Farewell to a GreatYear!

This has been a great year with reader's theater.  The kids have done a lot of work on their own.  The kids have really impressed me in their dedication to write the final reader's theater script.  I loved how the kids were also eager to edit their work.  Every time we revisited the scripts, the kids were looking to make more changes to improve their work. 

My favorite experience this year we the SKYPE visit: Melissa Stewart.  She rocked and we all learned so much from her.  Thank you Melissa for sharing your love of writing and illustrating with my students.

Thank you fourth grade for a wonderful experience this year.  Thank you to Mrs. Schmidt for all your hard work with the students.  I have learned so much from you and look forward to all the other experiences we will encounter together.

Mrs. Zawacki

4th Grade FOCUS

        FOCUS this year was really fun. We got to do many activities. This year in FOCUS was fantastic! I had loads of fun!
        In the beginning, in the unit category, we studied bridges. It was a lot of fun! We studied a lot on different kinds of bridges, and we even got to create our own bridges.
        We have been doing logic for all of the year. Logic is a sheet of paper given to you. It is acctually really fun! Logic gets harder and harder every time you exceed.
        Another thing we are doing in FOCUS is Reader's Theater! Reader's Theater is a program where you are the characters in a certain book. You are given a script and, of course, your part. Sometimes there are nonfiction books and sometimes there are fiction books. I love doing Reader's Theater! In fact, it is my favorite thing to do in FOCUS!
        We are doing a powerpoint too!
        Over all, I love FOCUS.

                                                                                                  Carson

Farewell to Reader's Theater in FOCUS

   Throughout all of my fourth grade in FOCUS my class and I have been doing Reader's Theater and the story I really enjoyed before the one we are doing right now was The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and that was because I like that story. My favorite Reader's Theater story that we did this year is The Boy Who Was Raised By Librarians. It was very fun doing the story. In the book that we are doing I am narrator two. This year I didn't really like was that we had to perform in front of our classes and other ones because I am a little shy.
     But what I really liked was illustrating the drawings to go when we represent our story. At the end of the story he joins his libarian friends in the libary. When he was in high school he got a part time job in the libary. When he was finished with collage he got a full time job at the libary and he worked with his librarian friends. This year in Reader's Theater was a blast!

                                                                                                               Daniel

Reflections to my Fourth Grade FOCUS and Reader's Theater

     This year, my fourth grade FOCUS year was an exciting one. I did many things and learned a lot. I learned about bridges and their history behind them. My favorite kind of bridge was the Suspension Bridge. We also did our leadership unit. That was my favorite thing we learned about in FOCUS. We talked about the qualities of a good leader. We also did power points on a leader we chose. I did my power point on Dwight D. Eisenhower. I learned so much about him. We also did vocabulary, which was really fun to learn about them. It helped us on some of the writings we did, too. The last thing we learned about was Logic Skills. We also did Reader's Theater, which you will read in about later on. To improve our skills in that area, we did logic grids and analogies. The thing I really wanted was to have recess once in a while to get some fresh air during FOCUS class. Other than that, all the things I did in FOCUS was really cool and interesting to learn about.
      The Reader's Theater projects that we have done in the past have been very fun to do, too. It helped us with our fluency in reading, so we will have experiences when we wil go to middle and high school. The books I have done in Reader's Theater was The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, When Rain Falls, and The Boy Who Was Raised By Librarians. We also Skyped with an author and a class in Wisconsin. I liked blogging because we get ot write about what we feel. I loved Reader's Theater and I'm going to miss it over the summer.
                                  Goodbye fourth grade FOCUS!
-Anushka


  

Peace out fourth grade FOCUS!

Dear fellow students,

            I've had a great time in FOCUS this year, such a great time that I can't even say how many I had. To start off, I loved Reader's Theater, especially when we got to write the script. I also enjoyed researching a person and making a PowerPoint on the person. I enjoyed the unit on bridges, but if I had the chance to change it to something else, I would. I love that we got to spend every single Thursday with Mrs. Zawacki.

On the downside, I have some dislikes. Like Logic. I absolutely, positively, 100% did not like Logic. Analogies weren't my favorite either. I did love every time I saw "Complete"on my paper. I loved fourth grade FOCUS.

Thinking Back

      This year in Reader's Theater was awesome for our first story I was in the Three Little Pigs and I was the narrator. Then I did Under The Snow and I was the narrator. Finally I'm doing Knuffle Bunny Free and I'm Mom, Oma, Baby's Mom, and Airline Person. I'm glad in this last Reader's Theater I get an actual part of a person so I can show them what I'm made of! This last FOCUS Reader's Theater feels like it's our own because we wrote it. This is a great feeling to hold a script in your hand that was typed but, written by you!


                                                                                                                                 Taylynn
                                                                                                                           

Goodbye 4th Grade FOCUS

     My fourth grade FOCUS year was very challenging. But I felt very proud. I did my best work to do really good in FOCUS. Reader's Theater was very fun but I had trouble with a few things. Logic and Analogies were also fun but difficult. My dislike is that we had to miss recess and we had to have vocabulary tests. The vocabulary words were really hard but I tried my best to study hard and to ace the tests.
     I think people who are in FOCUS have a chance to learn things other people don't know and a chance to go above and beyond what teachers are expecting. This is what I love about FOCUS. I am very proud of all the things I did in FOCUS. I know that 5th grade FOCUS will be even harder than 4th grade's. So if I get into FOCUS next year, I will have to be prepared and work even harder to try my best in 5th grade.
     Goodbye 4th grade FOCUS!!!!

