What does "equal" mean?

What does "equal" mean?  Does it mean EVERYONE should be exactly the same? OR Does it mean that EVERYONE should have the same opportunity?  That is what we are going to be looking at over the next few weeks.  As Americans we believe in equality, but how exactly do we define equality?  I am going to present the students with articles, speeches, music, poetry and artifacts, like the one below, to determine what they think is right and wrong and what equality means to them.

"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political band which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earrth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

-The Declaration of Independence

Who's the Witch?

Meet Elphy...she is my beloved bobble-head that sits on my desk at school.  I am always teasing that the kids do NOT want to see me angry because there is no telling which Disney villain I might become.  This week, Elphy caused a little bit of a stir.  I decided to do a "social experiment".  Because we will be reading about the Salem witch trials of 1692, I felt the students needed some background knowledge.  Enter Elphy....Someone knocked her off my desk and broke her.  They didn't even tell me...they just stuck her broken head back on and left her! (not really...this was the premise of the experiment.)  When I told the students, I, of course, played the most distraught and upset teacher.  I told each class that morning, "I am just hurt that someone would do this!  I need you to confess or I will be forced to give everyone a mark in the book today since I have no idea who did it." Just to clarify, I NEVER intended to give a consequence, and I planned to tell them that a confession was made so that they were off the hook before they went home.

As I expected, the children had many theories about how it was broken.  They at first accused my daughter since she comes in my room every afternoon.  Then as the day progressed, they slowly began to turn on each other.  They had many ideas about different students that they saw near my desk.  They had even "heard a loud noise" after that person left the room.   By the last period of the day, I had arranged some co-conspirators to either "tattle" or pretend to confess, when low and behold a lone student walked up to me and confessed to committing the non-existent crime.  She was selfless taking the consequence (whatever it may be) to keep the others from suffering.  A very sweet and selfless action!  As I kept the act up, I told this martyr that I would discuss it with her tomorrow because the day was over.

The next day I "fessed up and told the kids that Elphy was not really broken.  I explained that I did this experiment to give them a little taste of hysteria and what can happen when people become very fearful.  As we went on to discuss the events surrounding the Salem witch trials, the students seemed to understand how superstition and fear of the unknown can affect a "community".

I hope you, as parents, understand that this was not an attempt to upset the children.  It was simply a way for me to try to help them understand a very foreign and abstract concept.  No permanent damage seems to have been done. :)

Happy reading-
Mrs. Tipton

New Quarter Begins

Can you believe it?  It has already been nine weeks since school began!  It is going so FAST!!!  Christmas will be here before we know it.  Sorry I haven't posted much lately...I am just busy! I'm going to try to do better.

We are ready to begin a new unit in class starting this week.  We are going to begin by reading The Salem Witch Trials, an unsolved mystery from history by Jane Yolen.  Please don't be concerned...I'm not teaching witchcraft!  Haha...we are just looking at the circumstances that led to the hysteria surrounding Salem at the time.  We are going to look at factors that led to the prejudice that was imposed on certain types of people.  Throughout this unit, we will look at the causes of prejudice and what groups have faced prejudice and inequality throughout history.

Students will complete two projects this nine weeks.  The first one is a smaller project called "Separating History from Fiction".  In this project, I asked students to read a historical fiction novel and write a summary on the story. Students should work on this project during bellwork time and at home.  I will not provide extra class time to complete it.   The requirements and scoring guide will be under the Unit 2 tab.  The next project will be after our Thanksgiving break.  It will be a large research project and presentation in class.  I will provide class time to complete this assignment.  As with the double entry journal, I will be available to answer questions and guide students along the way.

It is going to be SUPER busy in Literacy class this nine weeks.  We have a lot to cover, but I really look forward to the discussions and insight that the students will be sharing in class.

Happy reading-
Mrs. Tipton

Digging Holes

Well, we have finished yet another novel in literacy class.  Holes is still one of my absolute favorite novels to share with students.  The characters that Louis Sachar created are some of the most interesting "people" I have met.  I think my favorite thing about the story is how Sachar takes three seemingly unrelated stories and ties them together BRILLIANTLY!

