Life February 15, 2010

 Make it life

Life is every where
It is in you now and forever it shall stay
Life is the wind blowing sideways
Life is the winter and the summer
I am Life You are Life We are Life
I love Life and Life loves me
Life and I play beneath the midnight sun
Life and I play beneath the morning moon
Life brings me soup when I am ill
Life kisses me good night and greets me with a smile
Life is sad and it is lonely
Life is evil and Life is blunt
Life is a true friend and never lies
I am Life You are Life We are Life

By: Jasmine Shipp

Peter and the Starcatchers 96-170 March 4, 2010

I just wanted to say that I am really enjoying the novel. I can not believe everything that is going on in the book right now. I can not believe that Stache got control of the Wasp, but I was glad that he did not get the treasure. I love the character Molly! She has so much responsibility for a little girl. On page 158 the passage that reads, “Because if people have the power, even if they start out using it for good, in time they will use it for evil.” Wow! This is such a true statement of our world today and a lesson that children should be aware of. Also, on page 159 it mentions how Apollo and Zeus got their powers and it also talks about da Vinci and Michelangelo and their talents. I found this amazing and very interesting. On page 153 we finally find out who and what the starcatchers are! I was so excited. I also thought it was awesome that Black Stache named the Wasp, The Jolly Roger! I love knowing what things mean, and it is clear to me now why we have done the books in this order! I am enjoying the book and I can not wait to finish the story!!!! I will defiantly be get the other books!!!

Discussion Director Questions March 4, 2010

1. Page 117, Paragraph 1

What is clever about captain Stache’s plan? Why does Smee call the Englishman foolish? What do think you would have done if you had been in the Englishmen’s position?

2. Page 123, Paragraph 3

“Prepare to board! Stache shouted, his excitement building. This was the moment a pirate lived for.”

What moment is he talking about? What might that moment be for you? Why might yours differ from the pirate’s?

3. Page 129, Paragraph 2

“Meanwhile, the world’s most vicious pirate is hunting us down in the fastest ship afloat.”

How do you think Molly is feeling right now? Why might Molly feel alone? Who do you think Molly will choose as her ally?

4. Page 132, Paragraph 3

“The name of the ship will be the Jolly Roger.”

What do we know about the Jolly Roger from our previous research? Do you think this is a good quality name for the ship? Is it scary?

5. Page 134, Paragraph 4

“But seeing this thing coming toward him now, Black Stache, just for a moment, was afraid.”

Why is unusual about Black Stache being afraid? Why do you think this storm would be so scary? What effect might this have on his goals?

Character Sketch 2 March 2, 2010

Character Sketcher 2

You are invited to learn more about Molly. Please take notes on how Molly acts and looks.

v     To begin, think about “descriptive words” that capture Molly’s personality and try to find passages in Chapter 3 that show how Molly is acting. Think about why or how those words describe Molly in the passages. Remember these will be implied traits. Use the traits below to help you.

v     Choose 3 of the following traits and find passages in Chapter 3 that demonstrate Molly acting:

brave	confident	clever	assertive
witty	imaginative	melancholy	surprised

 

v     On page 20 paragraph 2 Molly acts confident because/when her and Peter’s gaze meet she did not turn her head and look away as most strangers do.

v     On page 24 paragraph 3 Molly acts assertive because/when the woman is calling for her in a stout voice Molly pays her no attention and she goes right up to Peter and talks to him. She is very sure of herself and very comfortable in her own skin.

v     On pages 94 & 95 paragraph (94- last) (95- 1) Molly acts sturdy because/when she is trying to tell Peter to mind his own business and she has to use sudden intensity. She also grabs Peter’s arm to prove her point even further.

Then, use the passages that describe Molly’s actions and appearance to help you complete an artistic impression of Molly. Page 19, last paragraph, gives you some information about Molly’s appearance. Are there any other passages you noticed?

Page 59 last paragraph it describes her eyes as being green.

Character Sketch 3 March 2, 2010

Character Sketcher 3

 

Your job as Character Sketcher is to identify a character’s actions (traits) and explain or prove these traits, identify the character’s goal (which is what the character wants to do or accomplish), identify the problem and solution in the reading, and complete an artistic impression of the character.

 

You need to be aware that the character traits you will choose will be implied character traits. In other words, they are not directly stated in the passage. You will want to use descriptive words for your character traits. You do NOT want to use words like good, bad, nice, and mean. Be sure to use your “Descriptive Character Traits” page for help.

