Just my obervations

Yesterday in class we learning about the writing strategy "Observations". It can be done in a variety of ways as some people will write one lined sentences or poetry about many of the things around them, while others may describe one specific observation in great detail. Or, one person may make start making a list of random observations and then get more specific on one or two (or a few if they have the time!). We tried it out quickly and did quite well if you ask me. Here are some of the observations made yesterday in class, followed by some observations I made after school and early this morning. If you get the hang of it, try it yourself, you'll be amazed of some of the things you'll learn just from thinking over your own observations. Thanks for reading and enjoy your writing.

Student observations.

*Boys more than girls like to jump up and touch the middle of the doors (with the spinning thingy) in the hallway of our school.

*Leaves crinkle under my feet sound like paper being crumpled up (and hopefully recycled!)

*The ladybug on the alphabet chart is orange and not red.

*Mr. Feustel must like pictures as there are a lot of them throughout the classroom.

*If you are a boy in Mr. Feustel's class and you have an older brother who was also in Mr. F's class. You are more than likely to be called your older brother's name a time or two (or more, I'm so sorry). He also calls girls by their older sister's name from time to time, even if that older sister wasn't in Mr. F's class. Being a girl who had an older brother does not seem to make Mr. F. want to call you by your brother's name, and that's probably a good thing.

Some of my random observations.

*The association in which I live is getting ready for snowfall as the little fluorescent green flags to mark ends of driveways and walkways are out.

*The school district in which I work is trying to save money by leaving some hallways lights off during the hours the students are NOT in the building. This is fine with me, but it does get kind of dark in the morning and afternoon when the students are not here. Hope they are using that money wisely!

*Most of the students in my class are enjoying the book Rules by Cynthia Lord as it seems like they don't complain about reading assignments for this novel. There are also some students how have read ahead and that's a sign of enjoying the book in my mind.

*The basketball player who wore the warm-up suit I bought at the University of Iowa athletic sale was a lot taller than me. I feel like I'm swimming in his warm-up, but it is authentic and looks awesome. Go Hawks!

Gone to a better place.

I know I'm a public school teacher and am not supposed to talk bout God and religion, but today's post breaks those rules. With that said, I'm sorry to report that little Tommy passed away this morning at 4:02 AM. Although this is very sad, think of how he was feeling and realize that now young Tommy doesn't have to deal with the pain and suffering he was going through in his fight against caner. I found this poem on his Caringbridge website, and would like to share it with you. R.I.P. Tommy!

Little Angels

When God calls little children
to dwell with Him above.
We mortals sometimes question
the wisdom of His love.
For no heartache compares with
the death of one small child,
who does so much to make our world
seem wonderful and mild.
Perhaps God tires of calling
the aged to His fold.
So He picks a rosebud
before it can grow old.
God knows how much we need them
and so He takes but few,
to make the land of Heaven
more beautiful to view.
Believing this is difficult
still somehow me must try.
The saddest word mankind know
will always be "Goodbye".
So when a child departs
we who are left behind,
must realize God loves children,
Angels are hard to find.

~Author Unknown

Something to do over MEA Break. Break out your journals!

Good day! Today is the first day of MEA Break and I hope you are enjoying your day. What am I doing? I'm already thinking about next week at school and the strategies we'll learn during writing that will improve our writing. While thinking about this, I thought there might be some readers of the blog that might want something to do beings the weather isn't the greatest today, and playing too many video games can get to be boring (Yes, there is such a thing as too much video games!). If this describes you (or even it it doesn't and you are just reading this because), consider this your lucky day because I'll introduce you a strategy I learned from the book Notebok Know-How by Aimee Buckner. It's called Writing from a Name. All you have to do is put your name or a family name on top of your page, and write about it. Here are some questions you may ask yourself if you can't get started right away. What do you like about your name? What don't you like about your name? Would you pick a different name for yourself? Are you named after someone? Who? How did you (or they if you are writing about someone else) get this name? Do you have a nickname? I could go on and on, but I'm sure you are ready to write and I want to get out and do some errands go running (yes, I still run in this crazy October weather). I also have some reading to do (finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days last night!) for my Master's class and that will take some time. So, enjoy writing from a name and enjoy your MEA Break. Don't forget to read, exercise and get some good quality sleep. Thanks for reading!

