What are inspirational sayings?

They are one or two sentences that have a powerful message and really make you think. You may only have to think for a few seconds to understand the message, or you may have to think longer and maybe talk about the saying with friends. When you do begin to understand the message you usually think, “Yeah, that’s really true!”

Think of an inspirational saying that you find meaning in. It may be one your parents have taught you and repeated your whole life. Or it may be one that is taught to all of the children of your culture as they grow. If you have one in your first language, that’s great! Translate it the best you can so that we can understand it. Then write about what you think it means. We can share some of our favorite sayings and comment on one another’s. We can inspire each other!

So, first write/translate your inspirational saying in English.

Next, write what you feel it means to you.

Then, read and comment on other sayings.

Let’s broaden our minds and do some deep thinking!!!

You are all developing your realistic fiction short stories and are doing a fabulous job!

Let’s see how you are "anchoring your reader" in your scenes so that the reader is there with your main character and can actually see the movie in their minds as your scene unfolds.

Choose a scene you feel you have done a good job of creating the setting. It should be one where you have also used dialogue and small actions to show, where the character/s are, and what they are doing.

Write that scene on our blog and let’s see if we are there with you!

You are all writing your own realistic fiction stories. You know that in stories the main character really wants something and that problems arise that get in the way of the character getting all that he or she wants. The  problem gets worse and worse and then more problems occur that the character has to deal with.These problems or struggles the character has and how he or she deals with them is what keeps your reader hooked and want to continue reading.

You have mapped out your stories on a story mountain. Please briefly share with us the main points on your story mountain. What does your character want? What gets in the way of your character getting what he or she wants. What other problems does your character have? How does he or she struggle to solve the problems?

And finally, how will the problem/s be resolved?

Be sure and write your response in a word document first so that you may revise and use the spell check, then copy and paste it into our blog.

You have all been writing wonderful poems in your classes. Choose your favorite original poem and write it in this blog post. Then write a reflection on why it is your favorite poem. How did you come up with your idea? Was the poem easy or difficult to write?

Please write about the literary devices that you used in your poem. Did you use similes, metaphors, personification, figurative language, onomatopoeia, repetition or any other of the literary devices that poets use? If you have two favorite poems, then share them both with us and your reflections on them too!

You have come to the end of your first semester in fifth grade! Wow, it seems as though the semester has zoomed by! And you all have made such wonderful progress!

It’s time to reflect  back on this semester.

What has been difficult for you? What has been easy?

Think about your progress in learning English. How are you advancing in your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills?

What are your goals for next semester? What would you like to improve upon and how do you plan to do this?

What other New Year’s Goals do you have for the coming year? What do you want to achieve in other areas of your life besides school?

Please write your reflection using all the tools you have in your writer’s backpack. Be sure to reread, revise and edit your writing before you post it.

Happy New Year! : )

Think about one or several of the nonfiction books you have  read on a topic.

What learning have you held onto? What information will you take with you stored in your brain? What would you want to  share with others? What questions do you still have about the topic?

Share your learning in a reflection post so that the rest of us can learn too!

We have all been reading books and making notes about the main characters in our stories. We have been noting the Big Events in our stories and also the challenges and struggles that our main characters face.

Think about one of the books you have read and enjoyed. What was one of the big problems, or challenges that your main character faced? Write about the main problem, and then write what your character did to overcome that problem. How did he/she overcome the challenge? 

Remember to write your post in Word first and then copy and paste it into the blog.

Over the last 2 weeks we have thought quite a bit about moving to 6th grade. We have also investigated many inspirational sayings by wise people around the world that can help in your move to Middle School and in years to come. You have had the opportunity to reflect with a partner and make several podcasts individually and with a partner.

After listening to your partner podcast on your reflections on moving to 6th grade, write about what you have learned from the podcasts, both your individual and partner podcasts. Do you feel your speaking skills have improved? If so, how? What do you think of your partner podcasts? Do you feel your conversational skills are stronger now? If so, how? Lastly, have these reflections with the inspirational sayings been helpful? Do you feel more prepared for 6th grade? What else can you do to help to prepare for 6th grade?

For our visitors and listeners from outside ISB, do you share some of the same concerns about moving on that we have?

We are working hard on our fiction stories! We have written serveral leads, choosen one and now we are continuing to revise it. Why? Because we want to “hook” our readers and make our beginnings so interesting that they will want to keep on reading!
Share the lead that you have written so far. After you write your lead, comment on what you have done in your lead to make it really interesting. Have you used dialogue, or small actions? Have you included setting details so the reader knows where your story in happening?

How have you “hooked” us?