Summer Reading: Hatchet

Hatchet is about a boy and his quest to survive after a plane crash. Some questions to think about as you reading the book:

Do you think your survival skills are better or worse than Brian's? Why?

Do you think that cell phones and other technology might have helped Brian (if this had been written today)?

Were you surprised by the ending? Why or why not?

Post your comments, questions and reviews of the book in the comments section!

Summer Reading: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme

Can you crack the case before Encyclopedia Brown? Read carefully to find clues!

Post your comments, questions and reviews of the book in the comments section!

Summer Reading: Island of the Blue Dolphins

We all imagine living alone on an island and getting away from the worries of the world. In Island of the Blue Dolphins, our fantasy is one girl's reality.

Some questions to think about as you read the story:

How does Karana come to be alone on the island? How does she survive?

Why do you think it was hard for her to leave the island?

Post your comments, questions and reviews of the book in the comments section!

Summer Reading: Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson has survived seventh grade...almost. On his last day, chaos breaks out and changes the course of his summer. Join him as he travels to the Bermuda Triangle to save his friend, Grover.

Some questions to think of as you read the book:

(If you read the first book) How does this compare to The Lightning Thief?

What do you think the most exciting part of the book was?

Would you want to read the third story? Why or why not?

Post your comments, questions and reviews of the book in the comments section!

Summer Reading: Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger

Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar is a book containing 30 short stories about the students on the 30th story of Wayside School. Some questions to think of as you read the book:

How is Wayside School like our school? How is it different?

What is your favorite story in the book? Why?

Do you think the author, Louis Sachar, is meant to be Louis the yard teacher?

Post your comments, questions and reviews of the book in the comments section!

Solar System Links

Spacesuit idea sites:
http://www.incredible-adventures.com/space-suits-space-foods.html
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/SuitSat/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/55823/15-secrets-space-suit-design
http://www.kuriositas.com/2010/06/apolloskylab-a7l-lets-start-with-design.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_suit

Rocket design sites:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/teachers/rockets/rocketry.html
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html
http://www.spacefuture.com/vehicles/designs.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft_design
http://www.space.com/14291-photos-future-interstellar-starship-visions-spaceflight.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interplanetary_spaceflight

Solar system information:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/index.cfm
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/kids/
http://nineplanets.org/
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/solar_system.html
http://www.planetsforkids.org/

Use the travel brochures and magazines in the classroom to get ideas for what to include in your materials.

Weekly Update

This week we worked hard to round numbers to any place, use details to determine the theme of a story or text and learned a lot about the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. Be sure to visit www.lenapelifeways.org to learn more about these amazing native people of New Jersey. We read the Power of W.O.W. and learned how working together can help people accomplish great things.


We voted for our Student Council fifth grade officers and voted for classroom representatives. Congratulations to all the winners!


Next week we will practice our Unit 1 math standards, continue writing our fictional narratives and practice more geography and landforms. Don't forget Pretzel Day on Friday, October 10th!