Children Learn What They Live

While going through and organizing some old teacher folders, I ran across a sheet of paper with a poem on it. It was entitled Children Learn What They Live. After reading (and then REREADING it) the paper, it became evident why I kept it in the first place. I truly believed in the message and wanted others to have the opportunity to see what they felt. So what you think. I feel it is very powerful. Enjoy.

Children Learn What They Live

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live the hostility, they learn to fight.

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.

If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.

If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.

If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.

If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.

If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.

If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.

If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.

If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice lace in which to live.

By Dorothy Law Nolte

As always, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading my blog, I think it will be updated more often in October of 2009. Going to have some guest writers on the blog. Stay tuned!!

Y.E. Yang: Haleztine Hereo!

While watching the PGA Championship and getting back into "school" mode today, I thought of creating a blog post in time order fashion. Y.E. Yang (I know, I've never heard of him before today as well) and the ever famousand touted Tiger Woods are finished through hole 15 as many surprised PGA people are seeing Y.E. Yang hang in there with a one stroke lead. He could become the first born Asian to win a PGA Championship. Anywho, I'm sitting at my table on my Apple and wanted to collect a few thoughts on this year's PGA Championship held in Minnesota (wish I was there, was fun in 2002!).

5:16 Y.E. Yang (-8) leads Tiger Woods (-7) by one stroke going into hole number 15! False, would be my first response, but we are not playing true or false right now, we are updating you with the 2009 PGA Chamionship at Haleztine.

5:20 Sure wish I had a huge HD tv right now. To all those who do, I'm jealous. Seriously, especially knowing college football is right around the corner.

5:23 Tiger's bad shots would still be more than my best. Yang is trying to end this (or is really, really lucky?). He came very close to finding trouble. A game of inches, bounces, and nature.

All Day Don't you just love David Feherty's voice? I wonder if he does any poem or book readings. Would be fun to listen to for sure.

5:32 Tiger putting...and they head to 17 & 18 one stroke apart.

5:39 Y. E. Yang has very cold blood flowing through his veins as he gently places his ball on the green. Should 2 putt from there. Tiger seems nervous. Ferherty's making jokes (about the amount of grass Tiger has thrown this week to get a gage on the wind here in MN) and I'm loving it. Enjoy that LONG grass Tiger. South Korea golf guru would have told you so.

5:43-5:49 I don't know where you'd be if playing this hole with Tiger and Yang, but I'm guessing I'd be in the water right now. Tiger is NOT in the Kentucky Bluegrass, but more of the Haleztine rain feed grass (to my facebook friends, I told you so.) Yang's water temperature is creeping up to triple digits as he shots his putt (slowed by the rain soaked greens? Could be.) Tiger's putt....waiting......good rhythm......good swing......good read.....not good enough! Tiger seems to be talking to himself, OR SENDING little messages to make Yang miss his short putt and not increase his lead.

5:52 On 18 tee off. Yang drives one straight down the pipe. Tiger hammers one to the edge of the fairway with a little extra effort.

5:54 86% battery life left. Thought someone might want to know.

5:55 Asian golf just got a boost. Like my post title states, Y.E Yang is becoming the Haleztine Hereo (I should really copyright that right now.)

5:56 Yang just gave the "golf shot" of the decade so far!!! Seriously, he used his 3 hybrid to just make ESPN's Play of August, the Summer, the PGA Championship, whatever you wish.. he simply just went at the pin and erase a lot of question on who would win this championship. Tiger loves the Hazeltine fast growing grass....NOT. Needs to whole it here to make things interesting.

Verne Lundquist (I'm pretty sure it's him) with call. "Y.E.. .SSSSS." Clever.

6:03 Y.E. Yang becomes the first born Asian PGA Champion. You'll be hearing this a lot the next week or so if you watch any type of sports shows.

6:05 "Get in the hole!" has to be a saying Tiger has on his pet peeve list. Two putts. Not a happy camper.

Okay. This started getting hard to do once I started using my DVR a wee bit much. This was a fun writing exercise and will have to do more watch/writing in the future.

Well done, Y.E.Yang. You took care of the Tiger and made the underdog victorious again.

This is my father Mark (on the right) after he shaved my head this past summer.