-DASEUL

Farewell! 4th grade FOCUS

     When I came to FOCUS I was nervous. I didn't know anybody. I didn't even know what we were going to do this year. I was scared it was going to be harder than a normal class. When we started learning I knew it would be a little bit easier than what I thought. We started to do Readers Theater. It was a lot of fun. We were doing these scripts. I thought Readers Theater was a play thing. Then we did the The True Story Of The Three Little Pigs that was our first Readers Theater. The only thing I did not like was the vocabulary quiz. Those were really hard. We would have to match words with their definition and then we would have to finish a sentence with them. We then started to do Readers Theater in public. Some kindergarten classes came and some 4th grade classes came.  Later in the year we started to do Under The Snow. That one was a little hard for me. We had animals of different kinds and we would act as those animals. Then we would do the Readers Theater in front of the classes.
     
      Well after that Readers Theater we started our own script. It took us about 2 or 3 weeks to finish writing it on paper then we had to type it. That took us about 2 weeks. Then we started to do the story making. We made the scripts and started learning them. it took a long time. We had to have a good pirate voice in my story. It was called Pirates Don't Change Diapers. Then we came to this very day.

HAMZA

See You Later 4th Grade FOCUS

     I would like to say that 4th grade FOCUS has been a blast. With all of the fun Reader's Theater scripts. The best was when we got to make our own script. I loved the vocabulary tests because I had something to do which was studying.  I also loved doing all of our fun projects like the simile person. I couldn't forget the countless hours of logic grids. But I didn't get real happy when we had to do analogies because I didn't like always having to find words in the dictionary. But I really will miss the 4th grade because it was a very fun experience. Right now we are doing the script The Boy Who Was Raised By Librarians. I am one of the main characters named Melvin. It is about a boy who spends most of his time in his life at the library. He even gets a part time job in the library. But when he graduates high school he gets a job at the library. That's what I have to say about my experiences in 4th grade FOCUS.
                                                               
                                                                              Brooks

My Year in FOCUS 2010-2011

   I had a great year in 4th grade, but I must say good bye and cherish these memory in my heart. I did many things this year, like Logic Grids, Analogies, Bridges, Leaders, Vocabulary, and Reader's Theater. In Reader's Theater, I was in three different Reader's Theaters, The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall. I was Narrator 6. I was also in When Rain Falls by Mellisa Stewart. I was the deer, ladybug, turtle, snake, and a toad. Now I am in Knuffle Bunny 3 by Mo Willems. I am the dad, opa (grandpa), doll, and baby. There are many things I liked this year in Reader's Theater, like we make a version of a Reader's Theater your group for a book you are intruiged with. Something I don't like is that we are assigned parts.
I liked Logic Grids because it is challenging and you have to use clues and common sense. There is not anything I don't like in Logic Grids. We only did one Analogy, but I liked it. You had to use a resource to find your answers. In the bridges unit, there were a lot of hands-on and partner work. There was also a lot of science in the structure of a bridge. I very much liked the Leaders unit because it relates to most people in FOCUS, because you pretty much have to be gifted to be a leader. Last, but not least is the vocabulary quiz. The vocabulary quiz/test is a very uniqe type of test. It is a test where you learn it once at school and study at home. Most test subjects gets discssed at school, then tested. Overall, FOCUS is the a class I afford to go to. 

-Johaer

4th Grade FOCUS Reflections

              This year in FOCUS I did many things including Reader's Theater. Now just like you, I did not enjoy everything I did, but most of it I enjoyed. I definitely enjoyed Reader's Theater because it lets me break out of my shell. It also shows people that I am not always shy and that I can be very loud. Just ask my sister and parents. I also enjoyed making a PowerPoint because it let me be creative and also learn more about the person. I love being able to go above what I am expected to do because I get to let people see what I am capable of. The vocabulary tests were not my favorite thing to do, but, everything and everyone has a reason. The good part about vocabulary tests are that you get a chance to improve your grade and get to spend time with your friends and family studying. Oh, I must not forget about logic and analogies. They are hard, but they give you a challenge and a learning experience to learn from your mistakes. I appreciate what God gave me, and that is a gift that is very special. I will never let that gift go to waste, because I am special and that is how I was made!

                                                          - Maddy

that last FOCUS moment

Reader'sTheater a honner particapence to have a book almost specialized for your group. It also can reading acedemics of reading in the most fun way. Without sitting down and doing a reading group.All the enthusiasm is wanted to help you learn and actually doing something . I am new for Reader's Theater and The Boy who was Raised by Libraians is a book that you can express loudness and life as everybody knows. Yes, logic and analogies plus prjects are stressfull . But Reader's Theater you can just relax and tell the story not explian it or write about it. Just like I was saying I might like what the person next to  me doesn't.


                                           
                                                     - Katelyn

The Big Picture

Ok, now I have to say, that Reader's Theater this year was the most fun thing I've ever done in FOCUS! Instead of just sitting in a rock hard chair doing work all day, we got to express ourselves with our voices and give ourselves just another reason to live. From monsters to princesses, from desserts to oceans, we have accomplished so much as a FOCUS class in Reader's Theater and basicly in every area in FOCUS! Come on, I mean, finishing logic and annoligies in a nine week period is pretty hard for some people, and I bet it's also hard for some people to juggle two reasearch projectcs; one in class and one on Thursdays, or whenever you go to FOCUS! Those of you out there who are bagging on yourself for not being in FOCUS.......Don't! We all learn at our own paces in our own ways, that's just what humans do. God gave us brains and for the most part, we all use it well.

                                                                        - Lauren W.

Reader's Theater

          Today I want to tell you about the experiences you can have in Reader's theater. One thing I really love to do is write your own script for it. Also , there is a lot of fun time with your friends while you practice. It is really fun. Some reasons it is fun is you can imagine what the character feels like while you express that feeling. Sometimes I get so into the person that I have their expression on my face when I read it. Reader's Theater also helps some people with standing up in front of large crowds. One other thing is there are some likes and dislikes about some things. To me at first blogging was really hard and not my thing , but later in the year I started to think it was easier and not so bad. These last two examples show how Reader's Theater can sometimes change someones perspective of it like me. Lastly , it can help you with knowing your voice so that you are always prepared for a play or even another Reader's Theater!

