5B Classroon News: Week of Feb. 24th

A note from Mrs. Burke:
On the blog this week students took time to reflect on their monologue readings based on events from the book Esperanza Rising. They did an outstanding job with their readings! I am very proud of the passion they showed throughout our human rights unit, and this passion shined through during their monologue performance. They are amazing students and give me hope for the future; taking what they have learned in our unit about human rights to be kind and respectful students in all aspects of their lives. Thank you to all of the parents who could make it. I know it can be difficult to attend school events during the day and I appreciate you coming in to listen to the readings.

On Monday we had a celebration to complete our unit about human rights. Each student made a yarn doll (which is a doll that a character from the book made) while drinking hibiscus flower punch (which is the punch that was served during celebrations in the book).

Wednesday was spirit day with an all school color challenge. Each grade was assigned a color and it was fun to see the students in each class representing their color. The fifth grade was assigned the color black and the students looked great!

Thursday was the OQS Spelling Bee. Congratulations to Andre, Cody, and Colin for being our representatives. Well done!

Keep reading to see what our classroom reporters posted on our blog this week!

Language Arts: Esperanza Rising Monologue Reflections

What did you learn about human rights while writing your monologue?

What did you like most about reading your monologue to an audience?

If you could change one thing about your monologue what would it be?  

I learned that human rights are threatened a lot.  I liked that everybody's attention was on me during my monologue reading. If I could change one thing about my monologue it would be making it longer and more detailed.

-Andre

I learned that there are many human rights. I liked reading my monologue in front of an audience because I wanted to read it in front of them. If I could change one thing in my monologue it would be to be longer than it was.  

-Ben 

In this whole unit I really got to know what human rights are because I didn’t know that they were a thing. I really liked reading my monologue to an audience because they all looked at me and just watched. If I could change one thing about my monologue I would add more detail.

-Charleigh

While writing my monologue I learned that even though all people have human rights some people are having them taken away. The thing that I liked most about reading my monologue is that it turns the fact that many no longer have basic human rights into public knowledge. If I could change one thing about my monologue I would add more information about the human right that was threatened.  

-Cody

One thing I learned about human rights when I was writing my monologue is that people around the world are struggling with their human rights being threatened.  What I liked most about reading my monologue to an audience is that they all seemed to be engaged in what we were reading, and I really appreciated that. If I could change one thing about my monologue it would be that in the beginning two paragraphs I was talking about food.
-Colin

What I learned about human rights while writing my monologue is that human rights are still being threatened today. What I most liked about reading my monologue in front of an audience was that no people laughed at me. If I could change something in my monologue it would be that I would change my last paragraph.

-Emmariah

I learned that not everybody gets to have a good or affordable house. What I liked the most about reading my monologue to an audience was seeing that my family liked it. If I could change one thing about my monologue it would be to add more details. 
-Alisha

I learned that everyone should have the same rights because it's not fair. I liked that the audience was quiet the whole time. I would change the part with Queen of the May.

-Kayd

It makes me want to try and help others get these rights. I liked reading it to others to show how much work I put into it. More words and describe it more.

-Liam

What I learned about human rights is that people still violate them today. What I like most about the monologue reading is that people were not distracting me while I was reading. What I would change about my monologue is talk about what was going on before the silence.

-Peyton

What I learned about human rights while writing my monologue is that this has been going on for a long time and it still is happening. What I liked most about reading my monologue to an audience was reading something that I wrote and I was proud of and it was really fun. If I could change one thing about my monologue it would be to add more sensory details.

-Riley

Second Step:  Wonder

We are now in the part of the book that is giving Via’s perspective about her life with Auggie. 

Do you think Via is a good big sister to Auggie? Why or why not?

I think Via is a good sister because she loves Auggie no matter what she is thinking or feeling.

-Aaron

In the middle it talks about the viewpoint of Auggie. Via is a good sister because she tries to set a good example. Why she is a good sister is that she doesn't steal their parent attention and she respects his needs.

-Liam

Yes I think Via is a good big sister because she looks over Aggie when she can and does what she can with him. She looks at him like a normal person not by how other people see him they see him as a freak.
-Riley