad is a comic artist whose greatest creation, the mutant superhero Kren, brought him fame and glory. But after his dad’s string of successful books, a tragedy strikes the family and now his dad is completely stuck.

If only artistic talent were hereditary. Ethan is stuck on a graphic-novel project of his own at school and won’t own up to the fact that he can’t draw. When one night an ink-blot creation emerges from his father’s sketchbook, the family’s whole world begins to change.