Waiting in the parking lot this fine summer morning was made difficult beings I knew my father would be surprised when he saw me. He wasn't expecting me to be in town until later that day, but my morning plans had shifted and here I was, smack dab in the middle of the Mason City Aqua Center parking lot, thinking of how I might react someday if my child surprised me with a earlier arrival time then planned on. I don't have children yet, but it's hard not to imagine being a father in the near future. In fact, in a few minutes, my dad and I would be in the swimming pool swimming laps side by side. Every once in a while we would wait for one another at either end of the pool, exchange a high five or hug, and then continue on as we only had an hour to swim. Although my dad and I didn't live in the same house for an extended time in my life, I think the last few years we've both made special time for each other where we can spend some good quality father & son time. I only hope I will be doing this years down the line.

The Memories Box by Mary Bahr Illustrated by David Cunningham.

Today I was given a wonderful gift. The gift of a book is one of the greatest gift's you could give someone as it can open so many doors. Now, I could go on and on about this book and how much I love it, but I'll make this short and sweet because it's really nice outside today and I want to enjoy the weather while it's nice (I live in Minnesota if you didn't know already). The children's picture book entitled The Memory Box by Mary Bahr and Illustrated by David Cunningham is a wonderful read for many reasons. For starters, it will serve as a great resource as my students and I delve into writing next year. Another reason this book is great is because it makes you think about your own family relationships and how special those can be. Third, wait, wasn't I supposed to be getting outside? Okay, the third and last reason this book is so great is because you could create your OWN memory box and put items in it that meant something to you. I've started thinking about what I'd put in my memory box (I'm using a shoe box right now). It serves as a great resource for writing and ......nevermind.. I'm heading out. Go out and read the book and let me know what you think.

Do the Dew Run!

Are you looking for something to do this weekend? Do you enjoy running? If you said yes to the previous two questions, then do I have an activity for you. The annual Dew Run will be held this Saturday morning. There are different race distances (1 & 4 mile runs) you can participate in. You can sign up the day of the race starting at 7:00 a.m. (I know, for some people, that's a bit early on a Summer Saturday morning). If interested, please follow the link below. I'm planning on running in the 4 mile race, but will be watching the 1 mile finishers before final preparations for the 4 miler. Maybe I'll see you there!

Farmington Dew Run 

Friday Scrabble Club

For all those interested, there will be a Scrabble Club meeting at the Ugly Mugg on Friday morning from 10:00-11:00 a.m. I'll also try to remember to bring Scrabble apple & Bananagrams in case anyone might want to try those games. Maybe we'll see you there.

New Book & Scrabble Club

Greetings all! Just wanted to post the book I'm reading as it is a good one. My father suggested this same title to me a while back and I'm finally following up on it as my time is a bit more open due to school ending. My wife bought it for me and is reading it right now as well for our little book club.  Get to the title already? It's the Young Reader's Edition of Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin. It is a New York Times Best Seller and although I've just started this book, I know it will be a quick read as the message is very powerful and Greg (the author) does a great job of telling his story about his mission. I highly suggest this book and also recommend keeping a journal to jot down your thoughts as you read this book. Finally, I'm sorry about Scrabble Club last Wednesday. On Thursday I was there, but no one showed up. I'm up for any day this week, but will wait to be contacted by any interested parties. As always, thanks for the post and let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. 

Wed. Scrabble Club Canceled

Spread the word! Due to a family emergency, Wednesday's Scrabble Club has been canceled. Sorry about the late notice, but it's hard to plan around emergencies. Thursday is still on, but again, Wednesday morning Scrabble Club has been canceled. See you Thurday! 

Two Times!!

That's right! There will be two Scrabble Club meetings this week (one on Wednesday and another on Thursday). In addition to having some Scrabble boards, I'm also going to bring Bananagrams and Scrabble apple in case anyone is interested in learning how to play those games. We'll be meeting at the same time both days (that would be 10:00-11:00 a.m.). Hope your summer has been a productive one so far! Maybe we'll see you there.  

Scrabble vote is final.

And the vote is in! You have voiced your opinion and the majority will rule. There will be a Scrabble Club meeting at the Ugly Mugg on Thursday from 10:00-11:00 AM. I can supervise the event. Bring your Scrabble boards and dictionaries if you wish.  There will be a quick meeting to discuss the future meetings of the Scrabble club so please bring your ideas on how you would like this club to continue. Hope your summer is off to a great start. Remember to get outdoors when the weather allows as it's very important to get lots of exercise.  See you Thursday morning at 10:00 am. 

Minneapolis Marathon 3:59:31!