We have learned so much this nine weeks.  Students know how to identify theme, character traits, point of view and perspective, and several types of figurative language.  We are pulling all of that knowledge together in our class project.  This is called our "double entry journal".  This journal will allow students to compare Holes and their assigned novel.  They will identify the skills that we have practiced in class.  We will work on this journal in class.  I will be available to answer questions and steer students in the right direction.  I have included a copy of the questions and the scoring guide under the "UNIT 1" tab so you can see what expectations I have for the kiddos.

Here is a list of books that you and your child might be interested in reading if they liked Holes:
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Because of Winn Dixie
Tuck Everlasting
Bridge to Terabithia
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Small Steps
A Long Way from Chicago
Walk Two Moons

Thank you for all your support!

Happy reading-
Mrs. Tipton

Busy as little bees

Wow!  Can you believe it has already been 5 weeks?  I can't!  It is going SOOO fast!  We have been so busy trying to learn procedures for classes, reading books, and writing that we are meeting ourselves coming and going!  I am having a great time...I hope the kids are, too.

We have been working on figurative language in class.  So far, we have learned alliteration (same consonant sound repeated in a sentence), onomatopoeia (words that imitate sounds), and idioms (phrases that mean something different than their literal interpretation).  An example of alliteration would be:  Christy cleaned Cathy's cluttered closet.  Onomatopoeia would be:  BOOM!  A popular idiom is:  It is raining cats and dogs.  I hope we can begin to work on similes later this week.  Similes are comparisons between two unlike things using like, as, than, or seems.  A perfect example is: The test was as easy as pie.  Ask your child to show you some examples of these types of figurative language in their novels or in the TV shows they watch.

 An independent assignment was given on Sept. 15.  It is due on Oct. 15.  Student were given a novel to read.  They must take an AR test over their novel.  It will be worth 100 points and will be counted as the test for that book.  They will also complete a double entry journal answering 6 essential questions comparing their independent novel to Holes (our current class novel).  I will walk the students through this process.  It will be a strenuous one (on both the students and me) but I will be walking them through it and showing them exactly how to answer the questions in order to make an acceptable grade.  You can take a look at the essential questions on the "Destiny" page of my blog.  I hope to post student work and other class activities to the page, as well.

Happy reading-
Mrs. Tipton

Going "Out of Our Minds"

I decided to start the school year with one of my favorite books - Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.  The book tells the story of eleven year old Melody Brooks.  Melody has a photographic memory and is by all definitions a genius.  However, no one knows this - not even her parents.  Melody has cerebral palsy.  She can not speak or control her body movements.  Melody is trapped inside her own body with no way to communicate what she knows or how she truly feels.  This is making her go "out of her mind"- until she discovers something that will giver her a voice and allow her to finally "speak" to the world.

Sharon Draper has masterfully used figurative language, real life situations and heart-tugging events to draw the reader into Melody's life.  My students have quickly rallied to Melody's side and have gotten angry at doctors, teachers, and children who discount Melody because of her physical disabilities.  I hope hearing this story from Melody's point of view will help them become the kind of people who do not quickly jump to conclusions based on appearances.  I am so incredibly proud of how the children defend Melody in times of injustice.  We have been choked up together, laughed together and been furious together.

I want to share my love of reading with my students.  I want them to realize that reading can take them places that they may never be able to visit physically.  I want them to understand various points of view and differing circumstances.  I want to show them that reading can be fun and exciting, but also show them how important proficient reading is to real life.

I am thoroughly enjoying my classes this year.  It still seems like we have been in a whirlwind, but the kids are so eager and seem so hungry to learn, that it makes me eager to be here with them.  I hope this continues.  Happy reading!

Just another Manic Monday!

     What a fantastic start to a new school year! Monday was a little CRAZY!!! (hence the title of this entry)  It went by so fast, I felt like I didn't have much of a chance to tell the kids the really important stuff! We spent the first two days going over rules and procedures.  These will be practiced, practiced, practiced until they become second nature.

     We spent some time during the rest of the week getting to know one another (I think I can match all the faces to a first name!)  I was beyond thrilled to know how many children love reading...this is unusual, in case you didn't know.  The kids seem so excited about the new school year, as well.

     The students brought home their "Tipton-town" Facebook profile so that they could add a picture.  We are going to hang those in the halllway, so that it will help us find people that have our same interests.  It also helps us,  as teachers,  see what the kids enjoy.  Knowing this will help us make their learning relevant.

     I hope your child had a good first week of school.  I did!  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  And once again, WELCOME TO 5th GRADE!