Room 26 News
November 1, 2013
Gnarly Narratives
By: Graycin
Grammar Matters
Now I will tell you about common nouns. Common nouns are a person, place or thing, but they do not name a specific person, place or thing. Some examples are brother, desk or grocery store. The last but best type is plural nouns. Plural nouns are more than one noun. City changes to cities. There are certain rules you have to follow to change a singular noun to a plural noun. If it ends in a y change the y into an i and add es. If it ends with ch, sh, th or x, you have to add es.
By: Luke
Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?
1.What is the cause and what is the effect?
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought some land known as the Louisiana Purchase. He didn’t know much about the land, so he asked Lewis and Clark to explore it.
2.Which decimals are equivalent?
A. 0.230
B. 0.320
C. 0.23
D. 0.023
3.What part of a tree sends water and minerals up from the roots
A. Phloem
B. Cambium
C. Xylem
4.Which of these equations equals 1.00?
A. 0.38+0.96
B. 0.58+0.42
C. 0.28+0.24
Answers
1. Cause: Thomas Jefferson didn’t know about the land.
Effect: He asked Lewis and Clark to explore the land.
2. A and C
3. C (xylem)
4. B
By: Trey and Ava
Brandon Mull
Last week we were very lucky to have a special author visit our school. His name is Brandon Mull. He is most recognized as the author of Fablehaven, but he is also the author of many other captivating series and books. Some of these are The Candy Shop War, The Beyonders, and the book we are reading currently, Spirit Animals. Spirit Animals is arguably one of the best children’s book series out there. It is about 4 kids who each summon one of the 4 fallen beasts of Erdas, a land much like our world with the exception of the spirit animals. Our whole class is hooked on the book.
Mr. Mull’s writing career started in Clayton, California. As a kid, he loved to write. He would share his stories with his friends and family. He continued to better his writing, using his friend’s and family’s feedback. “I’ve been trying to pull off a writing career, dreaming of it since high school and trying sincerely since college, which has been quite a few years already.” Those were Mull’s own words during an interview. Well, I think we all know he has pulled off a very successful writing career.
On the day of his visit, the whole schoool greeted Mr. Mull. We waited outside in the parking lot area on the sidewalk. Everyone dressed up as a character from his book or a spirit animal. He had no idea we were waiting for him. He was very surprised and happy that we were out on the sidewalk cheering for him.
After the welcoming of Brandon Mull, we had an assembly. There, he talked about how he became the author he is now and his books. He started off talking about his books. He told us how he wouldn’t be writing all the books in the Spirit Animals series. At first, most of us saw that as a disappointment because we all loved Mr. Mull’s detailed description, the feeling he added in his dialogue, and, probably most of all, his sense of humor. But then we realized that each author had something different to bring to the series. Then, Mr. Mull explained how in this 7 book series, the books would come out fast because it is being written different authors. After that, he explained what his other book series are about. The Candy Shop War is about these kids who find a mysterious candy store that gives candy that will make you do stuff. For example, the moon rock candy makes you jump really, really high. This book is recommended to people who have a huge imagination. Fablehaven is about 2 siblings who go to their grandfather’s house only to discover that witches, fairies, and other mythical creatures live on his property (really a mythical creatures preserve). He recommended this book to people who like a more balanced series. The last book he introduced to us was The Beyonders. The Beyonders is about the same kids in Fablehaven who go on a mission to rescue heroes being held captive. He said this is a good book for people who can withstand reading a little violence.
Then he talked about how he became an author. He told us how to incorporate things you’ve seen in your life into your stories. For example, in Fablehaven he used a hippo he had saw at the zoo as an entrance to another world. Mr. Mull believes, “Imagination can take you places.” We can certainly find some imagination in his writing pieces. He also told us it is okay to get a no or have somebody not like your story. In order to publish a book, you need to find a publisher. He got almost 5 YEARS of NO!!! But, he kept trying. Finally, someone published his book. The last thing he mentioned was it's okay to have errors. He showed us a page of Fablehaven which had a shocking 9 errors (marked by the editor). Now we know that when our teacher hands back our assignment with marks, it's just constructive criticism. We all were motivated by his speech. Thanks to his imagination and determination we have his great books to read!!!
Here is what people had to say about the author visit:
“It was exciting because we got to meet a famous author!” -Blake
“I thought Brandon Mull's visit was very inspiring.” -Noelle
"The New York Times best selling children's author came to share his books and help us improve our writing. It was a unique experience." -Trey
Lucas got to attend a very special Writer's Workshop with Mr. Mull. "I thought it was very interesting because he got to share his writing secrets with us. He said one of the biggest secrets is to use your imagination." -Lucas
“I'm reading his series The Beyonders right now. I love his creativity.” -Tanner
By: Eli and Ameeta
The Halloween Carnival
Every year, our school and Solana Vista throw a Halloween carnival to help raise money for our schools. Did you get your scare on at the Halloween Carnival? Many of the students in Room 26 were there. “It was so fun!” said Ameeta. “Awesome!” was Luke’s comment. “I got to eat junk food!” exclaimed Blake.
Our class booth was very popular. It was the SILLY STRING BOOTH. Many helpful parents signed up to volunteer. We loved the carnival, and cannot wait until next year’s Halloween!
By: Noelle and Jackie
Ask Astrid
Dear Astrid,
It seems that in our class a lot of people are shouting out answers and having side conversations. I really need your help because it is slowing us down when we are doing a lesson. Also, it sometimes causes us to lose marbles.
Sincerely,
Sorry Child
Dear Sorry Child,
If this is happening, you should tell your table to pipe down. Then, maybe people will look at you all and do the same thing. If that doesn’t work, you can nicely ask a person at the chatting table to quiet down. I also hear the commotion because I am right next to the tables. There are two sounds I love though, those are the sound of earning marbles and the sound of crickets!
Sincerely,
Astrid
P.S. I NEED MORE CRICKETS AND WORMS!!!!!!
Seen and Heard by Blake and John Henry
Point Blank
One of the great books I've read this year was Alex Rider, Point Blank. Anthony Horowitz is the author of this seven book series. Point Blank is the second book of the Alex Rider series. This is a great book and here's a summary of it.
Alex Rider was a 14 year old spy who risked his life once for the world in the first book and he is about to do it again. In France there is a “school” for kids who are disrespectful, bullies, and don't care about anybody but themselves. In about a 6 week period of time, they come back more than perfect. Alex Rider then disguises himself as a bad kid and goes to that school to see what is going on. If you want to find out what happens, then read Alex Rider, Point Blank. But make sure you read the first one called Storm Breaker first!
By Myles
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Dairy Of The Wimpy Kid is about a kid named Greg Heffley. He is trying to find a girl to go to the Valentine's dance with him. He finds a girl, but Rowley steals her away. Then he is disappointed because he has no one to go to the dance with.
My opinion is that the book is great! I want to read it again and again because it's such a funny book that makes me laugh.
I think anyone who likes humor would like to read the book because it is so funny.
By Jared Aguilar