It wasn't pretty, but the goal was achieved. My first sub-four hour marathon is now in the books! Didn't know if I was going to make it there for a while, but thankfully I pulled it together enough to sneak under 4 hours (with 29 seconds to spare!) A special thanks to Tim (3:50 Pacer) & Sam (4:00 Pacer). I really don't think I could have done it without them. Also, thanks to the 3:50 group. Michelle, John, John, Scott, and all the others whose names I've forgot. It was great to run with you, and I hope you all achieved your goals of 3:50 or whatever you may have been shooting for. Team Ortho put on a great marathon and I'm thinking it will be around for a while. Finally, thanks to my wonderful family. Mom & Rich, I'm looking forward to your book about How to Follow a Marathoner (this is not true, but should be!). Dad & Jan, thanks for figuring out where to go after I gave you terrible instructions on where to go. Jon, thanks for flying in from Indy. Was great to see you and it really helped me stay strong. Will be looking forward to see you run the Twin Cities 2009 Marathon this year. Todd, I didn't see you, but I'm sure you were there. Thanks for always supporting me in my running adventures. Great to have a big brother like yourself. My incredible wife Jessica, thanks for putting up with all my training and I promise it will be a while before I run another one. You are my rock, and I couldn't have done it without you. I can't wait until we run our first 5K together.  Jane, thanks for coming out and supporting your son-in-law. I look forward to the next race we run together. Still working on finding a good 10K to run in August (maybe anyone who has read this mini-novel can help point me out in the right direction). I could probably go on and on here, but I'm already getting a bit long. Thanks to all who I didn't mention here that supported me with my marathon running. 

Minneapolis Marathon

It's finally here!  The first annual Minneapolis Marathon will start @ 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. My goal will be to finish under four hours. I'll post my time and maybe even some pictures early next week.  Let's hope it doesn't rain!

Scrabble Club

Summer is finally here! Now what? Well, if you are looking for things to do, there has been some interest in continuing the Scrabble Club @ the Ugly Mugg. Please vote on which day works best for you on the poll to the left by Sunday night at 9:00 PM. On Monday morning, I'll post the date and time of the first meeting of the Scrabble club. Let your parents know that they are more than welcome to come and play, but also let them know they could drop you off and I'll watch you for the time you are playing Scrabble. The time would be from 10:00-11:00. It will be interesting to see what day is voted. Now, quite playing on the computer and go out and enjoy the summer!

End of the Year Letter

May 28, 2009

Dear students of C-10,

“Be quiet! Here he comes!” was what I could barely hear from a few busy body students scurrying to their seats behind the closed door of C-10 one day after lunch. It was no secret that as I walked into a dead quiet room and strolled by the Smartboard towards my chair, that the students of C-10 were coming together once again to remind me of how perfect they could be. I played along trying to be the perfect teacher and I think we all enjoyed a few minutes of what the “ideal” classroom would look like according to the scripts in Hollywood. We all knew that this wouldn’t last a whole day, but we enjoyed the ‘moment’ for a few minutes before carrying on the agenda set forth for that day. It’s funny to think back and reflect on what types of memories one keeps close to their heart as they travel through life, but the before mentioned few minutes in time is something I’ll always remember about the class of C-10 fifth graders during the 2008-2009 school year. There are countless other memories that come to mind when reflecting back over the year and I’ll do my best to cover some of them in some poetry as this class seems to have a special talent when it comes to creating poems. So, here’s my first ever try at a “special memory poem” entitled________ (don’t have a name for it yet, maybe you could help me). Enjoy!

(unknown title as of now)

We started the school year early,
And we didn’t get a Spring Break,
But we learned lots about math and reading,
So it’s knowledge with us we’ll take.

Our teacher was very driven,
To keep us reading and writing,
We responded by devouring books,
Some even read by natural lighting.

Then there were games of Scrabble,
Creating words with various points,
An after school club at old the Ugly Mugg,
One of our favorite local food joints.

And please don’t forget all the smiles,
Or getting sidetracked on a lesson,
The wonderful poets and artists,
To guide them was such a blessin’.

Bouncing balls and bouncing kids,
Was something that was seen,
Kids recycling and using less,
Being smart and being ‘Green’.

Our field trip to Camp Pepin was great,
Our memory books supported that fact,
The end of the year is now here,
Let’s get this summer on track.

