Love that Dog-Poetry Writing

Try your hand at writing poetry.  Be inspired by one of the poems Mrs, Stretchberry read to Jack's class.  Or try this poetry idea generating machine.

Here are some more resources from Scholastic to get you started!

Click here to try some other forms:
Acrostic
Diamante

Want to read some more poetry for inspiration?  Try these sites:

Poems and Poets Referred to in Love That Dog

• William Carlos Williams http://www.onlinepoetryclassroom.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=120 this includes a biography and links to his poetry including The Red Wheelbarrow.
• Robert Frost http://www.onlinepoetryclassroom.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=196
• Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening http://www.internal.org/view_poem.phtml?poemID=103
• The Pasture http://www.internal.org/view_poem.phtml?poemID=106
• Arnold Adoff Love Letters http://www.arnoldadoff.com/
• The Apple by S.C.Rigg, a pseudonym for Sharon Creech, is explained on the web site Inspiration for Love That Dog http://sharoncreech.co.uk/inspri.asp.  But, if you are looking for other shape poems, I suggest Splish Splash by Joan Bransfield Graham http://www.joangraham.com/  and Doodle Dandies by J. Patrick Lewis.    
• Online Concrete Poetry http://www.gardendigest.com/concrete/cvpindex.htm
• Wrighting Poetry http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/wright/teachers/wfomanual/langarts/poem.html
• Walter Dean Myers http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/authors/myer.html Meet the Author http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/wdmyers.html
• Valerie Worth www.ncte.org/elem/Poetry/Worth.pdf
• William Blake http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=117

Tyger from Songs of Innocence and Experience copy 1789, 1794   http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/blakeinteractive/works/songs_06.html

• In the next three sites, well known children’s poetry authors help students write their own poems plus feature many of their own poems.
• Kristine O’Connell George http://www.kristinegeorge.com/
• Bruce Lansky Giggle Poetry http://www.gigglepoetry.com/
• Writing with Writers http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/index.htm
• We all need a little help when it comes to writing poetry.  These next two sites should be on any teacher’s favorites list.
• Poetry Express http://www.poetryexpress.org/
• Rhyming Dictionary http://rhyme.lycos.com/

Trabnscontinental Railroad

Link to video explaining Transcontinental Railroad

6th Grade Biographies

Neil Armstrong

By James Dennis

Neil Armstrong was famous for being the first human being to step foot on the lunar surface, however he has also done many other great things in his life and in the field of aeronautics and astronomy. In August 5, 1930 he was born into the small urban sprawl of Wapakoneta, Ohio. He was hooked on aeronautics at the age of eight when he went on an airplane ride. When he was a kid, his neighbor had a high power telescope in his backyard. This caused Neil to become fascinated with space.  At fourteen he took flying lessons, and on his sixteenth birthday he received his piloting license.

WW2 broke out, and around the age of twenty he joined the military and quickly became a US Air Force pilot. He was stationed in Korea, and had completed eighty one missions before the war ended, and he left the army. After the army, he became a civilian test pilot for NASA. As a result he flew the X-15, currently the fastest aircraft ever created going at mach 6 (7,274 kmph) almost reaching outer space and successfully entering orbit, as well as other experimental aircraft. NASA saw Neil Armstrong's skill in flying the X-15, hence they asked him to be the commander for the Gemini 8 mission. At first, Neil Armstrong didn’t like the idea of being an astronaut, but he accepted the mission anyways. In March 16, 1966 he was launched into space along with astronaut David Scott. In this mission he docked with the spacecraft Gemini target vehicle briefly, however during the docking maneuver many problems occurred, so the mission had to end and they conducted an emergency landing. They had successfully  landed in the ocean after hours late. The mission lasted a total of only eleven hours. The crew of Gemini 8 had almost perished in that mission. This mission also resulted in Neil Armstrong being the first civilian astronaut.

His cool and collectiveness during Gemini 8’s emergency had him assigned to be commander of the Apollo 11 mission. He was flying with Michael Collins and Edward E. Buzz Aldrin. They discussed who would be the first to step on the moon, and had come to the conclusion that Neil Armstrong should walk on the moon first. On July 18, Neil Armstrong exited the LEM and was the first human to step foot on the lunar surface. His famous uttering of the words “That’s one small step for [a] man. That’s one giant leap for mankind” on the lunar surface had remarkable imprint on the globe, and this short but sweet quote was known and heard in every household, town, and city that day and will continue to be heard for decades and even centuries to come. The funny thing is, his most memorable quote wasn’t what Neil Armstrong had intended to say. On the way to the moon, and after the crew chose Neil to be the first to walk on the moon, he thought of what he’d say. In an interview, he tells the press that he had intended to say “That’s one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind” and he could have sworn he said “a.” However, even when slowing down the audio, and after re-listening to it, no one heard “a”. He and the crew returned to Earth safely on July 24.

That was his last mission. After that he retired as an astronaut and did college lectures, and then worked at several different companies that created computers for space exploration. Living a fulfilled life, Neil Armstrong died of long term complications after a heart surgery at age 82, in August 25, 2012. Neil Armstrong was a symbol not for only NASA, or the United States, but was an achievement for all of technology, science, and mankind. He and his achievement will surely be remembered for decades to come.

Interactive Research Papers: Mini-Biography

Interactive Research Papers: Mini-Biography 
Now that we have researched Dav Pilkey, you are are going to write your own Mini-Biography.  Choose a person that you are interested in writing about.  Make sure you choose someone well-known so that you can easily find sources about that person.  Follow the steps on the Mini-Biography Planning Sheet.

1. Locate three sources from list below that give you plenty of information.  Be sure your sources tell about the three areas on the note-taking form:  Childhood, Becoming, and Achievements. Write your sources on your planning sheet.
2. YOU MAY NOT USE ANY OTHER WEB SITES AS SOURCES!!! If you can not find information, see Ms. Casassa or another teacher in the class and they will help you.  

Biography Sources:
Factmonster-Biographies
Infoplease-Biographies 
Achievement Hall of Fame
First Ladies of the White House
Biography.com
Scholastic Author Interviews
Brain Pop Jr. Biographies-watch videos (log in info: barnard1 brainpop)
Neil Armstrong Childhood Information
Neil Armstrong Timeline and early childhood info 
Mary Lou Retton Childhood 
Jane Goodall Childhood
Jane Goodall Institute and Biographical Timeline

You will need to create a bibliography.  Click here to use Easybib for the proper formatting!

The Cay-Creating a Powerpoint Presentation on Background Information

We are going to begin reading The Cay by Theodore Taylor. Before we begin, we are going to complete a webquest about different aspects of the story.  You will be working in pairs. Each group will create slides on two topics from the web quest on our class Power Point on The Cay.
Click here to go to the webquest
Click here to go to The Cay Presentation

Theodore Taylor dedicates the novel to Martin Luther King.  Consider what aspects of King's life and legacy might have influence Taylor's choice?
USA for Kids-Martin Luther King resources