These Short Chapters are Driving Us Nuts!!

So, it's been a while since we've written a post. This post will be a mix of things we are noticing and wondering.

We noticed that Edward was feeling really hopeless until he got taken off of the post by Bryce.

We have a lot of feelings about Bryce and Sarah Ruth's dad. Many of us think that he is really mean. Some of us are wondering why he is so mean. He might have been so sad about Sarah Ruth being sick that he wasn't brave enough to take proper care of Sarah and not brave enough to love her. Some of us are wondering about their mother. Maybe she died too and that is why the dad is so broken hearted.

We figured something else out. Someone in our class is reading a different book that takes place in Memphis. In her book, there is a street called Egypt Street. Now that Bryce and Jangles are headed to Memphis, we are wondering if Edward and Abilene will be reunited.

We cannot understand why Pellegrina just left Edward there. We know she knew who he was because she nodded at him.

Why does the next chapter have a picture of Edward in his fancy suit?!?
Why is Edward walking?!?
Why did it all just go black?!?

Arooooooooooo

Poor Lucy. Poor Edward. Poor Bull. Poor Malone.

Some of us are not enjoying how heartbreaking this story is getting. We are happy that Edward is starting to love but, now that he has the ability to love, he also runs the risk of having his heart get broken.

We are noticing some patterns as we read more and more of the book:

Oliver noticed that with every new owner, Edward gets a new outfit. The outfits really match well with the owner: Abilene and the fine silk suits, Nellie and Lawrence with the handmade rag dresses, and now Bull and Lucy with the outlaw's outfit made of handkerchiefs and Bull's hat.

Coralie noticed that with every new owner, Edward also gets a new name and identity. First he is Edward who is fancy and snobby. Next he is Susanna who is loving and a good listener. Now he is Malone, an outlaw that lives well on the road.

We all noticed that with every new owner, the author makes sure to spend some time describing Edward's point of view or, how he can see. With Abilene he could not see above the dining table. He sometimes got placed on his side at night and could see out the window. Other times he would stare at the ceiling or look at his own reflection. With Nellie and Lawrence, he got to sit in a highchair and see above the table. He also got to sit on Lawrence's shoulder and hear and see more of the stars. Now with Bull and Lucy, he gets to look back at the road they just travelled on.

Grace is noticing that with every new owner, Edward seems to be getting more and more poor.

Liani is noticing that once Edward started his journey, he seems to be learning to love more and more with each new owner.

Taylor noticed that with every new owner, the author always adds something in about Edward seeing the stars. We noticed this code before. We are still unsure of why the stars keep getting mentioned.

What patterns have you noticed that we haven't seen yet?

Big Changes in 9 and 10

Chapter 9 & 10

We found these chapters very interesting. We think the one big thing that happened in these chapters was that Edward started to care about other people. We have proof!

• What difference does it make really? Wearing a dress won't hurt me.
• Edward thinks his life with Nellie and the Fisherman is sweet.
• He listened to Nellie's stories.
• His heart broke when Lolly took him away.

If Edward had a Facebook Account, what do you think his status update might be at this point?

• Feeling sad to leave Lawrence and Nellie and really hating that Lolly lady.
• Heartbroken and devastated.
• What's this feeling? It hurts. I've never felt like this before.
• Just got thrown in the garbage face first by some Lolly lady.
• Feeling heartbroken. Just got thrown face first into the garbage can. 
• Where is Nellie? Where is Lawrence? Where am I going?
• Gah! Why did you hold me by the foot? My dress went all over my face. How rude.
• To the town's people and Lolly: Nellie and Lawrence did nothing wrong. Ask yourselves, what might you do if your heart was broken from losing a child of your own?

We think Lolly might have thrown Edward out because she was mad and maybe jealous. She might have been mad that a toy rabbit was replacing her. She might also be mad because her parents cared more about a rabbit and her dead brother than they did for her.

POW

GRA: Chapter 5 Thoughts

When Kate DiCamillo set out to write Chapter 5, she had a specific purpose in mind. What do you think she was trying to achieve in Chapter 5?

• She wanted to write a cliffhanger. Proof: at the end of the chapter, Edward has gone overboard and we are left wondering what has happened to him. ~Addy
• She wanted to create suspense and excitement. Proof: after the boys grab Edward, there is a lot of action where we are worried about what will happen to Edward. ~Oliver and Erin
• She wanted to start Edward's miraculous journey. Proof: Up until now, Edward has been with Abilene and now he has been seperated from her. ~Coralie

Science

Today Owen took the 4s to look at the gears on his bike. They are learning to see how different sized gears make a difference on bikes.

The 5s used marshmallows to look at internal and external forces that act on structures and mechanisms. We used words like compression, tension, and gravity.

Math

Looking to brush up on some numeracy skills at home? Try this game.