Now the time has arrived to part ways,
And I know for me that’s a bummer,
But to be optimistic and not so sad,
At least there’s the start of the summer.

Remember to make time for reading,
And you may also might want to write,
In the morning, at night or whenever,
So in 6th grade you’ll shine nice and bright.

I know summers are sacred to students and teachers alike, but to improve your reading and writing skills, I suggest doing a little each day. “What! Read and Write EVERYDAY during the SUMMER? Mr. F, Are you crazy?!”. Not that I know of, but I’ve been called crazy before (and probably even worse), but I guarantee that if you read and write EVERYDAY over the summer, your skills in those areas will improve. Now, to do this you will have to have a journal or writer’s notebook (check) and something to read (a book, magazine, newspaper, dictionary, articles on the W.W.W., whatever). I’d advise to select a time where you can do this each day. 15 minutes of writing and at least 30 minutes of reading. It’s only 45 minutes a day and gives you something to do in the summer (I know that some of you complain to your parents about being bored!). You have strategies on how to select what to write, use them to the best of your abilities. If you need help, contact me through the blog and I’ll see if I can help. Not only will your parents will be very impressed and you might actually learn something or enjoy a great book.
To wrap things up, I just want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for being a great class. I know I’m not the easiest teacher to deal with, and you’ve done a great job putting up with me for a whole year. The way this class worked as a community was really special and I’m glad I was a part of it. If you are interest in playing Scrabble or blogging, make sure to visit the classroom blog as I will be working on it over the summer. Finally, I’ve never been one who enjoys “good-byes”. True, I’m happy for all of you for being ready for 6th grade, but that means you won’t be here at Akin Road next year. And with that I'll sign off.


Sincerely yours,

Mr. Troy M. Feustel

Camp Pepin

I hope this blog post finds you caught up on sleep from the past few days and ready to create a wonderful Camp Pepin memory book. Remember to get your photos printed quick as your memory books are due Thursday, May 21 at 3:30 PM. We will go over the form for the different pages in this book on Monday & Tuesday and will be spending an hour or two each day this week. Bring your scrap booking supplies if you have them! We'll do some brainstorming at the beginning of the week to help job your memories, but if you want to share some via the blog, I'm sure the readers would love to read them.  As always, thanks in advance to those who post! 

Earth Day 2009

It's Earth Day and time to talk about what we can do to help our Earth. There are lots of different ways in which you can celebrate Earth Day and one is to do something that will have a positive effect on our wonderful planet. Here are just a few ways in which you can make a difference: reduce, reuse, recycle, wear hand-me-downs, open a window, make a poster, take a cool shower, write a poem, plant a tree or flowers, ride your bike, pick up a park, say "paper" and not plastic at the grocery store, turn off lights when you are not in the room, and many, many more. For today, post what you are going to do are already are doing to help our planet Earth. You could also post a poem about the precious planet. We look forward to your comments! Make today a memorable Earth Day!

P.O.D.

Welcome to the Problem Of the Day! In our morning math class, we often begin with a math problem we call the Problem Of the Day (a.k.a. the P.O.D.). I thought we could try this on the blog today to change things up. I will post the correct answer in the comments section tomorrow morning (as well as any posted comments from bloggers thinking they know the correct answer). As I won't do this until the morning, people won't be able to see other bloggers comments and be able to borrow their ideas. I think you get the point. So, have at it and we'll see who can figure this out. Best of luck and thanks for your efforts.

P.O.D.

I bought the plates for the MCA snacks at 70 % off the price listed. The price on the yellow sales tag reads $4.99. How much did I pay for two sets of 16 plates? Post your work in the comments section and check back tomorrow after 9:30 a.m. to see if you were right. Enjoy your day!

Cinquain Poetry

"Training"

Training

Dedication, Persistence

 Planning, Stretching, Running

Enjoying nature while logging numerous miles.

Living

I've found a new form for creating Cinquains. It's a bit easier than the one we used in class that really focused on having the correct amount of syllables in some of the lines.  Try it out and see what you think. Here is the form. 

Line 1: One word (subject or noun)

Line 2: Two words (adjectives that describe line 1)

Line 3: Three words (action verbs that relate to line 1)

Line 4: Four words (Feelings or observations about line 1)

Line 5: One word (synonym of line one or word that sums up poem)

I hope this makes creating Cinquains a bit easier for you. Thanks to those who have been posting lately as you really are the force that keeps this blog going. Make today a great one! 

