5th Grade Wrap-Up


Out of all of the books we've read this year, my favorite was The Green Book, Maniac Magee, and The Adventures of Ulysses. I liked all of these books for the same reason: They're all really...out there. Even though Maniac Magee is technically realistic fiction, Maniac himself is so unrealistic that the story seems like fantasy. I also liked Maniac Magee because it told you about important things like segregation and poor people, while still being fun at the same time. The Green Book was science-fiction. I really enjoyed the part about the aliens (moth people), and how they were so nice to the new people. I also liked The Green Book because the author made everything so real-sounding that I could picture what everything looked like in my head! I liked The Adventures of Ulysses because it was so mythology-ish and creative that it almost got overwhelming--I love that! Also, it had tragedy, romance, drama, comedy, happiness, everything! It was so exciting!

My least favorite book was Crow and Weasel. I, personally, like reading fast, so that I can see what the resolution to the plot is. Crow and Weasel made me go super slow. After about two hours of it, I'd read three pages. Also, I couldn't really follow it.

Here's how I see myself progressing:

I've gotten better at understanding what i'm reading (reading comprehension)
I've gotten better at inferring about books, but not as much as I'd like to have.
I've always been a pretty good writer, but I've gotten a lot briefer while I'm writing essays and my blogs. My essays have gotten a lot less list-y and a lot more informing-y. I have also gotten better at being brief on the blog. My creative writing has formed from writing about Zippo and Zap, the runaway twin ferrets (I wrote a book about them in 1st grade) to the sequel to Harry Potter: Albus Potter. My creative writing has gotten a lot more creative. I have always shared lots of ideas in class, but I never really planned out what I was going to say. Now, I'm able to organize my thoughts and then raise my hand!

Language Arts


China Books: In The Year of The Boar and Jackie Robinson & The Rainbow People


In The Year of The Boar and Jackie Robinson:

Group Work:
I think that my L.A. group sometimes got a little off topic, and sometimes we didn't "collaborate" as much as we could've. Other than that, I think we were great! I really enjoyed working with all of my group members.

Essay:
I think that my essay was very detailed and long, but it took a long time to write. My plan was really good, but my essay wasn't that good. Overall, I think it was ok.

Blog:
On the blog, I think I was pretty detailed and creative. I often posted my comment late, though.

In Class Quizzes:
I didn't understand some parts of the book, so I got a fair amount of questions wrong. But the majority of my answers were right.

Here is my essay on Shirley's identity:


The Rainbow People:

Leading on The Blog:
I thought I did a pretty good job as the facilitator. I was prepared, and I didn't have any troubles with thinking up questions, and people gave great answers. It was really fun!

Leading in Class:
In class, I wasn't as prepared, but I was pretty prepared. I didn't have the best questions, but I

This I Believe


This was our first not-completely-based-off-of-a-book project. We wrote an essay as a book character about something that we believed in, then made a recording of it and put that on a glog that we made based off of the essay. I did one as Maniac/Jeffery Magee, saying that I believed in being yourself. We did the same thing again, except this time it was something that we ourselves believed in, not a book character. I did acting. I think that my personal belief essay represents my best work because I think I really expressed what I felt when I acted and I explained myself fully. To make it even better, I could have tried to perfect those little awkward sentences that sounded kind of odd. I think that my book character essay was my least successful project because, unlike my personal essay, I didn't express or explain myself fully. It didn't really make sense. I could've gone more slowly, make it make more sense, and told more about my actual belief to make it better. My personal essay is where I see progress in my work. I had a lot of fun doing this project!

Here are my two glogs:
Being Yourself
Acting


Maniac Magee


This was our third book. For this book, my best work was all of my blog posts. I thought of some really creative things, and I added more stuff to the original story (that made sense). If I had read over my work before I posted it, that would have made it even better. My essay was my least successful project, because I rushed through it.


The Cay


This was our second book. I did my best work on the Edmodo thick and thin questions. I thought of really good questions, but sometimes I didn't know the answer to my own questions! My least successful assignment was the essay where we compared Island of the Blue Dolphins and our survival book. I kind of rushed through it, and it's not my best quality work. In the next unit, I will not rush, and be more efficient, and to be my best self, I will try to work better in the group I am put in.

Thin: What was the disaster? ☐ Tempest ☐ Tsunami ☐ Hurricane ☐ Tornado
Thin: What did Timothy say Stew Cat would do once the storm struck?
Thin: Why did Timothy put Stew Cat on the raft, and then cut it loose?
Thick: Why do you think Phillip asked Timothy if he was still black?


Island of the Blue Dolphins


This was our first book. I did my best on the paragraph on the friendships of what friendship is, Karana and Rontu, Karana and Tutok, and a closing paragraph about comparing the two friendships. I put all of my effort into it, and really put my best foot forward. I'm going to need to work on putting all of my thoughts into a short, brief sentence, that goes right to the point. I have made progress on really thinking about what I'm reading and writing before I do it. My new plan is to