                                                                                    -Maria

4th grade FOCUS year

I percenaly like focus. I also like Reader's Theter. I like it because it is the one chance you get to get the funny out of you.Also, who does not love making funny voices.Although the thing is, that finding a voice is hard for people who get embarresed, but when you present to friends it is fun and exciting because you get to share something that you have practiced with this whole nine weeks.Reader's Theter is the best.

Have you ever heard of Logic?Well it is the best and most fun thing in the world.If you like puzzles then you will love logic. It is like a mystery that is stuck in a piece of paper.Also it is challengeing,and who doesn't like a hard challenge.I mean that is what makes logic fun.Although if you take a vocabulary test and it is a challenge you will hate it,so that is why you study for vocabulary test.Finally the thing that makes focus the best is that Mrs. Zawacki is are teacher.

Sincerly,

Trevor (The Situation)

Poem in your pocket day

   Last week, We skyped with a school called Kickapoo, Wisconsin and it was poem in your pocket day so that meant that we could have a poem in our pocket. Since we skyped we could have shared the poem in our pocket and I did share one. There was only one person in my FOCUS class that made one poem up. It was a little scary but not like scary scary but like funny scary. But then at the end of her poem it said that all she was saying was lies. She said that because it said she was as mean as a dragon, but it was really fun. Then the other school said there poems that were in there pockets. Then when we all were finished the teacher Ms.Malphy and she said the poem My pet Rock and it was joyful so I loved skyping with them.

                                                                                          -Daniel T.

readers theather

I have experienced about 2 weeks of FOCUS and readers theater is sound. In readers theater I have been in all three sections of books . Including Knuffle Bunny , Pirates don't Change Dippers, and The boy who was Raised by Librarians. In this experience I have wrote lines , drawn pictures, and rehearsed lines. Within  this I now  understand  the pronunciation and the form of new words. Also I have spoken louder than I usually do to be heard.


Katelyn

Poem in your pocket

This year in focus on poem in your pocket day we skyped with another class in Kickapoo, Wisconsin. I thought that this was so cool. There were actually some very interesting poems that I heard. There was one were it talked about a monster that came to schools to take kids and eat them. I am positive that this would scare my little sister. I didnt know that therecould be differnt poems like the poem with the monster because so many are to do with love and things like that. Also some children wrote poems too. I thought this was the most intresting thing about poem in your pocket day. My friend Sadie wrote apoem that was called  ''To Tell You The Truth ''which I thought  wouldnt be good but it was and that was what suprised me. Anyways this what about poem in my pocket which was fun.

-Will

Poem In Your Pocket Day and Skyping

Last week, on a Thursday, my school, Rocks Springs Elementary, in Georgia and Kickapoo School in Wisconsin had Skyped to share poems for Poem in Your Pocket Day. April is National Poetry Month. It was so cool. We shared poems one by one. I shared a poem called Sleeping  in Class. It was about a person sleeping during a class. The person wrinkled her shirt, drooled on her textbooks, tangled her hair, and snored like a pig. The people at Kickapoo School thought that a student had been sleeping during class, but at the end, we learned that the teacher was sleeping. I think that poem was the funniest poem read that day. I really liked all the poems. My favorite one was read by a 4th grade teacher named Ms. Melphy. It was about a rock being a great pet. I loved Skyping with the people at Kickapoo School. I had so much fun!
                   -Anushka

Poem in Your Pocket Day With Another School

Last Thursday in FOCUS, we did a Skype with another school in Wisconsin called Kickapoo School.
Everybody had a poem in their pocket and they read their poems to us. I read a poem called My Teacher Ate My Homework. Everybody's poem was very interesting.
When I first found out that we were Skyping with another school, I felt excited and nervous at the same time.
It was my second time doing a Skype but I still felt nervous. I'm sure everybody else felt that way in my school and at Kickapoo School.
Ms. Melphy's poem was really funny. It was about a rock being a great pet. Skyping was a really interesting experience. I hope we do another one soon.
Daseul

Skyping With Wisconsin 4th Graders On Poem In Your Pocket Day

    Last Thursday, our 4th grade FOCUS class skyped with a class from Wisconsin named Kickapoo school. We all read a poem to someone on skype. I thought it was a great experience because I had never skyped before. My poem was called Short Kid by Shel Silverstien. I think by far that that was a very awesome time in the library. Even our librarian Mrs. Schmidt read her poem to the other librarian in Wisconsin. I think poem in your pocket day is a very cool day. Parents should even have a poem in their pocket! This was an amazing experience.


                                                                              Brooks

Skyping with Kickapoo in Wisconsin

         Me and my FOCUS class skyped with a school in Wisconsin, called Kickapoo School, last week. Our class and their class shared poems to each other. We did this because it was poem month. a lot of the poems were funny and interesting.
         One of the poems was very funny. It was called A Rock Makes a Great Pet! It told you what it would be like to have a rock for a pet! I really liked that poem. In fact, our FOCUS teacher had the same poem! I did not share a poem because I didn't want to go up in front of the whole class.
         I really liked skyping with the class in Wisconsin!

                                                                                                             Carson

Skyping With Wisconsin 4th Graders for Poem in Your Pocket Day

          Last Thursday, specifically April 13, I video chatted with a 4th grade class at Kickapoo  School in Wisconsin for poem in your pocket day. I made my own poem called " To Tell You The Truth". It was inspired by Shel Silverstein, after I read one of his books. I think Poem In Your Pocket Day is a great way to share your humor and express your personality. I was the only person in my 4th grade FOCUS class who made their poem. Peace!