 

Sometimes the solution to your character’s problem will not be in the section of the book that you are reading. In this case, you will need to come up with a possible solution for you character’s problem.

 

When you begin artistically representing your character, try to use any physical descriptions from the text to help you. Your “artistic impression” of the character will probably be on a separate piece of paper. The next page gives you an example of how your paper may look with the character information.

 

You will be learning about Black Stache.  Think about the following traits as you read Chapter 4-The Sea Devil:

 

boastful	defiant	disgruntled
ruthless	conceited	determined

 

    Implied Character Traits (3)

 

1. (Trait)  Chilling  p. 33  par. 1

(Explanation or proof of trait)

He had dark, deepest, piercingly black eye, overshadowed by eyebrows so bushy that he had to brush them away to see through the glass. But the most prominent feature was the thick growth of hair on his upper lip, long and black, lovingly maintained, measuring nearly a foot between its waxed and pointed tips. It was this feature that gave him his name, the most feared name on the sea: Black Stache.

1. (Trait) Sly p. 34 par. 4

(Explanation or proof of trait)

The ladies were Black Stache’s secret weapon. They were a special set of sails that he had ship’s sail makers make using a pattern that Stache got from a ladies’ corset maker.

 

1. (Trait) Ambitious p. 84 par. 3

(Explanation or proof of trait)

He is playing with the model ships in his captain cabin. He pushes the model Wasp off the edge of the table, and then steps on the remains of the ship. Then he says, “Time for the kill.”

Character’s Goal: Black Stache’s goal is to

 

Page 46 par. 2 “He Knew now that he no longer wanted only the Wasp’s treasure; he wanted the Wasp herself.”

 

Problem: Black Stache’s problem is

 

The Wasp is the fastest ship on the seas, and it will be difficult if not impossible to capture and take over.

Solution or Possible Solution: Page 49. Par. 1

Stache has got this plan to get abeam the Wasp, then turn downwind, then raise the ladies and run her down!

My Current Favorite!!! March 2, 2010

Peter and the Starcatchers…

I can not say enough about this book! I love it so far! Peter Pan has always been one of my favorite childhood stories. I am not sure which character I like this best thus far, but if I had to pick I would say Molly. I love how strong, courageous, and stead-fast she seems to be. Molly is a character that I would like to impersonate, or the role that she plays is one that I would love to play if I could be in a fiction book. I really enjoy the flow of the book, it seems as though the pages just fly by like the wind. I had to stop myself tonight just because I have other work to do, or otherwise I would have continued to read. Students would love this book! My little brother has always enjoyed books like this and I can’t wait for him to read it and tell me what he thinks. It is a novel that I could see going very far such as: with activities, SSR, take home reading, read aloud, group activities, etc. This book gets my attention, and if it can get my attention it can probably get that of a students’. I also found myself intrigued with Black Stache. On page 84 in the last paragraph it reads, “Then he stood and, stepping on the remains of the Wasp, stalked out of the cabin. Time for the kill.” I love it! What a wonderful selection of words. He defiantly means business. I love how this character is so mean and determined. Sometimes I wish I was more like him and knew exactly what I wanted. I think it is important to point out the positive qualities of a bad character. Everybody will identify with a different character or a different part of the story and I find that important!

Character Sketcher Peter March 2, 2010

Character Sketcher 1

You are invited to learn more about Peter. Please take notes on how Peter acts and looks.

• To begin, reread the following passages, determine “descriptive words” that capture Peter’s personality and explain why the words describe Peter.

 

Intelligence, quick on his feet, perceptive

• Reread page 18 and the first two paragraphs on page 19. Which words describe Peter?

 

Sneaky, mischievous, surprising

• He acts baffled or puzzled because the man carrying the mysterious cargo is so happy; why is he so happy?

Focus on page 19 paragraphs one and two.

• Reread page 22 paragraph two. Which words describe Peter? He wonders why he cares what the girl (Molly) thinks of him. He is acting judged, cautious, and careful even.

 

• He acts cautious because he knows that Molly is watching him and disapproves of his actions at the moment.

 

• Reread page 24 paragraph one. Which words describe Peter? Grateful, appreciative, and lucky.

 

• He acts grateful because if Molly had not warned him, it would have been his ankle snared up by the whip, and his body bruised.

