They are the Article Adjectives

The article adjectives are coming. Are you prepared?
(click the link above to hear the recording.)


Language Arts Red made this "remix" of a Shurley Grammar jingle as a Fun Friday project. They did an excellent job listening to their own recording and deciding what sounds would help tell the story they wanted to tell. We used this free audio mixing program and downloaded the sound effects from the Freesound Project.

Dankenstein, by Christian (after Shel Silverstein)

Dankenstein, by Christian

Warning! Don’t Read out loud! Or else!





I tell you the story of Dankenstein and this is true. He loves to eat little boys and girls just like you. Watch out for him. His eyes are hot red and do you know what his eyes said? Horror and V-Bomb! And he haunts you at nighttime! If you think about him he will become real! Don’t think about him or else!

Dun-Dun-Dun!

The End

Four Kinds of Sentences

* The students in Language Arts Red were learning about the different kinds of sentence: declarative, imperative, interrogative and exclamatory. We imagined that they had had a really bad scoop of ice cream at the fictitious Dan and Ivan’s Icy Experience. They each wrote a persuasive letter to tell Dan and Ivan about their bad experiecnce. I challeneged them to use one of each kind of sentence – and boy, were they up to the challenge!

Dear Dan and Ivan,

Your ice cream is the worst. What do you put in it? I am not going back.
Maybe I will come back. When I come back, you ice cream better taste good. Make me good chocolate vanilla ice cream.

Signed,

Kaitlin
P.S. I want my money back. You are chumps!

Jame Cube, by Kamaal (after Shel Silverstein)

I’ll tell you the story
Of Jame Cube and you know
What I tell you is true.

He loved to play his Game Cube
All day and all night until
His eyes and head turned flat.

His chin turned into the power button
and ears turned into the reset and open buttons.

His hands and fingers turned into the controllers
And the buttons that were on them
And a plug stuck out of him.
Now instead of him playing
We all sit around and play him.

Cookie Kaitlin, by Kaitlin (after Shel Silverstein)

I’ll tell you the story of Kaitlin. She liked cookies. She ate them all the time. And her face turned to a flat cookie. Her eyes and nose and mouth turnmed to chocolate chips now instead of her eating cookies, we are all eating her.

Litty Loop, by Thaddeus (after Shel Siverstein)

I’ll tell you the story of Litty Loop and you know what I tell you is true. She loves to drink Lattes almost as much as you. She drank until she got glued to the table her mouth turned into the sipping part and her body turned into a cup and the liquid inside of her turned into a latte and her arms turned into a paper sleeve and instead of her drinking lattes we all drink her.

That's why Dan and Ivan make 31 flavors...

Dear Dan and Ivan,

Your ice cream tastes despicable. Next time can we have a sample before you give us the ice cream to see if we like it? When you make the ice cream take a sample of it first. And next time if it tastes like raw egg I’m calling your boss.

From your mad customer,
Thaddeus

Dane took a more diplomatic approach

Dear Dan and Ivan,

You have good ice cream! My family likes your store a lot. I will always come to your store.
But the next time I see a dead rat in my ice cream I”ll come over there, and the money I gave you, I want back and if I don’t get it your will regret it.

Sincerely,

Dane

Someone, call the board of health.

Dear Dan and Ivan,
Do you have the oreo brownie ice cream? I ate it and there was a dead fish in my ice cream. There was a dead fish in my ice cream! I want my money back right now. Give me back my money.

From your mad customer,

Kamaal

How do these guys stay in business?

Dear Dan and Ivan

I hate you mouse burger melted ice cream! Next time I come to your store there better be some changes. Like give us a sample before we pay for it! Could I see what you put in it before I get it? My favorite ice cream is vanilla.

From your mad customer,
Christian.
P.S. Loserfaces!!

More trouble from Dan and Ivan

Dear Dan and Ivan
Your ice cream is nasty and despicable and I am going to sue you for not giving me my money back. It tasted like fish. And my eyes closed and I opened them again, tripped over a rock and almost broke my nose. So could you give me my money back I am never going to your store again! At least you give my money back or let the customer taste it before buying it.

Signed,
Monte

Dreams, By Drake (after Langston Hughes)

Hold fast to dreams
If dreams fade they will
Die like a blade hitting a
Wave, let dreams grow
before they go, when you
Try to hold on to your dreams
you cry.

