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My school district adopted the Lucy Calkins Reading and Writing Curriculum which is fantastic, but one of the units Reading the Weather, Reading the World doesn’t correspond with the fourth grade Massachusetts Science Standards. Since we study Weathering and Erosion, our district plans on using Grand Canyon by Jason Chin as our mentor text. For Bend II: Launching a Whole-Class Research Project and Bend III: Tackling a Second Research Project with More Agency and Power, we can use this set of hyperdocs. Here is a suggested one-week plan: Day One: Two pairs of partners agree to research one of the below hyperdocs or one of the other hyperdocs on this site. Each person becomes an expert on one of the links. Day Two: Each partner researches their partner's link from Day One. Day Three: Each partner presents their link to the other person. Each partner gives feedback on how to strengthen the presentation. Day Four: The two pairs of partners each present their information to the group of four people. Day Five: Students create a five-minute or less Flipgrid video for their final presentation. Transcript of Screen Cast Hello, My name is Kate Narita, and I’m here to talk about the Weathering and Erosion hyperdocs I created. My school district adopted the Lucy Calkins Reading and Writing Curriculum which is fantastic, but one of the units Reading the Weather, Reading the World doesn’t correspond with the fourth grade Massachusetts Science Standards. Since we study Weathering and Erosion, our district plans on using Grand Canyon by Jason Chin as our mentor text. For Bend II: Launching a Whole-Class Research Project and Bend III: Tackling a Second Research Project with More Agency and Power, we can use this set of hyperdocs. On this webpage here, I lay out a suggested plan of action. There are five hyperdocs for students to choose from. The first hyperdoc, Glaciers, has a wide variety of links including this one which has ten fun facts about glaciers. In the second hyperdoc, Yosemite, if students need a break from science, they can click on links to artists who found inspiration in Yosemite. Animal fans will appreciate the armadillo, scorpion and beetle links in the Deserts hyperdoc. Video lovers will fall head over heels in love with the White Sands National Monument hyperdoc because all but one of the links will take them to short informational videos about the park. My favorite video is the one that compares the physics behind sledding down the dunes on a saucer or a toboggan or a piece of cardboard. Lastly, if students are interested in hearing first-hand accounts from survivors of The Dust Bowl, they’ll enjoy the primary source videos on the Sandstorms and Dust Storms hyperdoc. The last two hyperdocs can be found here under, you guessed it, the hyperdoc tab. I love learning new words. Speleothem is a new word I learned while creating this hyperdoc. Don’t know what a speleothem is? No worries, the speleothem link will tell you. Finally, remember the book Grand Canyon by Jason Chin? Well, on the Grand Canyon hyperdoc, you can click on the book link to hear children’s librarian and author, Matthew Winner, interview Mr. Chin. Thanks for checking out my hyperdocs. They can all be downloaded below.
 
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Rick Riordan looms large in our classroom. Check out all of the quotes this student incorporated in her essay. Way to go, A.J.! Remember, this is student work, unedited by me. So, there are errors, but that's part of what makes it authentic student work.
Son of Neptune By: A.J. Do you know who Pluto is I will give you a hint… you can find it is this book’s glossary! I recommend the book Son of Neptune By: Rick Riordan because of action, humer, and the glossary are all amazing and hilarious and useful. First, I recommend the book Son of Neptune By: Rick Riordan because of the humer. The first scene was when Frank, Hazel and Percy went into and field and Hazel got kidnapped by evil grain spirits called karpoi and Percy jumps into action and burns the grass so the karpoi don’t come back to life. Percy shouts at the top of his lungs and shouts, “Don’t touch her again or the grass gets it!” Percy shouts. “He’ll do it he’s crazy!” Hazel chimes. I thought that was so funny when they said that. Next, I thought the part when Arion, Hazel’s horsen first gets introduced because Frank says, “Is this thing tame?” and since Percy knows how to speak horse language he says, “ No, I don’t think so because Arion just said, “I will trample you to death silly chinese-canadian baby man!” That really cracked me up! Lastly, I loved the part were Percy meets the Border god, Terminus. And this what Terminus exclaimed. “Now, come over here so I can pat you down.""But you don't have-" Percy stopped. "Uh, sure."He stood next to the armless statue. Terminus conducted a rigorous mental pat down."You seem to be clean," Terminus decided. "Do you have anything to declare?" "Yes," Percy said. "I declare that this is stupid.” And I declare that this is a very funny book! The second reason why I think the book Son of Neptune By Rick Riordan is because of the action. First, there is the part were Frank talk about the time when he was a baby and Juno, the queen goddess came to his mother and told him that his life depended on a stick and if it burned up his life would end. I like this part because even if it was a sad part it was very interesting. Next, During lunch Mars, the god of war appears in the form of a Canadian soldier with grenades and a knife lastly to top