Saturday!!!

It's Saturday! What are you going to do today?

I'm heading out for a run and maybe even a haircut. When I return home, I hope to get the Cinquain post ready and also update the Scrabble section on the blog. I hope you enjoy your day!

Quatrains

As we continue to celebrate Poetry Month, the type of poem for today's post is the Quatrain. Quatrains are four-line poems that may follow any one of four different rhyme patterns (AABB, ABAB, ABBA, & ABCB). Having a certain "flow" to your poem will set it apart from others as rhythm plays an important part in poetry. Please try your best to create this by repeating to yourself (and maybe even making some changes to your first draft) many times before posting. Yesterday we almost reached our goals of 10 Haikus. Today we'll shoot for 10 Quatrains from the blog readers. Post away!

Haiku

Today in class we learned how to create a type of Japanese poem called a Haiku. It was fairly simple as it is only a three lined poem. Although some students shared their poems in school, I'm hoping more can post theirs on the blog. My goal for tonight is to have more than 10 posted poems of the Haiku variety. Just in case you forgot the format, here's a little reminder.

Line 1 = 5 syllables
Line 2 = 7 syllables
Line 3 = 5 syllables.

I look forward to seeing if we can post more than 10 Haikus! Thanks in advance to those who post!

Writing Notebooks

I hope this post finds you enjoying a wonderful Easter morning. The sun is out. The birds are chirping, and it looks as if Spring is here. With all this going on, I hope you are making time to write in your notebook. Remember you are to write at least 3 times in your book for about 10 minutes each time (you CAN go longer if you wish) over the break. Having a little "writer's block?". Here are some topics that may help you "break through". You could write about: Easter, the signs of Spring, your little 'Spring Break', the book you are reading (Wringer?), your family, what you did on Thursday and Friday, 5th grade, 6th grade, a movie, friends, write from a list, continue a past entry, or anything else you cold think of. If you have ideas that you feel would help others or would like to share what you wrote about, post it on the blog as it may help others. Enjoy your remaining days of break and we'll see you on Tuesday morning.

Where would you go?

Although I'm really loving life in Minnesota, this April snow has got me thinking I'd rather be somewhere else. It would be awesome to see some green grass, trees, and sun on a regular basis. I just was in communication with a friend from Arizona and I was a little jealous on what his weather was like (80 degrees and sunny!). So, I thought it would be really interesting to see where the readers of this blog would rather be. I know we are getting some posts from across the county (thank you to all who have done so!) and the weather may be fine for them, but if you could go anywhere in the word for a few days, where would it be and why? Can't wait to see where you would go to avoid the snow!

Last Day of March

Today is the last day of March and wow what a month it has been. In class today we are going to use bubbl.us to help us brainstorm events that happened in the month of March. After the brainstorm, we are going to write about one (or more) of these events in our 'writer's notebooks'. So, the idea behind today's post is that I would like to see some of the readers of this blog post their favorite March memories. Please remember who your audience is (a 5th grade classroom)and thanks in advance to those who post. The class and I enjoy reading your comments and they usually help us with discussions in our classroom.

ARES: Through Our Eyes

The RockYou video has been taken off due to technical difficulties (a.k.a. It was messing up our blog!). We are sorry for the inconvenience. We appreciated all your wonderful comments and are in the process of finding some sort of replacement. Blog on!

Alliteration is awesome!

In class this week, we learned that another type of figurative language is alliteration. An example of this would be a sentence such as the next one. Tupal the tiny turtle trudges through the ten foot tide. As you can see, all you have to do to create alliteration is use the repetition of a beginning consonant sound. Here's another example using the "s" sound. Silly Sally saddled up her horse and sauntered home. Improve my examples or create your own. It would be great to see what you can come up with. Thanks for taking the time to post! We appreciate it!

March Madness is here!

March Madness is officially upon us, and for a lot of people (including me!) this is one of the best times of the year. This past weekend didn't provide the upsets college basketball fans love, but it did have it's fair share of great memories. Please take the time to post some of your favorite March Madness memories and any other comments you may want to add. Then remember, this Thursday begins the weekend when we go from the Sweet 16 to the Elite 8 and by the end of the weekend, the Final 4. Are your brackets still looking good or are they broken? Let us know!

