"The Talking Cloth" by Rhonda Mitchell

This week we will begin reading "The Talking Cloth" by Rhonda Mitchell.  It tells the story of a girl named Amber, who visits her Aunt Phoebe, who teaches her about adinkra cloth, an Ashanti textile that tells a story with color and symbols.  This story continues our theme of family and the interaction of younger and older generations.  It is also an interesting social studies lesson about the culture of the Ashanti people of Ghana.

The author of "The Talking Cloth is Rhonda Mitchell.  Ms. Mitchell is an accomplished illustrator and has worked with many other authors.  She is like Patricia Polacco, Mark Teague, and Eric Velasquez in that she both writes and illustrates her own books.










Adinkra Cloth tells stories with colors and symbols.  Here is a link to a craft project form PBS Kids you may want to try at home.

Adinkra Cloth Project

Spelling Packet, Week of 11/26/12

Spelling Packet,

Week of 11/26/12

Long "I" sound

1. wild

2. bright

3. die

4. sight

5. child

6. pie

7. fight

8. lie

9. tight

10. tie

11. might

12. mind

13. find

14. high

15. design

16. delight

Spelling Packet Instructions

1. Write each word 5 times

               

2. ABC order

3. Pick 10 words.  Use each word in 10 separate sentences.

DUE FRIDAY, 11/30/12

Happy Thanksgiving

Giving Thanks For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped, For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped, For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb, For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home - Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving! For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land, For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand, For the good that our artists and poets have taught, For the friendship that hope and affection have brought - Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving! For the homes that with purest affection are blest, For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest, For our country extending from sea unto sea; The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" - Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving -Author unknown

Meet Eric Velasquez

The author of our story this week, "Grandma's Records", is Eric Velasquez.  Mr. Velasquez is an accomplished illustrator whose artwork has been on many book covers for many different authors.  In 1998, Mr. Velsquez began to write and illustrate his own books as well.

"Grandma's Records" is an autobiographical account of a summer spent with his Grandmother and
their shared love of music.  Like "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polocco, Mr. Velasquez wants to tell his readers about his family and his past.  Both books share the theme of interactions with the younger and older generations within a family.

To learn more about Eric Velasquez, click here.

Spelling Words, Week of November 12

REMEMBER, YOU ONLY HAVE 3 NIGHTS TO COMPLETE THE PACKET, PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

Spelling Packet,

Week of 11/12/12

Consonant blends

1. spring

2. knee

3. throw

4. patch

5. strong

6. wrap

7. three

8. watch

9. street

10. know

11. spread

12. write

13. catch

14. strength

15. kitchen

Spelling Packet Instructions

1. Write each word 5 times

               

2. ABC order

3. Pick 10 words.  Use each word in 10 separate sentences.

DUE THURSDAY, 11/16/11

Veteran's Day

Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.  ~Michel de Montaigne

Spelling Words, Week of November 5, 2012

Spelling Packet,

Week of 11/5/12

1. fancy

2. any

3. lovely

4. story

5. party

6. carry

7. penny

8. monkey

9. city

10. very

11. angry

12. goofy

13. ugly

14. slippery

15. toasty

16. bee

Spelling Packet Instructions

1. Write each word 5 times

2. ABC Order (this is a separate step, not to be combined with writing each word 5 times.)

3. Pick ten words.  Use each word in a separate sentence.

SPELLING PACKET DUE: 11/9/12

SPELLING TEST: 11/9/12