it off the was caring an oversize M16. he wasn't there to kill, he was there to declare that this son Frank is his son. Because if you aren’t declare, you are undefined and Frank has been undefined for many weeks now and was getting worried. I like that part because I was really getting irked that frank has not been claimed yet so that was an exciting part for me. Last but not least, Percy, Hazel, and Frank went to go to Alaska to defeat the giant and free death for his bondage. When they arrive in Alaska .Hazel memories are renewed from when she lives there almost 70 years ago. The three stay at Hazel´s old house in Alaska. The house was very old and very spooky. They saw old pictures from when it was the 1940’s that made Hazel very emotional. After a restful night they planned their attack of a defeat and rescue mission. That was also the part when Hazel tells Frank about her blackouts and how when she does her blackouts it's basically like watching her life, and that was actually one of my favorite parts. I love how this book has a lot of action and that is actually one of the main things I want in a book. The third reason why I recommend the book Son of Neptune By Rick Riordan is because of the Glossary. The first time I read the book It said who all the characters godly parents were except for Frank’s but it did say that his mother was not a god or a demigod but she loved to fight and defend her country so I just assumed that it was the Roman war god but I did not know what the name was so I looked it up and it was Mars the roman god of war and later in the book it revealed the secret and sure enough I got it right. Next, there was the time when it first introduced arium which I knew was special but I did not know why so I looked it up and I found out that it meant gold especially imperial gold which bring up the next reason. Lastly, there was the time when first brought up imperial gold which I knew was also special but I also did not know why then I flipped to the very last pages and looked up the section for letters that start with i and found that it was an enchanted gold that is made for killing monsters. That was useful because it also brought up imperial gold in the first book but I did not try to look it up. The glossary was very useful and interesting and also looked up the names of gods and goddesses and what they stand for. I recommend the book Son of Neptune By: Rick Riordan because of action, humer, and the glossary are all amazing and hilarious and useful. In our classroom we're working on writing essays. We have a bulletin board in the front of our classroom that celebrates student writing and what they're doing well. Among other positives, this student wrote a thesis and stated it in the introduction and conclusion. Way to go, B.S.!
The Witches By B.S. Like huge fantasy? If you do, read The Witches by Roald Dahl because it's suspenseful terrifying and adventurous. My first reason I think you should read The Witches is because it's suspenseful. In the book there is a time between life and death when the boy is hiding in a room with eighty four witches and one grand high witch who can kill anyone just by looking at them and muttering a spell. Also the witches can get get rid of children easily. My second reason I think you should read The Witches is because it's terrifying. For example you could have a witch as your pleasant next door neighbor plotting to squish and squiggle you. My last reason I think you should read The Witches is because it's adventurous. As in the beginning the boy and his grandma have to stop the grand high witch. Also they are on a journey to destroy all the witches in the world in the end. In conclusion read The Witches by Roald Dahl because it's suspenseful terrifying and adventurous. ¨Watch out for your next door witch!¨  I am beyond honored that 100 Bugs! is a 2019 Mathical Honor Book. Twenty-three years ago when I did my student teaching at University of Wisconsin-Madison, my evaluator, Cookie Miller remarked, "You know what I think you'll be doing in your classroom?" "No," I responded. "A whole lotta math." Turns out she was correct along with a whole lotta reading and writing. The above image features all the books that won honors, but four of my students wrote essays arguing that Nothing Stopped Sophie written by Cheryl Bardoe, illustrated by Barbara McClintock and edited by Deirdre Jones should win the 2019 Sibert Medal. That didn't happen, but look what won the 2019 Mathical Prize:  You can read why my students thought Nothing Stopped Sophie should have won the 2019 Sibert here and here.
The Mathematical Science Research Institute awards the Mathical Prize along with Children's Book Council, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of English and the Firedoll Foundation. For years I have admired these institutions (I am a NCTM member), and I am pinching myself that they believe 100 Bugs! is worthy of their honor. Lastly, I'd like to give a shout out to my fellow Homewood-Flossmoor High School alumna, Nnedi Okorafor, because her book Binti is also a 2019 Mathical Honor Book. For four years, I started each and every day of highschool talking with her older sister, Ngozi Okorafor, my locker neighbor. I have long admired the Okorafor family and am over the moon to have my work recognized alongside Binti. Thanks again to Mathical Books for this tremendous honor. I look forward to exploring all the prize winning and honor books with my students. |
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June 2024
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