Figurative Language: Simile

Figurative language can really make a piece of writing 'come to life'. One type of figurative language is the simile. A simile is the comparison of two unlike things using like or as. Here are two examples of similes. The first example comes from the book Eggs by Jerry Spinelli.

"He opened his eyes and followed the river to the crown of the rising sun. It (the sun) was crisp and sharp and beautiful and smooth as a painted egg."

As you can read, Spinelli is comparing the rising sun to a painted egg. Two unlike things that are in his mind, beautiful. My second example is one I just made up.

The fifth grade students sounded like a steam train coming down the hall. Here, I am comparing fifth grade students to a steam train. Two unlike things, that sometimes sound very much alike!

Please post your own similes in the comments section. Thanks to those who post!

St. Patrick's Day Limericks

Welcome bloggers. At school today, we celebrated St. Patrick's day by creating some old fashioned limericks. We would love to see more creative limericks. So, please post some of your own limericks in the comments sections. Don't know what a limerick is? Click the work limerick and it will take you to 'How to Write a limerick' by Bruce Lansky on the website Giggle Poetry. Enjoy! And as always, thanks for sharing!!!

Personification

The sunrise's beems greated me this morning as I was making my way into door number 2. This is my example of personification. If you know what personification means, please post your ideas for all readers. If you don't know, you might consider looking it up in a dictionary; and then posting your own examples of personification. Thanks to those who share!

SMARTBoard Podcast

Good news! I'd like to share with the readers of this blog that an idea that started in my classroom was given some impressive attention. A SMARTBoard file I created (with the help of my students) was used on an award winning podcast ( pdtogo.com ). It's a file that we use in the classroom to sharpen our Scrabble skills. I've been listening to this podcast since the beginning of last year and to be the "main event" was very special to me. Thanks to those who helped out. Please take the time to check out the podcast as Ben & Joan always have great ideas to share. Luckily, I also got to share this week. Enjoy!

http://pdtogo.com/smart/

Favorite Quotes

And March is finally upon us! "Why?" you ask, am I so excited about the beginning of March. Well, let's say I'm a big fan of college basketball, and we'll leave it at that. I'm really wanting to talk about the post today. Words spoken by people to inspire, educate, motivate, and or entertain are powerful examples of the use of words. There are many quotations people use to carry out their everyday lives. I'm curious to see what quotations the readers of this blog use or know of that they feel are inspiring, motivating, and or entertaining. I've got a few I'll share in the comments section. Feel free to comment or share some yourself. Thanks in advance for your post!

P.S. REREAD your post before you publish.

February 2009

Today is the last day of February! There were lots of fun-filled events that happened during the shortest month of the year and I would love to read about what you enjoyed or remembered most. There was the Sock Hop to start the month out followed by Valentine's Day, No School on Presidents' Day, the ARES Book Fair, Culver's Night, conferences, and finally the early release in which we saw a little snow fall (okay, a lot of snowfall). These are just some of the things that went on in February I remembered after looking in my school planner. For those who post, please let the people who read this blog know what you enjoyed most during the past month. This may take a bit more than a sentence or two, so take your time as you post. Also, please remember to take the extra minute or two to REREAD your post before publishing (your audience will appreciate that!) Thanks to those who post and enjoy your weekend!

Snowy Day

What a snowy day! I was just curious to see what all the readers of this blog did Thursday afternoon as the snow came down in the Southern Metro. I went to the club to get a workout in. What did you do? Can't wait to see what the readers were up to.  

Favorite reading spot

Two questions for today. First of all, where is your favorite place to read? And then, when is your favorite time of the day to read? For me, I really enjoy waking up, grabbing a warm blanket, and heading down to my 'pillowy' couch to dive into a book. There is a certain calmness in the morning that really helps me focus and get the day started on the right foot.  I'm also a big fan of reading in my bed before going to sleep, but I think most good readers enjoy that. I'd like to hear about the other places you enjoy your literature. As always, I'll be excited to see your posts. Make today a great one!

Keep the poems coming!!!

Wow! Another night of 4 blog posts! That's two nights in a row. Looks like people are taking the time to write some poetry after school. You make your teacher very proud. Now, to step things up a little, let's make sure we are using dictionaries and double (and maybe even triple) checking our work to make sure it makes sense and looks good. I hope you are enjoying this blog as much as I am. Reading your work is as much fun as it is educational. Thanks for your work, and keep those poems coming!

