In addition to our core curriculum our class goal is to read at least six award winning novels. Along with reading the novels we will have several cumulating activities, including informal and formal formative assessments. Other activities will include technology and visual/performing arts standards. Some examples of what we will be doing include skits, creative writing responses, unique book reports. Each students will also be required to take an A.R. test on each book.

  A  WRINKLE   IN   TIME

by Gary Paulsen

Brian's back! Gary Paulsen's nature-loving hero -- a hit with readers in bestsellers like Hatchet and Brian's River -- becomes a hunter with a mission in this suspenseful, adventurous novel that will keep you alert until the very end. With storytelling prowess that shoots as straight as an arrow, Paulsen takes his character back to the Canadian woods, where Brian lives off the land in the hope of connecting with nature. Brian keeps busy taking in his surroundings and hunting northern pike, but when a stray, battered dog suddenly appears, the curious boy patches up its wounds and decides to learn where it comes from. At first -- with the aid of senses sharpened by the wilderness -- Brian finds it easy enough to uncover the dog's past, but after he makes a gruesome discovery, the boy quickly becomes the hunter in a matter of life and death. Paulsen's newest Brian book hits the mark dead-on with powerful themes, pitting the hero against nature while exploring the bond between humans and dogs. The author thoughtfully includes an afterward, and with plenty of action and descriptive hunting scenes in this quick-moving novel, Paulsen's fans will surely be thirsty for more...

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Bridge to Terabithia is a book of children's fiction written by Katherine Paterson. It was first published in 1977, and won the Newbery Medal in 1978. It tells the story of fifth grader Jesse Aarons. His hopes of becoming the fastest runner in his class are dashed when new girl Leslie Burke outruns everybody, including him. However, Jesse and Leslie soon begin a friendship, and create a magical kingdom in the forest, where the two of them reign together as king and queen.

Bridge To Terabithia

by Katherine Patterson

Jess Aarons had to be the fastest runner at Lark Creek Elementary School, the best, but when he was challenged by Leslie Burke, a girl, that was just the beginning of a new season in Jess's life. Leslie and her parents were new comers to the rural community where Jess lived, and were thought to be a bit odd, for they didn't even own a TV, though their house was filled with books. Some-what to Jess's surprise, he and Leslie became friends, and the worlds of imagination and learning that she opened to him changed him for ever. It was Leslie's idea to create Terabithia, their secret Kingdom in the woods where they reigned supreme. There no enemy - not their teacher Monster Mouth Meyers, their schoolmates Gary Fulcher and Janice Avery, Jess's Four sisters, or even Jess's own fears and Leslie's imaginary foes - could defeat them. The Legacy that Leslie finally brought to Jess enabled him to cope with the unexpected tragedy that touched them all.

Assignment(s):

•Complete 3 chapter quizes

• Class Participation using Skills/Strategies Bookmarks

• Written summary of the book.

• Create you own fantasy world, using the supplies and guidelines given to you in class. Be creative

and have fun!

• Take the Accelerated Reader Test

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Summer of the Monkeys

by Wilson Rawls

Review by Erin:

Help! Help! have you seen about 30 monkeys? If you have, contact Johnson Brothers' Circus. Reward 2 dollars per monkeys except one. That one is worth 100 dollars! They were lost in the Cherokee bottoms after a train wreck. Can you find them? Who can? Jay Berry and his dog, Rowdy were walking though the woods when Rowdy treed a monkey. No one believed Jay Berry until he told his grandpa. Then he learned about the reward! The pony and the .22 that he has always dreamed could really be his. Stop! Hold On! How on earth are you going to get so many monkeys home? Alive?!! You will find out in Summer of the Monkeys. I had fun with this book. My whole class had fun with this book! And so I am sure you will have fun with it.

Assignments:

• Chapter 1-4 Summarize the main details using the provided graphic organizer.

• 4  Chapter Quizes; final A.R. quiz

• Students will write a friendly letter to a friend or relative about what it is like to live at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, drawing from he information in the book, write about the animals, plant life, and what the weather is like where you live.

• complete assigned vocabulary dictionary

• Students will learn more about monkeys using technology, and then they will devise a plan for capturing them. They will illustrate their plan, list materials needed, and write step by step directions.

