Story and Questions

Two Minutes  By Mary Lynn Bushong

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¹     Ryan slammed his food tray down on the table among all of the other students in the large cafeteria. "I just think it was dumb to have to pause for two minutes at eleven o'clock this morning. I mean, that was right during gym class. That is the best part of the whole day. Well, besides lunch, that is."
 ²     Andrew sat down beside Ryan and said, "I don't think it's asking too much to pause for two minutes to remember to honor our veterans that have given so much for us."
 ³     "Yes, but didn't we just do that back in May with Memorial Day?" Ryan asked. "Why do we have to do it again?"
 ⁴     "Memorial Day is set aside to remember those who died in all of the wars, but Veterans Day is primarily to remember the living veterans," said Andrew as he took a bite of his sandwich.
 ⁵     Ryan took a bite of his sandwich, too, and then said, "I just don't think we needed to waste two minutes on it."
 ⁶     "I guess the two minutes were wasted on you," Andrew said, "but not for me. My grandfather served in World War II, and my dad served in Vietnam, and now my brother is serving overseas. I don't think two minutes of my time is too much to ask when they have given so much. When men and women go off to serve our country, they give up almost everything, and some of them do give up everything by giving their lives. They are willing to go to many different places and work and sweat in all kinds of conditions because they believe in serving our country."
 ⁷     "Hey, I didn't mean to put down what they are doing. I respect the people in the military, but I just hate losing time out of gym class." Ryan took a big gulp from his drink.
 ⁸     Andrew finished his sandwich and then said, "I just think it is not asking too much to stop for two minutes to remember these people. It would be good if we would spend more of our time doing something for them."
 ⁹     "Like what?" Ryan asked as he finished his lunch.
 ¹⁰     "Well, I think any of the men and women who are still serving around the world would really appreciate a letter. Just a note telling them that you are proud of what they are doing and that you appreciate it."
 ¹¹     "Your brother is the only person I know who is in the military," said Ryan.
 ¹²     "You can start with my brother if you want, but you can write to anyone. You don't have to know the person. I am sure a letter from you will be appreciated even though you are a dork."
 ¹³     "I am not a dork," said Ryan. "I guess I could write a letter or two. Why don't you come over to my place after school, and we can write a couple together?"
 ¹⁴     "I think that would be a great idea, but it might take a little longer than two minutes," Andrew said as he punched Ryan in the arm.
 ¹⁵     Ryan smiled and said, "Yes, well, I have the time."

Date ___________________

Two Minutes

1.   Why was Ryan upset when he came into the cafeteria?   His girlfriend just broke up with him.   He did not want to stop for two minutes in gym class to remember veterans.   He had failed a test in math.   Someone tried to beat him up.	2.   Ryan thought that, right after lunch time, ______ was the second best part of the day.
3.   What time of day did they pause for two minutes?   2:30 P.M.   8:00 A.M.   11:00 A.M.   1:00 P.M.	4.   Andrew said Memorial Day was set aside to remember the living men and women serving in the military.   False   True
5.   Andrew said that his brother was serving where?   Overseas   Vietnam   World War II   Iraq	6.   Why are men and women in the military willing to go to different places, according to Andrew?   They have nothing else to do.   They are gluttons for punishment.   They believe in serving our country.   They want to see the world.

7.   What did Andrew suggest they do to show the soldiers that they appreciate them?   Make cookies   Send them comic books   Write them letters   Play a war-based video game in honor of them

8.   Ryan called himself a dork for not being willing to spare two minutes to remember the vets.   False   True

Hamsters Are Cute, but...

Hamster Cause & Effect

Directions: Read the story.  Then fill in the chart of causes and effects.

Yesterday, after playing with my hamster on the floor, I put him back into his cage.  But, I didn’t close the lid tightly and he escaped.  I didn’t know he was loose until I saw something run by my feet.  I jumped up quickly and hit the lamp on the table next to me.  The lamp fell and crashed to the ground, making a loud noise.

Soon, my dad was in the room upset that he was awoken from his nap.  I walked over to
apologize when I stopped just in time.  My hamster was sitting in front of me, looking up, and smiling.

I reached down to grab him, and he took off under the couch and into the kitchen.  When I heard the scream, I knew my mom had seen my pet.  She scooped him into a colander and popped him back into his cage.  I tightly secured the top, and he was back in his home.  I watched him play, and thought for sure I saw him give me a little wink.

CAUSE EFFECT


a. I did not close the lid tightly. __________________________

b. __________________________I jumped up and hit the lamp.

c. The lamp crashed to the floor and made a loud noise.  __________________________

d. Walked to apologize, stopped, and tried to grab my hamster.  __________________________

e. __________________________My mom screamed.

f. I watched my pet play and _____________________________________.

