Better or Worse?

Yikes, during the last two chapters of Schooled, we heard from Hugh and from Zach.  Neither of them are very happy with Cap right now.  Things seem to be going better and better for Cap, and not so well for both of them.

Discussion Points:
1. Give some examples of how things seem to be getting better for Cap, and worse for Hugh and Zach.
2. What do you predict will be the high part of the story mountain, or the turning point in this story? Be sure to explain your thoughts fully and use examples( or evidence0 whenever possible.

12-12-12

Hello  2308 Readers!
What a fun day we had today celebrating the number 12! For today's blog post, in honor of 12-12-12, let's list twelve of our favorite books!

Here is my list:
1. The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles
2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. Mandy
4. Maniac Magee
5. Charlotte's Web
6. The Phantom Tollbooth
7. The Black Stallion
8. Misty of Chincoteague
9. James and the Giant Peach
10. The BFG
11.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
12. The Hunger Games

Gosh, there are many more that I love, but there are 12 books I love anyways.  I can't wait to read your lists........
Happy Reading and 12-12-12!

Mrs. S

Magyk Book Talk

I rate Magyk by Angie Sage a ten because how she explains the scene, characters, and the way they feel.  Magyk is an adventurous novel with action, adventure, and excitement bursting out of the seams.  In this book you will meet Jenna who is actually is the princess, you will also meet boy 412, and Jenna's "brothers" and family.  This book is about first finding the seventh son of the seventh son, and saving Jenna from the assassins trying to kill her so she will not take over the throne, because the supreme custodian wants the throne to belong to him forever until he dies.  This book is part of a five book series and I am on the second named Flyte and I am really looking forward to reading the rest of the series.  So do you love it or hate it?  If you ahte it I suggest you change your philosophy and at least try it because it is good, really good.


Discussion Points:

1.  Please share what you noticed and liked about this book talk.  Remember to reference the 5 S's......Specifics, summary, strong points, suggestions, and selling point.
2.  Give any feedback for grammar and editing points that you notice.  Please remember to give feedback in a respectful and helpful way.

Character Changes

In our class read aloud, we talked about how we noticed some characters changing their attitudes.  Character development is something we are working on in our writing as well.

In Maniac Magee, one of our earlier read alouds, one of the characters, Mars Bar, started out as quite a bully.  He was nasty to Maniac.  Throughout the story, Maniac had various interactions with Mars Bar.  Towards the end of the story, Mars Bar begins to respect Maniac, and they really become friends.

Discussion Points:

1. From Schooled, pick a character and talk about any small changes that they may have made recently.  Be sure to give examples from our reading.

2.  From your own reading, or from a previous book you have read independently, discuss how a character changed throughout the story.  Be sure to use examples from your reading to back up your claim.

Story Mountains

Hello Crazy Room 2308 Readers!
What an exciting chapter we read today!  I can't believe things could get worse for Cap, poor guy! Not only is he the butt of everyone's jokes, gets things thrown at him at every moment....now he is in the back of a police car when he was only trying to help.

We have been talking about story mountains in our writing class, and mapped out our last read aloud together, "Witches" by Roald Dahl.  Today we briefly talked about where today's chapter would be on a story mountain.

Discussion points:
1.  Where do you think this chapter falls on a story mountain?  Tell me why you think what you do, using at least one example from the story.
2.  What is happening in the book you are reading now?  Where do you think you are on your independent book's story mountain? Use examples from your book to back up what you say.
3.  Hugh Winkleman's point of view was expressed today in one of the chapters.  What do you think of him?  Is he a good character or a bad one? Give examples from the book to back up your answer.

What Makes a Good Story?

Hmmmm, what makes a good story?  Check out the interview below with Gordan Korman, the author of our class read-aloud, "Schooled". 

www.nbclearn.com/writersspeak

Discussion Points:

1.  What did you think about the interview?  Did you agree with Mr. Korman?
2.  What ideas did you get from the interview that you could use in your own fiction story you are working on in writing?
3.  What other books have you read by Gordan Korman?  If you have not, what ones look interesting to you?  You can see more about the author at http://www.gordonkorman.com/

Capricorn

Capricorn Anderson is turning out to be an interesting character in our class read aloud "Schooled".  Today in writing class we made t-charts and focused on developing our own main characters before we start writing our fiction stories.  We discussed internal and external characteristics. 

Discussion Points:
1. I know we have only read a few chapters, but, based on what we have read, what are some internal and external characteristics that we could say describe Capricorn?

2. Does Capricorn remind you of any other characters from other books you have read?  How so? Are there ways that he is different?