                    Sadie M. :)

Skyping from Geogia to Wisconsin

I thought skyping was fun. It is like meeting new people from far away. Although f you are reading a poem to them then it gets a little scary because if you mess up it is very embarrassing. Also you don't know if the kids are going to laugh at you. Luckily, those kids were nice.One of my favorite poems are To Tell You The Truth by a girl in my class Sadie Maxwell. It was very funny. Another thing is, every poem was interesting because they were all by one author. Finally t was cool meeting kids in another state and learning what they do at their school.

Trevor

Poem in Your Pocket Day at Kickapoo,WI/Rock Springs GA

         The poem in your pocket day was awsome but I dont know about other schools. Kickapoo might have done some cool poems like the Shel Silverstein poems. Those were really popular in our school. It was cool that FOCUS got to have a Skype video with the Fourth Grade FOCUS class in Kickapoo Elementary.
I think the funniest poem was Matt Harringtons. His was funny.  There were much other ones too. I forgot to make a poem but I listened to other ones. That day had gone by really fast because there were really good poems and so much other things that were fun. There were lots of people listening but i know that i was. I dont really know is the whole school was.



                                                                     Hamza

Poem in My Pocket Day across the U. S.

I don't know about all the other schools in the United States, but Poem in My Pocket Day was a great success for Rock Springs. It was really cool that my FOCUS class got to Skype a fourth grade class in a school called Kickapoo (Wisconsin). We took turns reading poems to celebrate it being Poem in My Pocket Day. One of my favorites was To Tell You the Truth by my classmate Sadie. It was really quite funny, and she wrote it herself! It was a little hard to hear the other class, but overall, i really enjoyed it. I think it's great that they have a day dedicated to poems and their poets. Everybody is caught up in books these days and no one really pays attention to poems these days. Poem in My Pocket Day was overall a great success at my school , well at least to me if not my whole school!


                                                                         - Lauren

Skyping With another 4th Grade Class For Poem In Your Pocket Day

Last Thursday on April 13, my 4th grade FOCUS class got to Skype with another 4th grade class at Kickapoo School in WI. We got to Skype with them because it was Poem In Your Pocket day and my FOCUS teacher and Media Specialist thought that it would be fun if we could Skype with another class to read poems to each other. We started off by introducing ourselves. Then we started reading all of the poems. We listened to a lot of different poems, but my favorite poem was one that my friend wrote and it was called "To Tell You The Truth" The funny part about the poem was that it was all lies! I thought that this was a great iea because it let kids be involved in reading and participating in Poem In Your Pocket day!


                                                                                                                           -Maddy

Poem in your Pocket Day

          On Poem in my Pocket Day we had an extravagant time. We got to Skype with a school called Kickapoo in WI. First we introduced ourselves,said the name of the poem, and then said who the author was. Then we read it. The class we Skyped with was Mrs. Malphy's class. I thought it was really fun. It was fun because we heard different variates of poems like: funny, serious, sweet, and some were even their own. My favorite poem was To "Tell you the Truth" by: Sadie Maxwell in my class. She wrote it herself! Would you ever try to do this with your friends and family?



                                                                                             -Maria

Poem in Your Pocket Day at Kickapoo,WI

                         When we Skyped in FOCUS with Kickapoo Elementary school in Wisconsin, it was Poem in Your Pocket day. We shared very funny poems. I shared a poem called Steve The Superhero" by Ken Nesbitt. The kids at Kickapoo Elementary shared poems, too. The class's teacher was Mrs.Malphy. Their school had 450 students and they had grades K-12. Our school has 950 students but only grades K-5. It was a great experience even though we have Skyped before with Melissa Stewart. It was fun because they were a 4th grade class,too, like us. I really want to do it again on Poem in Your Pocket Day.

                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                               Matt 

Poetry in your Pocket Day

     On Poem in your Pocket Day in FOCUS, we "Skyped" with a fourth grade class in Kickapoo, Wisconsin.  Their school's name is Kickapoo School.  Their Media Specialist is Mrs. Malphy.  Their school has Kindergarten to twelfth grade, but they only have four hundred fifty students.  We have nine hundred fifty students, but only kindergarten to fifth grade.  I didn't say any poem.  My poem was "Lazy Jane" by Shel Silverstine.  Out of all the poems, my favorite poem was "Steve the Superhero" by Ken Nesbit.  "Steve the Superhero" was said by Matt. This reminds me when we Skyped with Mellisa Stewart.

    Sincerely,

Johaer

Poem in my Pocket day

On this Poem in my Pocket day we Skyped with Kickapoo Elementary in Wisconsin with Mrs. Malphy's 4th grade class. We were Skyping our poems to each other on video chat so we could see them recite their poems. First you go up to the camera and introduce yourself. Then you tell the author of your poem and the title. Next you recite your poem and sit back down and let the others share. My poem was Do Whid It by Shel Silverstien. It was cool because you could hear them recite their poems and be able to share poem experiences with them. It was the most fantastic Poem in my Pocket day I ever had!


                                                                                                                                   ~Taylynn

Why I liked typing my script?

    I was the one typing the story The Boy Who Was Raied By Librains and I liked making it because I love typing. I didn't do the illustration because I think I am not that good at drawing. I think that us making our own script was a smart idea. So the book I am choosing has a kid named Melvin and he is almost always in the library and he loves to read. In the fifth grade he was in the science fair about bugs. He won that too. The librarians were so proud of him. In the six grade he is in the spelling bee and he wins first. The librarians told him to get the book One Hundred Words To Know Book. So since he read it he won first place. In the seventh grade he was on So You Think Your The Smartest Kid the TV show and he answered all of the answers right so fast that he blew out the circulate drive and that is to make the TV go. So then years later he went to collage. He would email the librarians and message them. He would visit then on holidays. But when he would visit them he had a part time job working at the ... library. One day A kid came in and he loved the library just like Melvin.

                                                                                       Daniel T.