In many activities we use graphs and charts to organize and understand information. Have you ever wondered who makes these graphs or how these charts are created? Have you ever thought about making your own chart?

Click here to see a cool website that will guide us through the process of making our own graphs.

As we continue to become better writers, we can always use a little assistance with improving our Language Arts skills. The ability to use and correctly spell more words will help you add a little creativity to whatever you write.

On the following website you will find a long list of activities to test your use of different words. When you play along with a game, write down the original word that you are give in the game, then write down the answer that you give back.

Multiple Language Arts Activities

Now let's take a peek at the Sentence Surgeon. You can practice some mad skills at correcting these sentences.

Click here

A Family Recipe

A Family Recipe
By: Chantele Langley

     “Moo moo,” said Papa Cow which meant do you think I am a bad dad?
     “Mooooo,” said Mama Cow which meant, don’t be ridiculous.
      Papa Cow was starting to wonder, however, as he watched Daddy and Mommy Duck with their ducklings.  They were such a close knit family.  Daddy Duck always played Quacket Ball with the boys every Sunday and Mommy Duck always played follow-the-leader with all five of her children.
    But, where were Bertha and Moopers, his children?  Right now he wasn’t even sure.
   “Bertha, do you want to play follow-the-leader?” he asked after moseying his way down the pasture where he found Bertha digging in the dirt.
    “Not now, Dad, I just found a very rare grain of Seminole wheat in the grass.  Come look!” She pointed her hoof to a little shiny straw sticking up out of the ground.
    “Don’t you want to sing karaoke together or enter a Father Daughter Dance?”
    “Uh…maybe later.  I have a meeting with the Young Cowettes Science Society tonight.”
    Papa Cow tried not to look too disappointed.
    “Are you feeling okay, dad?” she asked after turning away from her treasured find.
    “Um, yeah,” he coughed.  “I’m fine.  Have fun at the meeting, dear.” “Thanks. Love you dad.”
    “Love you too, Bertie.”
     Papa Cow had a great idea to get his son Moopers to be closer to him like the Duck family – a camping trip far away near the area the cows called The Highway.
     “Moopers!” he yelled.  “How about you join your ol’ man in a night under the stars - just you
and I?”
      “Dad tonight’s the farm tournament for our Soccer Team, The Milk Jugs.  Did you forget?”
      “Oh, no Moop-man.  I’ll be there cheering you on, of course.”
     “Great dad..” Moopers paused.  He could tell something peculiar was going on with his father.
“Maybe we could camp another night.”
     “Sure, son.”
     As Papa Cow walked back across the farm to Mama Cow he saw the Duck Family taking a family portrait together in matching t-shirts at the pond with photographer, Pigsel Adams.  Hhmpphhg he sighed.
     “Papa” Mama Cow hummed.  “You needn’t get yourself all upset when nothing is wrong.”  She said later that evening over dinner at a restaurant called The Pasture’s Edge.  “You are a very loving, kind, and supportive dad and you have two amazing, independent, happy calves as a result.”
      Papa Cow looked up from his plate of sprouted wheat berries and mashed millet feeling hopeful unexpectedly.  That was true.  His calves were very happy.  Bertha was Vice President of the Cowette Science Society and Moopers was MVP on his soccer team last year.  He must be doing something
right.
     “You don’t need to be like someone else to be right.” Mama Cow reassured.  “God makes all of us different for good reason.  If every family behaved exactly the same this farm would be a boring place.”
    “You’re right Mama Cow,” Papa Cow agreed.  “Waiter!” he yelled.
“Bring us some of that special oatmeal, too.  I just got my appetite back!”

A Family Recipe
By: Chantele Langley

1. How are the Duck and Cow family similar?  In what way are they different?

________________________________________________________

2. What message was the author trying to get across to the reader?
________________________________________________________

3. How does Papa Cow know the Duck family is close knit?

________________________________________________________

4. What word could be a synonym for peculiar?

A. Unfair
B. Happy
C. Suspicious
D. Rude

5. Why did Papa Cow get his appetite back at the end?

A. The mashed millet and sprouted wheat berries weren't enough
B. He felt happier and more at ease after realizing he was a good dad
C. He had a long night ahead of him at the soccer game
D. Wheat berries are known to make cows hungrie

Fractions and Food

Frosted Fractions

Multiplication Bingo

As we continue to master the basics of Math, we took some time to play different Math games. Or first competition was a stand off between tables of four. Each person was assigned a mathe operation and required to solve one part of a challenging problem. If each person completed thier assigned task, the team could win. Any small mistake could throw off the entire answer.

