Ecosystems Poetry

In science, we have been learning about ecosystems. We studying the different biomes. Some of the biomes that we have been studying are the desert, tropical rainforest, grasslands, tundra, taiga, temperate forest ,marine,and freshwater.We even did a diamante poem which is in the shape of a diamond. We had to choose two different biomes like taiga and the tropical rainforest and contrast them through our poetry writing. It was really fun and we all learned a lot about the different ecosystems! ~AP and JM

Skyping with Ms. Penno's Class

Today, we Skyped with Ms. Penno's grade 4 class.Their class is in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We are in Fultondale, Alabama, USA.We discussed  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. We were separated in 6 groups to discuss which animal character we would save from the book. Our groups were: Ivan, Stella 1, Stella 2, Ruby, Mixed characters, and Bob. Each group had  turns talking to the students in Ms. Penno's class. Each group discussed who will they save, how would they save them, why they save them. We also asked questions about the story. We Skyped for one hour with their classroom. When we were Skyping, we felt as if we were actually talking class to class. Skyping to Canada was the most awesome experience ever. We also got to learn some cool information about their school and their city. ~DC and AM.

Inspiration from Ivan's Art

We got inspired by the real gorilla named Ivan while we were reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Ivan does paint in real life, but it is abstract. Abstract painting is when you paint something, but it is not something specific. When you abstract paint it shows people's emotions or feelings or how they have lived in their life.

We got paint and did some Ivan inspired art [abstract]. We discussed and analyzed some famous abstract artists. We got a piece of thick paper called card-stock and finger painted with tempura paint just like Ivan does in the book. We painted abstract art. Here is a digital art gallery of our art. We hope you like it. ~CC and MH

Family News- Unit 4 Activities for Home

Family News- Unit 4 Fractions, Decimals, and Percents

Global Read Aloud- Character Trading Cards

While reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, we feel like we've made new friends with the characters. Ms. Applegate is such a  good example of how to write characters. We wanted to share our thoughts about these characters from their point of view. We hope you enjoy them.

Ivan

My name is Ivan. I am a gorilla. I live in a domain at the Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. I used to be in the wild, but now I am not. I have been in my domain for nine thousand eight hundred and fifty-five days. I draw art work because I am an artist and my art work cost $20 in the mall's gift shop or $25 with the frame. I have a friend named Julia who is an artist too. Today, I drew a beetle and Mack said it looked like a big blob of nothing. Julia saw it an knew my art was of a beetle.

Stella

I'm an elephant named Stella,who remembers everything and loves to tell stories. I have scars on two of my feet from being chained when I was young. I live in the Big Top Mall with Ivan the gorilla. Ivan is one of my best  friends. He lives in the domain next to me. He is a 400 pound gorilla. I like to take care of the other elephant, named Ruby, in my domain.

Bob

Hi my name is Bob. I am of questionable heritage, which means I'm a stray. I live at the Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. I am nut colored and used to have many brothers and sisters. Now I'm on my own. Julia gave me my name. I don't let humans touch me because their scent upsets my digestion. I only let Julia touch me. I love TV. I prefer to watch professional bowling and cat-food commercials. Ivan and I enjoy western movies and romance movies.I am speedy and not tactful, but Ivan lets me sleep on his belly. He's a good friend.

Ruby

I am Ruby. I am a baby elephant. I make many noises like the trumpets they sell at the gift shop. I am shorter than Ivan who is a gorilla. I used to live in Africa. I am here because humans captured me. Humans killed my family and I was alone. I lived at a traveling circus for a month where they didn't feed me enough.Then Mack bought me and moved me to the Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. I've met Stella, Ivan, Bob, and Julia.

Julia

Hi, I am Julia. I have black hair, a half-moon smile, and old clothes. I'm ten years old. My dad is George. He works at the Exit 8 Mall and Arcade to clean Ivan, the gorilla's cage, and all of the other areas in the mall.When I am at the mall and arcade center, I sit by Ivan's domain while doing homework and also while drawing. I like Ivan because he is smart and he likes to draw just like me.

Mack

Hi, my name is Mack. I work at the Exit Eight Mall. I am the boss so I answer the phone all day. I also feed a gorilla named Ivan because I don't have enough money to hire a gorilla babysitter. I do shows where I dress up like a clown and ride on a really tiny bike too. After that show, our elephant Stella does a show with Snickers, our dog. Stella stands on her hind legs and Snickers jumps on her back.If she doesn't do her trick, I have to swing the claw stick. I love my job at the mall.

GRA- Ivan and the Epigraph

At the beginning of The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Appplegate, we noticed the epigraph:

It is never too late to be what you might have been." ~George Eliot

We had a great discussion about it and we wanted to share our thoughts with all of you. Here are some of our thoughts about what the epigraph means and how it relates to us and possibly to the characters in the book:

"If you wanted to be a good person in life but you are bad you can quit making bad choices and then you are what you wanted to be. " ~JP

"I think the quote connects with the book because I think the gorilla named Ivan maybe wants to change who he is. Ivan lives in a mall in a domain. A domain is his territory in the story it's just his cage. He is the only gorilla in the mall. He has friends,  but they're not in his domain so he's lonely. His friends are Stella, Mack, and Bob. Stella is an elephant, Mack is a human, and Bob is a dog. Ivan probbaly wants to change who he is because if he changes who he is maybe people might like him more and they'll find hima gorilla, a friend." ~HW

"What that means is if you are a bus driver and you want to be a teacher it is never to late to go back to school and earn a teaching job. But what that means to Ivan is he doesn't like it in the circus he can change that." ~CK 

"I had a job that I've been in for five years, but did not finish collage, I could just go back to college and finish and get a master's degree. With the degree I could get a even better job than I had before, am I right? I really do think that this quote is really part of life, because if you're stuck in place you don't want to be in, you can always go back where you really wanted to be. So just think about it, have you ever been bad and then all of a sudden been good, I know I have, but the question is have you?" ~DC

"Some days you might want to be someone else, but when you think about it, it's best to be the best you you can be."~LNH

We would love to hear your thoughts too. Please leave a comment and tell us where you are from so that we can mark your location on our class' world map.