How I Feel About This Reader's Theater

This time during Reader's Theater, instead of Mrs. Shmidt and Mrs. Zawacki picking out our book and writing our script we got a chance to pick our own book and write our own script. The book my group chose was Knuffle Bunny Free. The whole group had to work together to make good scripts and illustrations. I did the typing for the second half of the script, but before we started typing, our group split in half and wrote on paper the rough draft of our script. Then, we gave it to Mrs. Zawacki for her to edit and revise. After that, Johaer and I both typed the final copy of the scripts on the school laptops. While we were busy typing, Maria, Matt, and Taylynn were illustrating the pictures. Johaer and I had to hurry to finish typing so we could help the others illustrate the rest of the pictures. We luckily got finished in time to help them. We are still working on finishing up the illustrations, but we can now get it done a lot faster because we have two more people! This time doing Reader's Theater I felt like I was being trusted by writing the script and typing it. Even though Mrs. Schmidt and Mrs. Zawacki were checking over it, I felt very responsible because if the whole thing turns out to be great, I will be part of the reason why it could be so good, and if everything turns out bad, I could be able to learn from my mistakes.


I now feel very confident about this Reader's Theater because when I wrote this blog down, I realized that I am able to  speak out loud without sounding really shy like I am, I just have to try! Sometimes it won't always turn out the way you want it to, but it's worth a shot!

                                                                                            -Maddy


                                                                                                                                 

Readers Theater: Knuffle Bunny Thoughts and Feelings

     For this Readers Theater, Mrs. Schmidht and Mrs. Zawacki picked the books, and we ranked the books from one to five. There are five people in a group, so there was a possibility to be in the group the you liked the most. The five people in my group were Maddy, Matt, Maria, Taylnn, and me. I did many things for my group. I typed, wrote, and illustrated the drawings. I was one of the writers for the draft of the script. I thought about odeas for the script, and other people in my group approved it. It normally got rejected, because they thought my ideas were a little to boring. Afterwards, I figured out why my ideas were rejected. They were a little too boring. I was also a typer. The other typer was Maddy. While we were typing, Matt, Maria, and Taylnn were illustrating illustrations. They drew the pages with sticky notes. If an illustration has a sticky note, you illustrate that. I typed the "Part 1 of the Knuffle Bunny Script". After I finshed typing the script, I illustrated with my group. We had to do the same thing (illustrate), like the rest of the group.
     There are many things I felt in this Readers Theater. I felt happy that I went to the Knuffle Bunny Group. I liked Knuffle Buny because last year when I was in FOCUS, I saw a Readers Theater from the 2009-2010 Thursday Fourth Grade FOCUS class. They did Knuffle Bunny 2. Matt's siter, Jenna, was in that Readers Theater. I thought if they can do it in fourth grade, why can't I do it. I also feel sad that I got rejected from my group. I thought that those ideas were perfect, but it maybe wasn't. I also felt sad that I have to illustrate an illustration. I am a better colorer than illustrater, but Matt told me that I have to illustrate. I think that Matt is a better illustrater from the last Readers Theater. I also can talk louder than the first Readers Theater. I think I have progressed a lot!

Johaer

My book choice and my feelings about illustrating it and writing it

I felt good about myself when I picked to write and illustrate the book Pirates Don't Change Diapers. I felt so great that I picked it that I just went along with anything. You know when you try to do something but you think you can't. Well that's how I felt when I started to illustrate. It was pretty hard but I got almost 3 pictures done. It was kind of confusing when I went to pick my book because all the books where good. I only picked Pirates Don't Change Diapers only because it would be easy to write because it had lots of dialogue. There is one thing that makes me happy is that I got to illustrate some funny pictures. There was something that made me happy too. It's just i don't know what it is.It made me feel good but sad at the same time. There were many more things that i got to do than the typer did so i just went with it all together. I don't know how but it made me feel good. I was not sad, i was not mad i just felt awesome. I was happy when we all were illustrating because now they couldn't type and i couldn't so i felt awesome. There is nothing like being the one who is the illustrator and you don't have to work. You just get to move your hand slowly. It feels great to be a good drawer than a good typer. I'm bad at drawing but I'm good at typing. My Readers Theater is a pretty good because it was all my final Readers Theater

Hamza Tiro

My Ideas about Reader's Theater

This Reader's Theater was awesome!!! This time, we got to read the books our teacher gave us and we got to decide which one is the best and which one we want to be in. It was a great idea that we got to choose which book we want to present to everybody because we are comfortable with it. I also liked the idea that we get to type the script out of the book because we can get the idea of what we are going to present in front of everyone. It was pretty easy to type the script because all you have to do is copy whatever is out of the book and maybe change some things and add some finishing touches to make the story flow and make it easy to read. My Reader's Theater book is about a boy who spends mostly all his life in his public library. The book is funny and is a little bit of touching. The book also has a lot beautifully drawn pictures that will make you life. This Reader's Theater presentation will make you laugh out loud. I really like this Reader's Theater.
-Anushka

My book choice and my feelings about typing the scripped

While i was thinking about my book choice I thought things that i liked. I thought of many things but one of them were pirates ,so when she talked about Pirates Don't Change Diapers I realized that pirates are one of my favorite things when I was thinking about my favorite things. Although when my group was writing it I had a hard time thinking of things ,but i still helped.The challenge was finishing it in two hours and i had the long part of the scripted. Near the end i got frustrated and bored. I didn't finish it but Mrs. Zawacki finished it. She was a big help because when ever there was a symbol that i didn't know I would go and ask her and she would fix it some more.I really wish i didn't have to type the scripted but after Mrs. Zawacki finished it I was able to illustrate which is my one of my favorite parts of readers theater.These are my feelings about the things i have done on this final project.

Trevor

Under The Snow Reader's Theater Performance

Here is a videocast of our Reader's Theater performance of Under The Snow by Melissa Stewart. The pictures were created by our students for our performance.