Dreams V. 2, by Kennedy (after Langston Hughes)

Hold fast to dreams
disappear life is an ear
That cna't hear.

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams fade
Life will be a broken blade.

Hold fast to dreams
So if dreams run away
Life will be a destroyed subway.

Kala, "Hold on to Dreams" (after Langston Hughes)

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams go
The first thing they
Will say is let me go!

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams go
Life is like you
Lost a toe.

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams go
Life is like you
Caught a cold

Dreams, by Jordan Thomas (after Langston Hughes)

Hold fast to dreams
for life is broken without dreams
for if you don't have
your head is lost
for when things go
dreams can't go
Hold fast to dreams as
frozen with snow.

Coming soon...

Check back soon for this week's amazing poems and letters!

Come Dig our New Digs

Today was so exciting. It was about ten minutes before class began this morning when I got the word: we were to move in to our new room!

Mr. Malan helped me bring over the two tables, Mr. Raines moved the water cooler, Mrs. Miles-Bradbury carried in the white board, and all the students helped carry in their chairs. It was an amazing team effort.

We learned a lot today, too. We learned the four different kinds of sentences. LA Blue began to read Robin Hood. We practiced our vocabulary words and our root words. We sure have a class full of great thinkers.

Back to School night is this Thursday. I hope I see all our class parents there. While our room is still a work-in-progress, I can't wait for you to see it.

From the Journal of Drake M.

On my way home I saw a person with a sign meaning, "Honk to get the president out of the office." Then my mom honked the horn and the guy put a thumbs up and after my mom stopped honking everybody started to honk.

From the Journal of Kaitlin P.

I love Mrs. Lund.
I love God.
I like to dance.
I like hip hop.

From the journal of Torrence G.

Dear Readers,
I want to tell you about the Cambridge School. The number one thing that the school does is learn about Jesus. We have gym, dance, science, math and language arts and math and chapel. Comments?

It's Greek to Me

This year we will continue our study of Latin and Greek root words. It's amazing how much easier spelling and vocabulary become as we get more familiar with the roots of our language. Once school gets started, we'll learn four new roots a week. I found these games online that might help you when you're studying for those Greek and Latin quizzes:

Greek Concentration

Latin Concentration

A New Mom at the Aquarium!

The Shedd Aquariums's beluga whale, Mauyak, gave birth to a healthy baby calf.

What's cool is that Cambridge visited the aquarium when she was pregnant!

Here is a link to the Chicago Tribune article about the Baby Beluga.

Cool Article About Globes

I've spent the last couple of days working on putting together our history lessons for the year. With my brain filled with the Silk Road and African Kingdoms and all the many ways our world has changed in the last 10 centuries, I found this article in the New York Times especially interesting:

International / Europe

In Italy, Creating Worlds Takes Precision, Yes, and Politics

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

Published: August 15, 2007

For Italy’s only remaining globe maker, disputes over geography are commonplace and a lesson in diplomatic relations.

About our Class Blog

The purpose of our class blog is to give our students a forum to publish work completed in class. It is empowering to anyone to see their work published where it can be read by all.

Internet safety is of great concern to all in the Cambridge Community. As we incorporate technology in the classroom, we will discuss and practice internet safety. On this blog, your child will not give away full names or addresses. Your child will be encouraged to write only things that they would say in real life. We would like to include pictures of your child engaging in classroom activities, just as pictures are included on Cambridge's website. If at any time you have concerns regarding e-safety, please, contact me and we will work to find a solution that makes everybody feel comfortable.

I'm So Excited!

I am getting really excited about this school year. I've been working hard today on history lessons for this year. I got to visit the school and see some familiar Cambridge faces - Mr. Barber, Mr. Raines, Zari, Kourtni, Joli, Trey, Jamie, Micah -- it's great to see them having so much fun.

This has been a busy summer. I got married to Mr. Lund, which is why I have a new last name now. Taking my husband's last name as my own is a way of showing that we are a family now. Not all married women change their last name, and not all families have the same last name, but it seemed like the right choice for me. It's still kind of weird, though.

After we got married we went on a vacation together in California. We had a lot of fun, but we really missed our dog, Barkley. We were so happy to see him again when we got home!

When I wasn't working on all that stuff, I was busy studying about all the things I'll need to know to be a super third/fourth/fifth grade teacher. It's going to be a wonderful year!