Finally, at the end of the day, we took some time to play Math Bingo. Of course, Mr Frisch supplied some exciting prizes for each winner.

Calling the numbers loudly and boldly..

Reading and Editing

Reading and Editing

Read over the following three paragraphs and find the various mistakes.  You'll need a separate piece of paper to write down the correct spellings and proper punctuation marks that are missing.  

Paragraph One

Yesterday my sister and I whent to the movies. We saw diary of a wimpy kid: rodrick rules. My sistar bought almost every snack you can imagine. She bught twizzlers popcorn milkduds sour patch kids and two big sodas. we Had a great time watching the movie and getting stufft on all her snacks. Next time I go to the movies I will be sure to take her with me again.

 Paragraph Two

My favorite animal is a koala bear. Koala’s are so cuddly looking and soft. I like the koala’s because they are slow moving and always looked relax. Being in the city and always moving fast makes me want to live like a slow kiala. I wish I could eat eucalyptus all day and sleep all day and just hang out in a tree all day. 

 Paragraph Three

My summer was the best vacation ever. My family went to hawaii. While we were there we did some of the best activities ever. We went snorkeling deep sea fishing surfing and we even went shopping for sovaneers. My favorite part was wen we went snorkeling we got to see some of the brightest fish and sea life. Some fish were even neon colors. I wish we could go to Hawaii every yar.

Fossils

We've been talking about dinosaurs and our favorite pre-historic creatures. Now we are going to take this personal interest and mix it into our science lessons.

Have you ever found yourself playing in the backyard or in the park and suddenly you see something buried in the ground? I know some of you have given into curiosity and started to dig around. When you finally pull the object out of the ground you notice that it's extremely dirty, rusty, maybe even broken and disfigured. No matter how old it may look, the safe bet is that it's only a few years old. Now imagine if something was buried in the ground for a 1,000 years or 10,000 years. Imagine how damaged it would be.

Let's look at a cool website with links and videos about fossils. Click here to blast off on an awesome experience.

This might be a great symbol of our time, but could this be a real fossil one day in the future?

Fractions

Fractions

Now that we have tackled the world of division we are ready to look at fractions. Remember that division means to divide. When we divide something, we are cutting it into different parts.
Fractions will help us see things around us a little bit different. By mixing together our everyday vision and our knowledge of math, we develop a more critical eye. We begin by looking at the whole picture, then we can start to identify the individual parts.
Let's practice that skill with an activity. Try this...

For extra practice follow this link:

Worksheet

Grammar Corrections

Grammar Corrections

Mr. Frisch was so excited to tell you about his holiday trip that he made several spelling mistakes.

Please read over the following letter and make the appropriate corrections.  In your Language Arts Journal make a list of the misspelled word and the correct words.  

Hello Class

       Did you know that treavaling is one of my favorit activity. it is relly fun to go different places and see new Worlds.  probably one of the most interesting places that I’ve ever visited is china.I think that this trep was so great because asia is relly a  diferent, there are so many unique things about life in the East.

In hong kong there is a cool cultural area with a sky cable car ride that traveal in the air for 5 miles.  the view is really incredible  If you are afraid of heights, this would be a long time to keep your eyees closed.  The cable care Ride takes you to a area with museums shows a gigantic Buddha statue and theater. Of course there is a starbucks, and other places to eat. 

     I cold share many more exciting thing about this trip, but I will savee the details for abother paper. When you have a change, go to Google and look for some images of Hong Kong.  You'll really love the city amd the photos will make my story come alive

Thank You Notes

Thank You Notes

We all love to receive gifts. Whether at Christmas, on our birthday, or just any special occasion, receiving a gift makes the day extra special.

Click here to see some basic instructions on writing a proper Thank You note.

Erosion and Weathering

Which one of these rock formations is most appealing to you? Have you seen similar formations in nature? Have you ever wondered how these formations were created? Can you believe that these rock formations are all natural?

Let's take a look at a cool website that will give photos and explanations about how wind, water and heat work at making these formations in the surface of the earth.

Persuasive Writing

Writing Styles
Since the first day of school we have been working on improving our writing. We have written different paragraphs about our opinions, our favorite things, and our favorite activities. Also, we have written paragraphs with details and specific instructions. The main purpose of this writing has been focused on simply expressing our ideas and practicing grammar.
Now we will focus on the difference between writing styles and the message that these writing styles communicate to us.

Persuasive Writing

This website will help us map out a persuasive argument. You will start with one idea, then give reasons and examples as to why that idea is so important. If your argument is really good, you will help convince me to accept what you like, even if its something I normally don't like or do.