You can find out more information about our friend Melissa Stewart at her website.

Nonfiction Vs. Fiction

   Me and my focus group did both nonfiction and fiction texts for reader's theater. Each of them were fun, but today we are here in the Media Center reviewing them. The books we played were two nonfiction texts, Under the Snow and When Rain Falls, and two Fiction texts, The Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.
   I was in The Three Little Pigs and Under the Snow. In Under the Snow I played voice number 2, and in The Three Little Pigs I was narrator 1. I liked playing all my parts in front my friends!
   I thought that Under the Snow was fun because I got to play all those animals, but The Three Little Pigs was fun too. A had a blast doing reader's theater.
              
                                                                                                  Carson S.

Our Second Reader's Theater Presentation!

   Today, we pod-casted  our second Reader's Theater presentation When Rain Falls by Melissa Stewart. My favorite part is when I was the sparrow and the bee.I didn't like being the hawk because I didn't like using a deep voice. It was harder to sound like an animal than a human because sometimes we don't even know the animal's sound. I like this reader's Theater presentation because the scripts combines fiction and non-fiction. In the fiction section, the animals in the book are talking. In the non-fiction section, the book tells what animals do in forests,fields,wetlands, and deserts while the rain falls.  I also liked this Reader's Theater because two weeks ago, I met with the author of the Reader's Theater book, Meissa Stewart. We learned about her and the books she has written. It was really cool! This Reader's Theater presentation was awesome!
                -Anushka

Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

     All who are here today we have non-fiction vs. fiction. My opinion is non-fiction ,but don't change your opinion because of me. The reason I like non-fiction is you can learn from it and still enjoy it. It's  like two in one!  Also it is cool because you get to make the sounds of different animals like a elf owl. Now to tell you why I don't like fiction as much. I don't like fiction as much because I am an animal lover and animals are in the non-fiction isle. Another reason I don't like fiction as much is, you don't come around any facts or cool information , it's still okay. What do you choose?

                                                                            -Maria

Our secend Readers Theater

  Today we did our script again When Rain Falls and i had lots and lots of trouble on doing one part in the script. That was the bat part and my sentence I was supposed to say : Me too (yawns). But I had trouble yawning. So I did the best I could and i think I did kind of good but I still have trouble yawning and I practiced every day of the week. But I still think Readers Theater is still fun. I even had trouble in something.  I wasn't loud enough and that is normal because I am not usually talk-it-ive.

 Next week we are reading a fiction script.  So I am really  happy for next week and We leaned a LOT of  stuff  from Malissa Stewart and her books. What i mean from learned a lot from her is that her advice she gave us. So I like Fiction books.


                                                                                                          Daniel

Nun Fikshun vs Fiction

My personal opinion is that they are both good.Although I like making the pictures for a Non Fiction books because they are more challenging ,but I like how you can use voices in Fiction stories.What I also like about Fiction is that you can kind of create your own voice instead of using the voice of the animal or thing that it is,but in Non Fiction you learn sounds of animals that you have never heard before in your whole entire life.Also you learn about new animals in my case a chickadee.Aloughth  Fiction gives you funny animals with spikey hair and green skin.It is kind of like The Three Little Pigs retold by James Marshall.Even though people think that Fiction is more interesting then  Non Fiction but it is still worth a try because when I tried Non Fictoin I really liked it and now I don't read Fiction that much because I like reading about wars and important events in history.Non Fiction also helps you get a head start on education and it will help you get to a better colloge just like school.Although if you want to be an actress I think Fiction books will help with the voice that you need,but you need to pick the right book or it will give you the wrong voice for your part in the script.Although if you get the wrong book you might be better for a different movie or part in the script, but if you you can't find a movie or a part in a script you are out of luck.If I were you I would choose the won that you like the best but do not forget to try the other books.

Trevor

Nonfiction VS. Fiction

       In this epic battle of nonfiction vs. fiction personally, I think fiction would win. Oh, forgot to mention that I am Brooks. In the last two nine weeks of school, in FOCUS we have been doing readers theater. We have done two readers theaters. One on nonfiction and one on fiction. the first one we did were The Three Little Pigs. the second one that we recently did was called Under the Snow. The first readers theater we did was personally my favorite. I liked the first one more because you got to do really funny voices and you said really funny things like "I'll huff and I'll huff and I'll blow your house down". In nonfiction you learn stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love learning as much as the next guy but I think it's more fun to hear funny things. So now, what do you like more, nonfiction or fiction? I hope you like fiction more.

Brooks

Non-Fiction vs. Fiction

     If I had to pick a favorite on fiction and non fiction, I would like both. I like fiction because it is more creative than non fiction. Fiction has characters and dialouge, while non fiction has info. Fiction normally has illustrations and non fiction has normally photos. Fiction would win in this case. On the other hand, non fiction would win on knowledge. In fiction books, they give you the opposite. For example a character would say " Cats are cousins of dogs". They would say that for humor, so fiction would win again. In non fiction, it always has information that you wouldn't know. In reader's theater, I did two books, The Three Little Pigs retold by James Marshall and When Rain Falls by Melissa Stewart. The Three Little Pigs was a fiction book. There was many characters and narrators, but I ended up with a narrator. A narrator just keeps the story flowing. Recently, I did When Rain Falls. It is a non fiction book. Even though it has characters, it is still non fiction. It has animals that we barely think about and what it does. I was one of those characters that are like that. I was a deer, ladybug, turtle, rattle snake, and toad. Reader theater is very fun and even though fiction has funny things like aliens and monsters, non fiction still has education that leads you to interesting facts. The result of non fiction versus fiction is a draw, because reading fiction all time makes you think very unsophisticated. On the other hand, reading too much non fiction leads you like a nerd. Try both, or be a nerd or a unsophisticated person.

Johaer

Nonfiction vs. Fiction: What do you choose?