Breaking Down Words to Build Meaning: Morphology, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension in the Urban Classroom March 1, 2010

I found this article to be full of information helpful to teachers! Looking back on my instruction I do not remember receiving any direct instruction in using morphology to figure out the meaning of words, but I think adding morphology to students’ arsenal will be very beneficial for the students. There is a relationship between vocabulary and comprehension. Students will be unable to comprehend main ideas from passages if they do not comprehend some key vocabulary. There has to be a relationship between vocabulary and morphology. The more student understand morphology, the more students will be able decode words, and the more students are exposed to vocabulary, the more students will be exposed to different word part. In many schools, students do not receive deep vocabulary instruction. Students are given a list of spelling words and asked to use these words in sentences, etc. These tasks only help students memorize words, but this is not effective instruction. Students are not exposed to the words in multiple contexts; morphology is not being integrated into the spelling curriculum. Teachers need to pick and choose words that will provide the most help to students. This means incorporating academic words with the spelling curriculum. Students need to be taught to use morphology as a way to decode the meaning of words. Shared readings are a great way for teachers to model using morphology. Teacher reads a word, act as if they aren’t sure what it means. The teacher might write the word on the smart board. The teacher could model how to break the word down. Students will not know how to use morphology without the teacher modeling this process. The teacher should continue scaffolding students, introducing new morphemes and vocabulary to students during shared readings. Something else that students will need is direct instruction. The article did a great job of showing this section with the tables it provided. This was a very meaty article!!!

Double Entry Diary (DED) Section 4 February 25, 2010

Section 4:

 Part A:

1. The colonists were independent- minded people with strong ideas. Their life was often harsh; cold, hunger, and disease were constant threats. Despite all the troubles that the colonists faced they prospered, but to make sure that London got their share they controlled the tax.

2. The Navigation Acts were a series of laws that forced the colonists to trade only with England, using English ships and crews. The laws forced them to accept low prices for the goods they produced and therefore, most of the colonists did not like them and some of them even chose to ignore these unfair laws.

3. Like I said in question three the colonists did not approve these laws and they did not agree with them. These laws cause the colonists to get low price for the materials and crops that they were growing.

4. These pirates made friends with the colonists ashore and were known as the freebooters. They were mostly smugglers, supplying untaxed goods to grateful settlers on the coast of America.

5. These pirates were welcomed on American shores and some were even financed by investment groups of businessmen who outfitted the ships and bought letters of marque from dishonest officials. So, the colonists turned to the freebooters because of the high tax prices from England. This bad relationship over taxes would led to the American Revolution in 1776. Before this the freebooters were respectable citizens.

Section B:

1. Through out all the activities that we have done with these books we have done something wit the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers were originally lawless hunters from Hispaniola and were named after the “boucan” barbecues on which they smoked meat. The first pirates started about 4,600 years ago about the same time as the first sailors. The Viking Raiders cruised the north sea, the Atlantic, and the Baltic from the 9^th to the 11^th century. Their ships were light fast; they raided coastal towns and villages. Then they later became peaceful settlers. The Privateers which is another group that we have discussed a great deal throughout the pirate unit, were merchant ships used because the king and queen could not afford navies. King Henry III issued each privateer with a “letter of marque,” a piracy permit. This authorized the captain of the merchant ship to attack the enemy on the king’s behalf. The Corsairs were about during the 16^th century and they had a religious excuse for plunder. The pirates were called “corsairs” after the Latin word cursus, meaning plunder. This fight was mainly between the Christian and the Muslims. During this period the Barbarossa Brothers were some of the most powerful and famous pirates of the Corsairs. The New World pirates- as the 16^th century began, the world grew suddenly bigger. Moving on to the Spanish Main- mainland America- they plundered the wealth of two great Native American peoples, which were: the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico. Francis Drake turned pirate after the Spanish raided his merchant chip in the Caribbean. The attack on a Spanish town in 1572 made his reputation.

2. Out of all the pirates I must say that I like Mary Read and Anne Bonny best out of all the different ones I have read about. They wore men’s clothes when they fought alongside the other pirates on “Calico” Jack Rackham’s ship. It is said that their shipmates may have never knew their true identity. When the rest of their crew was arrested they escaped execution by claiming that they were pregnant. I think that the mystery behind them is just fascinating. I, myself, would have loved to have been a pirate they are awesome in my eyes. These two pirates were girls and think about how smart they had to be to keep their identity hidden and to escape execution. I think it was awesome that they disguised themselves as men and fought alongside the other men on a pirate ship, and then when they were found out they said they were pregnant. Sorry had to bring out my women’s right in this one, and it seems that it was a great story.

