Character Interviews

The other option besides doing "I Wonder" statements this week is a little tougher, and a little more creative. In this space, I'm going to pretend to interview a fictional character from People of Sparks. I have to make up all of the answers as well as the questions, and the answers have to be part of the book. I can't just make a character say something for fun. It has to be close to the book in order to make sense.

Mr. Reilly: Hi Torren, I understand that you're feeling kind of frustrated about the people of Ember showing up in your town, Sparks.
Torren: Yeah, I really am! These people are useless, and they don't know anything!
MR: They don't know anything at all?
T: No! Well, they know a little bit about some things. But they're really weird, and they took my room!
MR: They took your room?
T: Yeah! Three of them stay there all the time. My stupid aunt told them they could stay there to rest. And they still haven't left yet!
MR: Do you think they'll leave anytime soon?
T: No! They'll probably be here forever! Although my aunt says we'll kick them out by the cold time.
MR: You said earlier that they were useless. What did you mean by that?
T: I meant that they don't know how to do anything! They can't farm, they can't cook anything like us, and they don't even know how to get water from the river.
MR: Is there some things they know how to do that you don't?
T: Of course not! I'm way smarter than all of these blunderheads! I wish they'd just hurry up and leave so that it could get back to normal around here.
MR: Thanks for your time today, Torren.
T: No problem, anything to get these people out of here sooner!

Notice how I tried to make Torren sound a little whiny and a lot mad here, just like in the book. I think that he would say all of the things above based on how he feels and acts through Chapter 5.

"I Wonder" Statements

I'm going to be trying a new approach to reader response this week, and it's in the form of "I Wonder" responses. The point of them is to ask questions about what might happen in the book, and then attempt to read ahead and find answers. It's good for focusing my reading purpose. Here's some "I Wonder" statements about Jeanne DuPrau's People of Sparks:

• I wonder whether or not Lina finds her city that she drew so often in Ember. 
• I wonder if the people of Ember will learn to farm properly so that they won't starve.
• I wonder if Doon will learn all about engines and make the trucks become more than just wagons. 
• I wonder if Torren will do something that will make more people mad at the people of Ember. 
• I wonder if the people of Ember are going to live through the winter.

I'd like all of us to do at least 4 statements, and then go start finding answers. I'll post back in another few days and let you know if I've found any.

If I became a famous nerd...

I would definitely work with other people on bullying of people based on stereotypes. I think that it's sad that people are labelled "nerds" in a negative way. I think "nerds" are very cool people who are into video games, board games, science fiction and scientific things. Think where we'd be without nerds today! We wouldn't have TVs, computers, there would be no video games at all, we wouldn't have any of the fancy technology that we're used to using everyday! Nerds can be great people, too; often they're some of the best inventors or smartest people we know. So why do we bully them? I think we should be happy that people like them are interested and curious about science and video games. Curiosity in those areas is what makes some of the best new technologies!
I would use some of the money I would make from my invention to help less fortunate people. There's people all over the world who can't afford some of the most basic technology that we use today. Many people in the world can't afford a television or computer. How many of us watch television on a daily basis, even just for a few shows or for the news? I would try to make sure that these types of people got some form of help to make sure that they could eat, sleep and live a little better than they currently do right now. Whether that's in the forms of fancy new houses that are cheaper than what they're using now, or it's a new type of well-digger, I would try to make sure that there's more opportunities available for all.

Torren's Feelings

We're currently reading the People of Sparks (sporadically) in class, and we're talking about how a character in our book feels right now. Torren is frustrated because the People of Ember have shown up in his town, have started to take over, but don't seem to know anything. They've started to take some of his food, and they took his room, which made him really, really mad. He yelled at his aunt, the doctor, and mocks Lina all the time. Torren doesn't seem like he's very happy, claiming "they'll touch all my stuff!" I think that Torren is going to continue to make Lina's life miserable as the story goes on. He might do something to make her mad, or to try to hurt her.

Book Reports!

We're starting our work on book reports, but we're going to be doing them in a different form. This year, we're going to try out blogging about books we've read! If someone's blog is something that is exceptional, I'll make sure to post a public link with permission. We're focusing on all different types of books from graphic novels to chapter books, and from horror stories to fantasy. I'm really excited to read all of Room 6's opinions.

Hilarious BitStrips

Mikayla was very busy last night, making some fancy new BitStrips for our class. Since two of them really stood out, I've decided to post them here as well.

BitStrips!

We just started working in BitStrips, and so far I'm very impressed with all of the things you can do. We started a free, 30 day trial and it looks very promising. Here's a look at the first comic Mr. Reilly whipped up today.