      I think that it would be easier to write a fiction reader's theater. This is probably what your thinking, "That's just her opinion, who gives?" If you want reasons then here they are. I would make a fiction reader's theater because it is easier to make up lines for each character. For nonfiction you need to know what the animal is, how does it sound, is it fast, and is it slow. For fiction you need to know that stuff too, but you have much more fun with it. I hope I will.

Sadie M.

Fictonal Reader's Theater's Theater v.s. Nonfictonal Reader's Theater

If I was given the question;"Do you like nonfictional Reader's Theater scripts or fictional Reader's Theater scripts better"? My answer would probably be that I like fictional Reader's Theater scripts better. The reason for that is because of the fact that I like fairy tales and I like to hear of these different characters In different positions in their life and what their firends, family, and even fairygodmothers do to save the day. Sometimes, hearing their lifestyles and stories like Cinderella's before her pumpkin transforms into a carrage and a beautiful dress appears on her makes me realize all the things I should be greatful for. That is why I like fictional reader's Theater scripts much better that nonfictional Reader's Theater scripts.


                             - Lauren

Fantasy vs. Nonfiction

I think readers theaters is a good way to explore fiction and nonfictionn texts. When they give us a fiction texts they are usually classics. One thing they have in common is that they are both about animals. I like fictional texts because  they are  full of laughs and adventure. I do prefer the True story because it is more exciting than the classic. Most people  like nonfiction but not me I'm fiction fanatic.

Taylynn

Nonfiction Vs. Fiction Texts

Nonfiction texts are hard for me to make into a Readers' Theater.  When you make one out of a nonfiction text, you need to tie in the information with it. If you were to do a nonfiction book, I would recommend making a Readers' Theater out of one with animals in it.  For example, a group of students (like me) in our FOCUS group did a book called Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart.  Why?  You can make the animals be played by people.  You would just need different voices.  To me, making a Readers' Theater out of a fiction book is much easier because there are always characters in that type of book.  I think doing fiction is much easier.  But, it is all fun.






                               Matt

Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

     Fiction is easier to act out and to make a sound out of. When you're doing a Non-Fiction story, it's harder to come up with a sound and a voice. The difference between Fiction & Non-Fiction is that Fiction is not real. It's fake. Non-Fiction is a true story. It gives facts and information.
     I think it is easier to think of a Fiction story because you can use your imagination for the story. When you are writing a Non-Fiction story, you have to do a lot of research. And write only about true things and information. You can't put any fake things in it.
     Other people might not think the same way I do. But this is what I think about Fiction and Non-Fiction.

- DaSeul K.

 Today my class had a visitor that came all the way from Massachusetts.(we web chatted).This was a great experience and I learned so much. One of the things I learned is how to write  Readers Theaters script. Here are some of the tenichous I learned. I learned that you need to put a line in the middle that everybody says to keep the  people that had parts in the beginning focused. I also learned that to write a good script you need to be able include mostly animals and not people because it is fun to be an animal not just a human. Also I wanted to include some of the book titles that will come out in the future. There is one book that comes out in 2013. The book is called No Monkeys No Chocolate. I think this will turn out to be hilarious book. Anyways I learned a lot of things from this author visit and I hope we can talk to again , but for right know I hope I taught you something. For right now read some books. Happy reading!

-Will

Conversation with Merissa Stewart

     Today we talked with Merissa Stewart and it was great. We got to ask her questions about her writing life. She gave us some really good answers and with lots of detials. She told us about a book that she is writing and I really want to read it and it comes out in 2013. I dot like that because i think it is going to be really funny I think it is called No Monkey, no Choclate. One of my favorite books from Merissa Stewart is Under the Rain. She even told us about a book that came out last week. Another book she told us about was her first book she ever wrote in the year 1998 that was 13 years ago and i think that is really cool. So
i was really inspired by her. She even told us that she has a lot of snow where she lives. In a book she wrote she had snow in it and i think that is really cool. Don't you? I learned so much from from her and i hope i will have yhe oppertunity again.

                                                                          Daniel T.

Author Visit from Melissa Stewart

Today in FOCUS, we had an author visit from Melissa Stewart from Skype. We asked her many questions, and she answered all of them. I learned many things. I learned that without monkeys, we would have no chocolate. I wouldn't care because I don't like chocolate. Monkeys, and other animals, eat the cocoa and make it grow. If they didn't eat it, or if they weren't there, no chocolate. She told us that she is making a book, called No Monkeys, No Chocolate. It talks about if there were no monkeys, no chocolate. She will be publishing that in 2013. I can't wait! She also told us that a book varies in the time it takes to make the book. If their is an occurrence during the making in the book, it would take about 5 to 6 years. She gave us many advices that were very useful. She gave us advice about being an author and how to get resources to get notes from it. She also told how the weather is in her part of Massachusetts. Today was very fun!

Sincerely

Johaer

Conversation with Marissa Stewart

        We had so muh fun talking with Marrisa Stewart today. We got to ask her questions it was the best time of my life. How would you feel to be talking to a author? I liked her writing. The best npart is that i had alot of fun. She told us about her books. I cant wait for her menkey book to come out. It must be fun and probably funny. The new book comes out 2013 though. thats what i dont like. The best part was that she told us how she became a authort. My favorite book she wrote was Under The Snow. The only thing she never told us if she has ever wrote a chapter book. The best thing about her is that she told us where the illustrator lives. She even told us about the books that came out last week! The book When Rain Falls is hers too. Do you thing thats cool? I learned that the monkeys are the ones that get us chocolate. The rainforest animals too. When she first published a book it was 1998. thats 13 years ago! My brother was born in 1997 thats the funny part. Thats awsome right? Theres a good thing about this because i learned so much, like that squirrels have their own umbrella wich is their tail. I also learned that squirrels even have a beach umbrella( thats their tail!). I was very inspired when i saw what she knew. The questions e had she answered so greatly i couldn't believe it. 

