November 2003                                                                    First Issue

History - Time Line Report
By Danny
We are learning about history and the time line. We talked about nomads who had trouble finding food. They wandered around the world and crossed the Bering Strait about 30,000 years ago. Around the year 1000, we talked a little about Leif Erickson and Erick the Red who were both Vikings and explorers. They found Greenland.

We talked about Christopher Columbus who discovered America in 1492. He landed in the Bahamas. He traded goods with some Indians, and he took others back as slaves. In 1607, we learned about John Smith and his adventures in Jamestown. The group had a tough journey to Jamestown because of many diseases. In 1620 the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth. We talked about the Pilgrims during our nature walk and what they would need. We also talked about what the Pilgrim children could do to help keep their families alive.
 

Wolves
By Matthew
We learned about wolves this year. We read books about wolves and we had to write about them. We went to the library and we had partners. We looked through books and we wrote notes on a piece of paper. The paper was special paper because it had words at the top of it and it said food, pups, etc. Mrs. Durkin read books to us about wolves and where they live. Mrs. Durkin also showed us a movie.
 

Wolf Hollow
By Melissa
Wolf Hollow is a place where you can actually see real live wolves and buy pictures, pencils, pens, and a lot of other stuff that has to do with wolves. At Wolf Hollow, there are five wolves. The leaders of the pack are Jelly, a girl, and Weeble, a boy. If a wolf does not follow the rules of the pack, that wolf will get kicked out of the pack. At Wolf Hollow, this actually happened. The wolf that got kicked out was named Luna. The wolves were all behind a fence, but Luna had her own little cage in the corner of the big cage for the other wolves.
 
These are some facts for you to know. When wolves hunt in a pack, they often hunt bison, deer, moose, and other large animals. When wolves hunt alone, they usually catch food like rabbits, mice, and other small animals. Wolves are endangered. Wolves would never kill humans unless we tried to hurt them. Wolves are helpful to the Earth because without them, there would be millions of deer and other animals. Wolves only eat animals that are sick or not healthy. Wolves need support. Why don't you support them? 

These are some facts for you to know: When wolves hunt in a pack, they often hunt bison, deer, moose, and other large animals. When wolves hunt alone, they usually catch food like rabbits, mice, and other small animals. Wolves are endangered. Wolves would never kill humans unless we tried to hurt them. Wolves are helpful to the Earth because without them, there would be millions of deer and other animals. Wolves only eat animals that are sick or not healthy. Wolves need support. Why don't you support them?
 

Type To Learn
By Ava
Our class has started a fun computer program called "Type to Learn". As its name suggests, we learn how to type on the computer. We do it every other Friday at the end of the day for thirty minutes. We always have to sit in our assigned seats.

We start with level one, where we learn letters F and J. We learn F with the left hand and J with the right hand. For example, we practice "FFF JJJ FJF JFJ." Some of us have already reached level five!

The program tells you where to put your hands and what letter to press. It will let you know if you press the wrong letter, and if you press the right letter, you go on to the next one.

At the end of the year we will be able to type reports, e-mails, and other things you have to type.

James and the Giant Peach
By Abigail
This is a story about a boy named James. He lost his parents at a young age. A rhinoceros ate his parents. So he went and lived with his aunts. His aunts treated him badly. One day, a strange thing happened. James met an old man and he gave him a bag full of strange things. As James was running home, he slipped and fell. The bag also fell and the strange things inside it scattered on the ground. The next day the scattered things grew into a big peach.

One night his aunts sent him outside the house to clean up. James secretly went inside the giant peach. He saw some strange bugs like Centipede, Earthworm, Ladybug, Glow-worm, Spider, Silkworm, and Grasshopper. It was a great adventure inside the big peach!

James and these bugs become friends. One day the Centipede bit the branch of the peach tree and the big peach rolled and rolled until it fell into the Atlantic Ocean. The sharks in the ocean tried to eat the big peach. The Silkworm and Spider made strings and used Centipede as bait to catch seagulls. They caught two hundred seagulls. The seagulls flew in the air, taking up the peach, and everyone inside the peach met the cloud men in the sky. The seagulls crossed the Atlantic Ocean and dropped the big peach on to of the Empire State Building. James and his friends lived happily ever after in America.

It is an exciting, funny, and adventurous story!

Cursive
By Eunice
Cursive is very fun because when you are done with one letter it looks really cool. Cursive isn't hard because it is almost like print. I think cursive is sometimes better than print. It is sometimes better because it is prettier. We usually do cursive in language arts. We do two letters at a time.