The object of the game is to reach 500 on a number line without going over.

Start by rolling two ten-sided dice or picking two numbers between 0-10 at random. Let's say I roll a 3 and a 6. These two numbers will form my starting point. I can choose to start at 36 or 63. I am going to choose 63 since it is closer to 500 than 36.

Next, I will roll one ten-sided die or choose one number between 0-10 at random. This is the number of jumps that I am going to take from my starting point. Let's say I roll a 5.

I can choose to take 5 jumps of 1, 5 jumps of 10, or 5 jumps of 100. 

I cannot take 5 jumps of 100 since that will take me to 563 which is over 500.

I will choose 5 jumps of 10. If I start at 63 and count by 10 5 times, I will land on 113. 

Now, I roll again to see how many jumps I can take and choose if I'd like to jump by 1s, 10s, or 100s.

Play continues until I reach 500 or go bust by going over.

Another option is to play with a partner. Take turns rolling. The object is to be the person that came closest to 500 without going over.

How can you make this game more challenging for yourself?

Language

For most students, today we started a new routine called POW or Paragraph of the Week. Throughout the week, we will be building a well structured paragraph. We start by brainstorming. Next, we write a draft of the body of our paragraph making sure to write about 2-3 different ideas. On the following day, we write an introductory sentence and a concluding sentence. Finally, we edit and rewrite our whole paragraph. 

This week, we are writing a paragraph on something that we are good at.

We are also going to be receiving letters from a class in Toronto. This is actually my niece's class. We are going to be penpals together.

Student will also be starting their slideshow notes with their San Diego buddies.

Aquaponics

Our Aquaponics System

Our class is making an aquaponics system. An aquaponics system is a food production system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising water animals such as fish, snails, etc.) in tanks, with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water). Basically, the fish waste fertilizes the plants and the plants clean out the water for the fish. It's in the corner of our room!

Right now it is in pieces. The fish are staying in a bucket with a pump. A dad from our school has an aquaponics in his yard. He is going to make a few changes on the system before we put it together. One thing he wants to do is change the pipes from flexible tubing to hard plastic tubing. 

We hope to grow kale, lettuce, and maybe peppers in our aquaponics. We also hope to feed our guinea pigs, Charlie and Lola, with the vegetables.

Codes in Chapter Five

Sometimes authors write in code to make the storytelling more interesting. This chapter is full of coded messages. Some of the codes we could break and some we couldn't.

The Story

The whole story is a coded message for Edward. When the Princess runs away into the forest, that might be like the journey Edward is about to take. It is telling him to love the people that care for him. If he does not, there will be consequences.

The Princess 

The princess is a code for Edward. Just like Edward, she is beautiful and does not love the people that love her.

The Ring

The golden ring in the story might be a code for Edward's pocket watch. The ring got swallowed and the pocket watch got sucked up into the vacuum.

"You disappoint me."

This was in the story and Pellegrina whispered it to Edward. It was the big hint that the story was meant for Edward.

Bright Stars

We think stars are a code for something but we can't figure out what. They might be a code for Edward and how beautiful he thinks he is.

The Witch

The witch is a code for Pellegrina. They both say, "You disappoint me."

***Update***

The Prince

The prince is a code for Abilene. We didn't think of this at first, but then we checked in on our Today's Meet with our San Diego buddies in Mr. Grant's class. We saw that Caden wondered why the Prince fell in love with the Princess. What a great question! Did he love her just because of the way she looked? That made us wonder what the Prince was a code for. He is a code for Abilene. They both said, "I love you," to people that did not love them back. Why does Abilene love Edward? Is it just because of how he looks?

Did you find any other codes that we missed?

Chapter 3 Drove Us Nuts

Why this chapter drove us nuts...

• I didn't get why Pellegrina looked at Edward in that way. I need to know! ~Grace
• The chapter ended with a cliffhanger. I want to know what happens next! ~Mia
• It was such a short chapter. I want to hear more. ~Ethan
• There wasn't much of a story in the chapter. ~Liani
• The chapter drove me nuts because I don't know where they live so I don't know how far of a ship ride they will take. ~Oliver
• It drove me nuts because I'm wondering why Pellegrina has all of a sudden decided to tell them the story. ~Coralie
• I want to know more about the ship. Why is Pellegrina not going?~Millie
• It drove me nuts because I thought Pellegrina liked Edward but now I'm wondering if she actually does. ~Tessa

What do you think the author's purpose was for this chapter?

• She wanted to keep us excited. If you want someone to keep reading, you have to keep them interested. ~Addy
• To keep wondering. ~Charlotte
• She wanted to add some mystery. ~Phillip
• It's short so you'll focus on the ship and the Pellegrina mystery. ~Oliver
• To introduce us to important things like the ship. FORESHADOWING ~Jamie