Double Entry Diary (DED) Section 3 February 24, 2010

Section 3:

 A. Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter

From the Book (words, quotes, passages). Page and Paragraph	What it means to me.
One of our crew who has been there tells me, “It is a paradise, where pirates do as they please without fear of the law.” Page 38 Paragraph 1	What is a pirate’s paradise? I would think it would be as they said, a place where a pirate can do as he or she please without fear of the law. There would probably be rum, and gambling, and fight all the time. I would think it was a care free atmosphere, with a lot of men showing off.
I could not decide who was right. I glimpsed her for just a moment, and then the mist hid the sandbank from view. Page 43 Paragraph 1	The crew is discussing mermaids during this part of the Diary! It says that mermaids are young and beautiful and sit combing their long, blonde hair. This would be a great time to talk to students about body image. There is a great video that dove put out that does a great job at showing how the image you see in magazines is not actually how they really look in real life. I love mermaids! They even say in the Diary that this was a ugly lass. Again a great time for body image.
Gabriel and Pierre struck up a merry tune on the whistle and fiddle and many of the company danced a jig or two around the deck. Page 45 Paragraph 3	I think this would be a great time to talk about cultures. Also, about how pass times have changed over time. For Jake dancing a jig and listening to music was a way to pass the time but for children today video games and watching TV is a pass time. Appalachian has a rich heritage in music and this would something interesting to look into.

 

B. What if You Met a Pirate?

From the Book (words, quotes, passages). Page and Paragraph	What it means to me.
Pirates were scalawags and scoundrels but, mostly, they were sailors. They were clever planners, too. They chose fast, nimble ships that could swoop quickly down on merchant vessels and get away from men o’ war trying to catch them. Page 12 Paragraph 1	I love the pictures in this section on the book. They do an excellent job at showing how the ships back then really worked and how they did it well. I also liked how they said that pirates were mostly sailors. What are sailors? You could ask students what sailors are today. What kind of jobs could be classified as being a sailor? How are they different then those jobs of a pirate and are they easier today?
Ships Leak- Everyone of them, especially old wooden ones. A part of every pirate’s day was spent pumping water out of the bilge, the deepest part of the hull. Page 14 Paragraph caption at the bottom	It is important to remember that all the jobs pirates were responsible for were not fun, but instead, very hard work. Having to pump water out of the deepest part of the ship does not sound like fun. Also, the saying “Nothing good comes easy,” would be good to talk about during this section of the book. The ships did leak! I think that this information would scare me if I were on a ship!

 

New Words for Dictionary

Scalawags

Scoundrels

Nimble

Buntlines

Bilge

Double Entry Diary (DED) Section 2 February 19, 2010

Section 2:

 A. Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter

From the Book (words, quotes, passages). Page and Paragraph	What it means to me.
The cloud quickly hid the deck from view, but aloft I could see that the pirates (for so they proved to be) had hauled down their Dutch flag, and hoisted a black flag with an hourglass and crossed swords on it. Page 22, paragraph 2	Through research we know that pirates used a decoy flag as a form of surprise attack on their victims. I was excited to be able to pick out factual information from the text.
Already the wound has maggots and unless his leg cut off below the knee, he will surely die. All agreed that Adam would make the best surgeon, because he is handy with a saw. Page 27, paragraph 2	Gross! You could discuss with children the medical advances since this time and how this would have been very unsanitary. This was done without anesthesia. It would be good to ask kids if they had ever had an surgery and compare how different it would have been back then.
The fish was swimming quickly at our ship and I feared it would eat us in one single gulp. Page 35, paragraph 4	It is funny how the unknown scares us. Jake was scared of the whale because he dint know what it was or if it might hurt him. This would be a good time to ask kids if they had ever been in a situation like this.

 

B. What if You Met a Pirate?

From the Book (words, quotes, passages). Page and Paragraph	What it means to me.
Surely he’d have a parrot on his shoulder, swearing and shrieking “Pieces of eight!” Page 2, paragraph 1	I love the entire section that this is from. I love the colorful and descriptive use of language that is seen in the paragraph. I am not sure what pieces of eight are? I remember hearing it from a movie I watched about pirates but I am not sure what it means.
Some pirates died from drowning or in accidents. Most died form disease, especially in the tropics. Pirates who died in battle were rare, but not as rare as old pirates. Page 4, paragraph 4	This amazed me. Pirates have the crazy, daring, and hard life but yet most of them died of old age. This could be considered a misconception and I think this would be an important piece of information to mention to students. I found this to be very interesting!