Foreshadowing

First put a definition of foreshadowing on the board, then discuss why an author might use foreshadowing.  I read a brief excerpt from a script of the Wizard of Oz foreshadowing the scarecrow's "not having a brain".  Then I read The Landlady by Roald Dahl.  Perfect for 5th grade (my students love spooky stories) and foreshadowing!  Then they completed this worksheet cooperatively.

http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/documents/11612_5193.pdf

Plagiarism

This is a lesson on plagiarism for 5th graders.  I like this worksheet to explain the concept:

http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/school/plagiarism.html

Then, this is a great worksheet for them to work on together and discuss:

http://tinyurl.com/kqhaaz7

Then we play "The Plagiarism Game"

http://www.slideshare.net/karinfinnegan5/the-plagiarism-game

Have Fun!

Snowflake Bentley

This is a beautiful biography of Wilson Bentley "The Snowflake Man", who spent his entire life photographing snow crystals.




After a read aloud, we explore Bentley's photographs, then the students create their own virtual snowflakes, using the following website.

http://www.akidsheart.com/holidays/winter/snowflake.htm

Figurative Language

I love this website for teaching figurative language.  I use the worksheet (provided by Flocabulary) filled out with the expressions and we discuss each term and examples.  Then the students listen to the rap and fill in the different figurative language examples from the rap.

https://www.flocabulary.com/figurative-language/

Hokey Pokey by Jerry Spinelli

Life is all about childhood in Hokey Pokey.  In this place, kids rule the world.  There are trucks to play on, mud to play in, slushies every day and hugs when you need them.  Jack and his friend love their lives filled with their precious bikes, cartoons all day, every day and their boys only club.  When strange things start happening to Jack, life in Hokey Pokey no longer quite seems to make sense.  First, Jack's bike disappears, then he finds himself talking to a girl, then his tattoo begins to disappear.  Jack and his friends become really worried about what's going to happen.  Will Jack get his bike back, will things go back to normal or will Jack vanish?  Find out in Hokey Pokey.

On a side note, as a mother of a 10 year old boy, I cried like a baby when I read this book.  See what you think.

Thanksgiving

Wow!  This was much harder than anticipated!  There are not many recent books which are appropriate for read aloud for 4th or 5th grade.  Some are super religious, some give misinformation, etc.  Finally, I decided to show this cool virtual field trip from Plimoth Plantation along with questions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5qi3Meqy24

Story Elements

Time for an update- been busy reading YA-

5th grade teachers wanted story elements- plot, character, setting, etc.

Showed this video from Flocabulary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6I24S72Jps

and then read Frog Prince Continued to discover elements of that story