All the members of the class drew their ideas of what Treegap, the setting for Tuck Everlasting, might look like. Dr. Schultz scanned the images and used animoto.com to turn them into a (very) short video.
Here are the images.
Click on the link below to open the video version with these images.
I’ve pasted in the essay assignment for Tuck Everlasting. You should try to finish the novel by Friday at the latest.
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5th Grade Language Arts – May 2012
Literary Terms and Tuck Everlasting – A Five-Paragraph Essay
For your final project on Tuck Everlasting, you will write a 5-paragraph essay: an introduction, three points to support your thesis, and a conclusion. Think about the essays that you have worked on in your Great Books journals – most of these were similar essays.
Topics
Read through the questions listed on the back of this page. Which ones do you find most interesting? Do you have your own idea for a topic that you would like to explore? Decide on a topic or question to explore, and then get it approved by Dr. Schultz.
DUE DATE: Monday, May 14, 2012
Planning
Fill in the graphic organizer to plan out what information you will be including in your essay. Be sure to locate specific incidents and pages in the novel to provide support for any points you want to make. (Again, think about how you have been doing this in the Great Books assignments.) You can expand onto the back of the graphic organizer or onto an additional sheet of paper if you need more room.
DUE DATE: Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Rough Draft
Write out the material from your organizer into 5 separate paragraphs. Each paragraph should have a topic sentence and several supporting sentences. Each body paragraph (the middle 3 paragraphs) should include specific information from the book to support the points that you are making. Material from the book should include the page number in parentheses (p. 34) after a reference. You should always include page numbers, whether you are quoting or paraphrasing. (We will review what these terms mean.)
DUE DATE: Thursday, May 17, 2012
Final Draft
In your final draft, you should work in the suggestions you got in your comments. You should also improve transitions. (We will discuss some strategies for this in class.) You should also check your grammar and spelling. Proofread your final draft. When you turn in your final draft, you should attach your organizer and your rough draft as well. Be sure to label each draft so that I grade the proper one.
DUE DATE: Tuesday, May 22, 2012
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Literary Terms and Tuck Everlasting
Thinking about the plot—The plot is the action that happens in the story, starting and building until a resolution is reached.
• Why is it important for Winnie to understand why she must keep the Tucks’ secret?
• How does Winnie’s life change through her experiences?
• How do Winnie’s decisions affect the outcome of the book?
Thinking about the setting—Setting is the time, place, and context that the story happens in.
• Why is the fact that no road goes directly through the wood important?
• What do you think the author means when she writes that the road’s “sense of easiness dissolved” at the edge of the wood?
• What descriptive words does the author use to describe the two different environments of the Fosters’ home and the Tucks’ home?
Thinking about the themes—A theme is a major idea that has to do with the story’s overall meaning or with something important the author is trying to say.
• What do you think is the most important theme?
• How does the wheel metaphor help you understand the lifecycle?
• What is good and what is bad about the prospect of eternal life?
• What is good about death? Does it make us see life differently?
• How long would you like to live?
Thinking about the characters—Characters are the people in a story.
• Which of the Tucks do you feel closest to? Why?
• Would you like to have Winnie for a friend? Why or why not?
• Do you feel differently about Mae Tuck after she kills the man in the yellow suit? Why or why not?
Thinking about what others think of Tuck Everlasting
• How do you feel about the ending?
• Do you think Tuck Everlasting deserves all the praise?
• Do you think the book’s historical setting will help the story remain appealing for years to come? Why or why not?
Hey Fifth-Graders!
For tomorrow read through Chapter 8 in Tuck Everlasting. Remember to do the “active reading page” in the workbook.
Also, if you haven’t answered the second question on Wallwisher about the book, you should do that as well.
Keep on reading!
Dr. Schultz
Now that you have read the Prologue and Chapters 1 through 4 in Tuck Everlasting, please go to Wallwisher and respond to the question:
If you could, would you want to live forever?
Be sure that you have a reason for the answer that you give.
Hello 5th graders!
We’re going to be using our blog to connect to assignments for the next novel we are reading, which is Tuck Everlasting. Your first assignment is to study the cover of the novel and to post your predictions of what you think it will be about based on its cover. You should post your predictions on the Wallwisher page, which you can link to below.
I look forward to seeing your predictions!
Dr. Schultz
Thank you to all the students who have asked questions about our blog. Our class only has seven students in it, so it might take us a little while to answer all your questions. But we are working on it! So please be patient–we love your questions and hope to get a chance to look more at your blogs too!
–Dr. Schultz
Today we went on a walk to celebrate Rosh Hashannah! We ate apples and honey. Rosh Hashanah is a holiday that we celebrate for the Jewish New Year.
Saying blessings over grape juice, challah, and candles
We eat apples and honey as a symbol for a sweet new year.
Tomorrow is actually Rosh Hashannah.
by Sarah
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Our school did this field trip to review some of the important symbols associated with Rosh Hashannah. One ritual is “tashlich” which is the symbolic casting off of sins. We throw pieces of bread, representing our sins, into a flowing body of water. We also celebrate the holiday by drinking grape juice and eating round challah, and also by eating apples and honey.
Casting out our bread crumbs
by Dr. Schultz
View from our Rosh Hashannah Walk
Our signed rules by Tovah
Last week our school had a convention where representatives from each class came together to make the school rules. Each class sent the rules it made, and then the representatives worked to make rules that everyone could agree with. After we created the rules, everyone had to sign the contract or brit to show that they would try to follow and live with those rules.
This week we also had conferences. This month is the month of Elul which is a special because we get to blow a shofar. A shofar is an animal horn like a ram’s horn and you put it in this special liquid that makes the bone turn all rubbery so you can pull it right out. Then you clean it really, really, really well and polish it. Then you have a shofar.
blowing the shofar by:Tovah
Last Friday our whole school worked together in teams of students Kindergarten through Fifth Grade to build either a bridge or a tower. Here are some pictures of our results. We made sure to include all team members in the conversation and discovered that sometimes the kindergarteners had great ideas.
Tower #1 by Hannah
Tower #2 by Hannah
Bridge #1 by Hannah
Tower #3 by Hannah
Our classroom by Hannah
Wednesday
In school so far we have had Math class and it was really fun. Torah is our favorite class so far in school. It’s really fun! In just a moment we are going to go to science and social studies.
Thursday
Now it’s a different day. We will have art and music class. We already had gym class.
What are YOUR favorite classes at school this year?
by Sarah
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