                                                                                                    

Hamza

Mrs.Stewarts visit!

    Hello my name is Brooks and I'm going to tell you about Mrs.Melissa's visit. It was so cool! She told us about books that she made and books that she is working on. While we were n FOCUS, she visited us on the web cam. She told us about this awesome book she is working on called No Monkeys,No Chocolate. It is about how monkeys make chocolate trees by spitting out seeds in the rain forest. She also told us about how you can make books into readers theater. She gave us very useful tips on being an author and how she organizes her notes. This was a very interesting visit from Melissa Stewart!

                                                                                  Brooks

Meeting the Aurthor!

Today I met with the author for our upcoming Reader's Theater presentation, Melissa Stewart. She's the author of many books, including When Rain Falls and  Under the Snow. It was pretty amazing to talk to her. She gave us tips for making Reader's Theater sripts. We also learned somethings about how she writes her books, like it took her 5 years to make Under the Snow! She told us that she always writes about something to do with science. She intreviews with sciencetist to help her write her books. I also learned that she writes many books at the same time! She published her first book in 1998, and she wrote books for 13 years. Some of her upcoming books are No Monkeys, No Choclate! and Under the Sun. I had a great time talking to Melissa Stewart!
              
                 -Anushka

A Great Reader's Theater Expeirence

Overall, Reader's Theater has helped me a lot. It has helped me open up in a way that I could never do before! I have been doing pretty good with not being shy, but Reader's Theater has helped me in a way that I can't even explain. Standing up in front of people that I don't even know might have been oh, I don't know, REALLY scarry at first, but after I realized that it wasn't so bad I began to get comfortable doing it. Now I can't wait for the next Reader's Theater performance! Meeting the author Melissa Stewart on a video chat was a great thing to do before my focus class has to write our own Reader's Theater! She gave us some advise about turning a nonfictional piece into a fictional Reader's Theater. It doesn't sound that hard. This whole experience has just been fantastic for me! I hope other schools do Reader's Theater too because I would definitely recommend it!

- Lauren

Meeting The Author of When Rain Falls and Under The Snow!

A couple minutes ago, my whole focus class just got finish with a skype conversation with Melissa Stewart. Last week, before we did this, we sat a table, as a group of course, and we made up questions to ask her today! The questions we asked were about how she came up with the ideas of writing her type of stories, which are non-fiction. They were also about how she became an author and such. She gave us really great answers. Her answers were very well told and she helped us learn how to make a reader's theatre script out of a picture book! I know that it was fun for me because I love to write. Last year when I was in third grade, I made an 18 page story that was based on authors and how they make their stories. By talking to Melissa Stewart today, it made me want to become an author. So thank you Melissa Stewart for inspiring me to be an author!

- Maddy

Video Chat With Melissa Stewart

Today in focus we had a video chat with Melissa Stewart, the author of Under the Snow and When Rain Falls. I had a blast talking with her! We asked different questions about her life as a writer.
She also talked about what other books she had written. I am glad that she writes books for readers theater, and she enjoys it too! I think that Melissa Stewart is such a great author! I thought that me and my focus classmates were really lucky to have spoken with her.
I am also looking forward to reading her new book that will be released in 2013. I had a great time speaking with Melissa Stewart!

signed,
Carson S.

live chat with Melissa Stewart!

Today I just finished doing a video chat with an author. I learned that monkeys have a big part in chocolate by spitting cocoa seeds on the ground, creating more cocoa trees. That information will be in her upcoming book, No Monkeys No Chocolate coming in 2013. She got her inspiration for our reader's theater book when she was hiking and she saw salamanders swimming under the frozen pond. I hope that other teachers are inspired by this. Maybe they'll try to do it? I know that if I was a teacher, I would absolutely try to do this. She is such an amazing author. She might inspire me to be an author because she is a role model.

-Sadie M.

Melissa Stewart!

Today we video chatted with Melissa Stewart! It was so interesting when she told us about the book that she is working on called No Monkeys , No Chocolate. Also it was cool when she said she saw the salamanders swimming under a pond. When I heard that she got her inspiration from hiking it got me thinking of how many cool experiences she had when she saw that. Another thing that intrigued me was when she talked about the one teacher that helped her become a writer. She is a real role model for people who want to achieve something like I want to be a artist when I grow up.

-Maria

Chatting With Melissa Stewart

Today the FOCUS students and I had a live video chat with the author, Melissa Stewart.
We asked some questions about advice, organizing, and questions about her life.
It was actually pretty fun talking with an author.
I learned a lot of things, and so did the other students and Mrs.Schmidt and Mrs. Zawacki.

I learned how to organize all my ideas when writing a story. And I also learned that monkeys help make the chocolate we eat. They help by getting the cocoa seeds, eating the pulp inside the cocoa, and then spitting the seeds onto the ground. How do I know that? Well, I learned it because Melissa Stewart told us about the next book she was going to write about. It's called No Monkeys, No Chocolate. It will be coming out in 2013.

We asked Melissa Stewart this question in the middle of the chat. How do you come up with the dialogue when writing a script in Reader's Theater? She said that she just uses her imagination.

When she said that, I learned that I should use my imagination all the time when I write a story.

It was great meeting Melissa Stewart and getting to know her. I learned a lot from her.

- DaSeul K.

Melissa Stewart Experience

Today, we did a video chat with Melissa Stewart. It was awesome. We learned things about being an author, making Reader's Theater, and advice about researching. She told us about an upcoming book she is writing called No Monkeys, No Chocolate. I am really looking forward to reading it in 2013. We learned that monkeys take cocoa pods and break them open to eat the pulp. Then, they spit out the seeds and the seeds make new cocoa trees. Without the monkeys we would have no cocoa seeds to make delicious chocolate. When we were talking to the author we had a lot of good questions. We had a great time.
-Matt