The Family History Report assignment is due this Thursday, January 31st. Maps were handed out today for those who have not made their own yet, and we discussed the need to include all parts of the assignment, including the rough draft, final draft (written by the student!), pictures, note cards, etc. Scroll down for the entire list. Report covers are available tomorrow for those who have yet to make their own.
It will take some time to correct and return the reports, but they will be something precious to keep and perhaps show later generations.

Family History Report: Write the Rough Draft from Notes

The rough draft is worth 20 points. Turn the notes on the cards into sentences and paragraphs for the rough draft. Feel free to embelish the notes with additional thoughts and explanations as shown below.Remember the anecdote will be the most interesting part of the report so take time to write it well. Try to capture the excitement of the story that your relative expressed during the interview.

Forler, Mary                August 10, 1989

           

            7 years old. sailed from Seattle to Nome, Alaska. Ship was

            stuck in ice. She climbed out on ice berg. Thought it was pretty.

            Sailors could not find her. One noticed her on ice berg. Remembered

            she liked bananas - “Here Mary. I have a banana for you.” She

            climbed the ladder to ship. Got in lots of trouble.  

            

         

         

         

ANECDOTE

        

            When my grandmother was only seven years old she sailed from Seattle to Nome, Alaska. During the trip the ship became stuck in ice. My grandmother thought it would be fun to climb out on the ice because it looked so pretty. So, that’s what she did. It must have been very cold on the ice, but she didn’t notice. She was having too much fun on the ice. She thought this was an exciting adventure and didn’t realize how dangerous this “adventure” really was. She could have slipped off the ice and fell to her death in the icy Alaskan water. Still, she was only seven years old and not thinking about safety.

        

             But the sailors on the ship knew about the dangers of ice and cold water. When they could not find her they became very worried and looked all over she ship for her. Finally, one of the sailors noticed a little girl standing on the ice berg next to the ship. It was Mary, my grandmother. He remembered she liked bananas, and he tried to coax her back to the ship by promising her one. “Here, Mary, I have a banana for you.” She thought that sounded delicious so she walked over to the ship’s ladder, climbed it, and got back aboard the ship. Once she was safely away from the ice and the cold water, she discovered how much trouble she was in. She was sent to bed early that night - without the banana.

        

 

Happy 2013! Here is the assignment page for the Family History Report. Over the break is often a good time to conduct interviews with family members. The whole report is not due until the end of January, however. Students need to do a minumum of three interviews, and the recommendation is a full page for each family member in the finished report. The anecdote is always the most interesting part of the report. More on the report project will posted soon.

Family History Report

 

1. Interview family members. Take notes on notecards.                     5

 

2. Take notes about your family members:                                       20

          a. traditions

          b. background/childhood

          c. jobs

          d. hobbies

          e. anecdotes/stories

 

3. Write paragraphs from your notes. Add an introduction and

     conclusion to your report.  (rough draft)                                    20

 

4. Proofread your report. Revise and make corrections. Write final

    draft.                                                                                             40

 

5. Indicate on the maps (U.S. and World) where your family and

    relatives have come from.                                                             20

 

6. Include Family Tree.                                                                     15

 

7. Include a self-portraits and/or family photos.                               20

 

8. Make an attractive cover for your report.                                      10

 

9. Copy a favorite family recipe for your report.                              20

 

10.Present your report orally in class.                                               20

 

11.Make a bibliography for your report.                                          10

 

 

 

Out of 200 possible points, I received _____________total points.

 

 

 

Writing good essays and stories takes lots of focused effort and the willingness to spend time and energy in order to produce a piece of work worth the reader's attention.

This week we are developing proofreading skills using an essay that contrasts fantasy fiction with realistic fiction. Fourth graders must learn to read every word--this is not the place for scanning and skimming!

A typical problem such as, "The storys we read fantasy fiction because they all had at least one talking animal for a character," is easily fixed with a closer read. Did you find the error? That's right--it should be 'stories' not 'storys.'

The fourth graders also had some fun learning about figurative expressions, particularly the expressions known as idioms.

"You might find yourself sitting on top of the world after the next Math test. Just make sure you're not down in the dumps when the test is completed because you didn't do all of the assignments or let your mind go off track during an important lesson.

Here's to a great holiday weekend! Follow this link to watch a slide show about the history of Thanksgiving: http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving

It's easy to feel grateful when you live in Port Angeles. Even the rain, and we get lots of it, has its benefits.

Report on a Current Event

With the internet, as well as television, radio, and newspapers, the availability of news items for current events reports far exceeds what was available only a few years ago. The report only needs to be about a paragraph long, summarizing the topic and point made by a news item. Try to find out where the event happened (setting) and then write a few sentences telling about the item.

Cards are available in the classroom for writing the current event report.Of course you can use notebook paper or write it in the Readers' Notebook as well.  There are lots of different kinds of news items as you may already know. Try to find the non-sensational and the non-horrifying kind. Lots of good and worthy things happen in the world, too.

STRONG BEGINNINGS

This week we started working on strong beginnings for our stories and essays. Sometimes it works to begin with a quotation:

In the Attic
by Mei Ann Lee

  "Achoo!" Sarah sneezed in the dusty air. "Looks like no one's been in this attic for years." There was dust everywhere. Camping gear, old toys, furniture, and trash were stacked along the walls. "This is so cool!" she said to her friend Matt.

  The idea is to get the reader's attention and make them want to read the rest of the story or essay. However, use the quotations sparingly. Too much dialogue gets in the way of the plot and cause the reader to become confused and give up. Try to make the reader curious while establishing the setting and characters.

  A strong beginning for an essay can start with a question:

                                                               Clouds
                                                                by Mr. Burnett

  With as much rain as we've had this October, one wonders, will the skies ever clear again? Yet, there is something wonderful about the clouds in the sky during this rainy time of the year. Looking at the clouds is a bit like looking at an oil painting that changes from one day to the next. Let's consider some of the reasons for nature's art work.

  Like in a story, you want to grab the reader's attention in the first sentence or two, and make them want to read what you've written. A question at the beginning of an essay just might make the reader curious enough to read on.