Super Bowl clerihews

Last name Warner, first name Kurt, 

In the Super Bowl he won't be hurt, 

Dropping touchdowns from the sky, 

We both graduated from U.N.I.!

Flying down the field is Larry, 

For defenders he looks scary,

Holy Angels was his high school team, 

Now he's trying to fulfill his dream.

Number 43 is Troy,

Defense is what brings him joy,

He can swipe away the ball, 

Or hit you hard and you will fall.

"Enjoy the day","I will," said Troy, 

And out the door did go that boy,

Running through the frozen streets, 

Making music with his 'feets'.

These are some clerihews I came up with. If you are a football fan, I'm sure you'll understand the first three. The last one is one I'm still working on, but decided to throw it out there anyway. Feets is probably a word a teacher shouldn't be using, but in a poem it just might be alright. Make today a great one! 

Create & Share a Clerihew

On Friday we learned how to create a type of poem called a Class Clerihew. Although some clerihews were shared in class, I'd really like to see more of them. So, the topic for today's blog is to create or find some clerihews to share with the "bloggers". To help, I've included the link to Giggle Poetry along with listing the four rules of creating a clerihew. Can't wait to see what you come up with. And as always, thanks to those who post. 

       The Four Rules

1. They are four lines long.

2. The first and second lines rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other.

3.The first line names a person, and the second line ends with something that rhymes with the name of the person.

4. A clerihew should be funny.

Some suggestions for your clerihews

*Consider other people's feelings (a.k.a. "no putdowns")

*Know who your audience is.

*Use a dictionary for hard to spell words.

*Have fun & be original. 

Link to Giggle Poetry

Who is your favorite author? Please explain why in a sentence or two (or more if you wish). Finally, please make sure you check your spelling before you post. Thank you for taking the time to be here on our blog.

The best and worst of Hatchet.

With everyone finished up with Gary Paulsen's novel Hatchet, I thought I would open up a conversation about the best and worst of this book.  In an earlier post, Amanda let everyone know she was not a big fan of when Brian was eating the raw turtle eggs. The best part of the book in my opinion is when Brian makes his new "home" and food storage area. I can only imagine how it would feel to make a shelter in the wild and how proud one might be once they are finished. It takes a lot of work, but what in life that is worthwhile doesn't require a lot of work? I'm looking forward to see your best and worst moments. Stay warm this weekend!

Here is my very first YouTube video! It is titled the Akin Road Fun Run. A special thanks to Jan Miller for the pictures used in this video and for the PTP for the post race snacks. Great job kids and remember to keep on runnin' (and reading)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PYm9h-XbD4

Book dioramas on flickr!

Have you ever heard of flickr? It's a website that promotes photo sharing. Follow this link to see the class dioramas created after reading a book in a literature circle. Enjoy! And nice work students!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feustel/

Hatchet reading

As we were filling out our planners, I forgot to think that there will be no school on Monday. So, if you are reading this (and I thank you for doing so) you can read chapters 13 & 14 in Hatchet (and that also means you could read 15 & 16 because of the rule we made about reading ahead). I can't seem to put the book down and thought others might be feeling the same. So, enjoy your day of on Monday and I'll see you on Tuesday when we will spend the whole afternoon with our Hatchet "text codes".  Keep on reading (and hopefully sharing your thought on this blog!)

Are you reading another book?

For those of you great readers who can read two books at a time. What is the other book (or books if you can handle 3 or more) you are reading. Or, what other types of literature are you reading besides Hatchet. If you are reading 30 minutes a night (and EVERYONE should be doing this to prepare for 6th grade) I think it would be great to see what everyone is reading. Please share. Thanks and let's enjoy a warm weekend. Did I just say warm when the temperature is only going to be in the 30's? YIKES, I'm a Minnesotan! 

Question for day?

What is the next book you are going to read? Why? Respond in complete sentences please. Also, dictionaries are great books to help you with your spelling. I know I need it! I look forward to seeing what you are reading next. If you don't know, ask a friend or someone you know reads a lot. Enjoy those books!

First day of the blog.

Hello there,

This blog is an attempt in getting my wonderful fifth graders to use the technology they have at their fingertips to communicate about reading and writing (and anything else academic). I'm not what one would consider a "blogger", but maybe that will change over the next 5 months. I'm sure this page will improve over time as we all learn more about blogging and what we can do to make this site an educational destination for many. Let's blog!