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The Big Wave

by Pearl S. Buck

Kino lives on a farm on the side of a mountain in Japan. His friend, Jiya, lives in a fishing village below. Everyone, including Kino and Jiya, has heard of the big wave. No one suspects it will wipe out the whole village and Jiya's family, too. As Jiya struggles to overcome his sorrow, he understands it is in the presence of danger that one learns to be brave, and to appreciate how wonderful life can be. Assignments: Vocabulary for section one, please see your literature pack. Section I: pages 1-17 Answer and be prepared to discuss questions given to you in class. Not all require a written response only the questions with * Vocabulary section II (literature pack) Secton II  pages 18-33 Answer and be prepared to discuss questions in literature pack. Vocabulary section III (literature pack) Section III  pages 34-57 Answer and be prepared to discuss questions in literature pack. Final assignment will be an AR  comprehension test. If you do not receive a 70% or above you will be required to write a 3 paragraph summary. GATE/Enrichment activities will be given to all students that want them. The only requirement is they must have completed assignments in the time given. _________________________________________________________________________ NUMBER  The Stars by Lois Lowry Review This was the first Newbery Award winner by Lois Lowry. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of reading this very accessible novel within easy reach of fourth or even third grade readers, it's the story of the determination of the people of Denmark to get the Jews to safety while the Nazis were equally determined to annihilate them. Lowry focuses our attention on the Johansen family who have coped with the occupation by the Nazis fairly well. There are the shortages of course and the omnipresent soldiers, but home and school life are relatively undisturbed. Then, their friends, the Rosens, are endangered. Mr. and Mrs. Rosen leave their daughter, Ellen, with the Johansens hoping that she can pass as their daughter until safe voyage to Sweden can be arranged for all the Rosens. Ann Marie Johansen is the one who is most threatened by this ordeal and she shows outstanding but believable courage and enterprise in helping her friend. No matter which of the activities below you select or the equally good ones you come up with yourselves, the important thing is to enjoy the book and Lowry's skill in creating such memorable characters. Things to Notice and Talk About Start with the title. Why did Lois Lowry choose those words? What stars is she referring to? Look at her dedication: "For my friend Annelise Platt, Tusind Tak". Is Annelise, Annemarie? Look at the chapter titles. Each one represents a decision on the part of Ms. Lowry. Many of them are quotes from the story. Would you have chosen the same ones? Look at the characters in the story. How can Annemarie do what she had to do? Where did she get her strength? Notice her use of Kirsti as a role model when she needs to make the soldiers think she's innocent and the way she comforts herself in the woods by remembering the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Lowry makes her believable by such touches. Stay within the book for as long as you can, looking at the characters and the reasons behind their actions. The loyalty the people of Denmark had toward King Christian and his actions during that difficult time are surely worth exploring, especially as children tend to think of kings as characters in fairy tales who behave rather foolishly or as crown-wearing cardboard figures. This one is portrayed as saddened and brave as his country fell under the Nazi shadow. Which countries had kings then? Which ones still do? The Nazi soldier who stroked Kirsti's hair and said that she reminded him of his own little girl makes him less villainous than Lois Lowry might have shown him. Why did she do that? What is she saying about soldiers in general? Activities Moving from the book to the reality of its subject, we have all the horrors of war for territory, especially as it concerned the Holocaust. The Danish Resistance did manage to smuggle almost its entire Jewish population to safety, nearly 7000 people. Research into how and why they did it when so many other countries under the Nazi scourge did not should make for some interesting reports. Children tend to glorify war and books like this help to pull its savagery, particularly this war's, into focus. The Jews, of course, weren't the only ones the Nazis tried to extinguish. Find out what happened to the gypsies, the Armenians and other persecuted groups. Find pictures of statues and monuments erected in various countries after World War II to commemorate it's victims or various events and battles. Which one do you find most impressive or meaningful? What does it symbolize? Pull geography in by finding maps of prewar and postwar Europe. Map the routes escaping Jews took from each country. Where would they have been safe. The creation of Israel is a topic for exploration as is the Berlin Wall. The Star of David that plays such an important role in the story should be explained by someone who knows its significance. Jewish students should show this symbol and others to the Gentile audience. Maybe the singing of some Jewish folk songs and the cooking and tasting of Jewish foods will lighten the atmosphere a little at this point. This is heavy stuff and no one can deal with it appropriately for too long without becoming despondent. The Danish culture and history will also add a non-threatening avenue of approach for discussion and research. The children in the novel talk about Tivoli Gardens and how they used to see fireworks from there every night. Find photographs and descriptions of it and other landmarks in Denmark and make them into a videotaped travelogue such as the travel channel might show. Concentrating on the escape brings us to other escapes in literature and to the Underground Railroad which doubly connects because of the Drinking Gourd, or Big Dipper, being the guiding light for the escaping slaves and the symbol for the freedom they were seeking.

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