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Dear Readers,

I am now writing my final blog post of the year in Edinger house. I think having blogs was a great opportunity to write about many great things. I really loved having my blog because I think it’s such a great way to tell people about all different sorts of things. I personally loved writing book reviews because I read a lot. I also enjoy writing about books because I’m always excited to tell people about my favorite or least favorite books.

I think that the blogs helped me write a lot better and think of different ways to say certain things. This happened because I had to think of ways to attract the readers (you!!).

I definitely want to keep my blog going into next year. I want to keep on writing book reviews and other sort of reviews.

So readers, as I finally wrap up my last blog post of the school year I want to say that I have enjoyed have you readers as my audience. Make sure to keep an eye out for c15mb1!!

The Wizard Of Oz

Our class is doing a study of the Wizard of Oz. We read the book and the watched the MGM movie. I personally thought the book was very good. I thought it was very descriptive and I could tell because I felt like I was actually Kansas or like I was in Oz with Dorothy.

I thought the movie was a bad adaptation of the original L Frank Baum book for several reasons.

My first reason why I think the movie was a terrible adaptation is that they made the movie into a dream. Why did they do that? I think it ruins the whole fun of the book because it makes you think that what happened to Dorothy could never happen. I don’t think that it could actually happen but it’s fun to think about.

My second reason is simply: Dorothy is too old. In the book Dorothy is young but in the movie Judy Garland plays the part and I think she is far too old to be Dorothy. I think in the movie they try to make her seem younger but it simply doesn’t work.

My third reason is that a lot of the charms that is in the book are missing. What I mean by this is that first, the green spectacles that are in the book that later help to prove that Oz is just a “humbug” our missing. Another charm that is missing is the cap that the Wicked Witch of the West owned that allowed three commands by the Winged Monkeys. All of the charms make the story perfect.

The last thing are the silver slippers. I’m sure a bunch of people don’t even know that the original slippers are silver. I do know the reason that they made the slippers ruby. They made the ruby red because they thought that the ruby red would show up more in the movie. They also probably thought they would look better as ruby red than silver.

Overall, I think the movie was good, but sadly it wasn’t a good adaptation of the L. Frank Baum book. Don’t let me stop you from seeing the movie because it is still very good.

This is a follow up to a recent post that I wrote of what I expected Plimoth to be like. Now that I’ve gone, I’ll tell you all about the trip.

It was what I expected but there were a few things I was surprised about. First, I didn’t think the food was going to be as good as it was. It wasn’t the BEST in the world but it was still very good. This is what we ate:

•    Turkey pottage
•    A Sallet (Sliced Carrots with salt and pepper)
•    Pear Pie/Tart
•    Cheese
•    Bread
•    Dates and grapes
•    Apple Cider
•    Water

On the first day that we got to Plimoth we did a walking tour of the area.  We got to see the famous Plimoth rock, which was really cool. We also went to Burial Hill, which is where a lot of the Pilgrims were buried.  Then we went on the Mayflower II. It’s a replica of the original Mayflower. It was really small and it was hard to imagine 102 people fitting on it. There were some role-players who were acting like some of the Pilgrims on the ship. I think I got a lot of useful information. Then we went to the Wampanoag village. I thought it was interesting because they didn’t have role players there was people who were descendants of people that were in that tribe. In the evening we did different types of Pilgrim activities. I enjoyed doing the evening activities. The evening activities were dressing up like a Pilgrim, playing games the Pilgrims would have played, writing with quills (it’s harder than it looks!), and looking at two Pilgrim houses and trying to find as much information as you could about the people that lived there. After all of that our evening was coming to a close. We slept over so we had a whole other day to learn more about the Pilgrims.

The next day went like this.  We had breakfast. (Which was a normal one!) Then, we went to the gift shop. There were a lot of neat things in the shop. After that we went the Pilgrims village. It was raining that day so it was wet but we still went obviously. It was really cool because you got to go in houses that would have been what the Pilgrim houses would have looked like. They were really small but we went into one big house that was supposed to be Edward Winslow’s home. There were a lot more role players there and you could ask them questions. It was helpful for me because it helps me on my study about the Pilgrims. Then we had a regular pizza lunch. Our trip was coming to a close. It went by a lot faster than I thought it would and I learned a lot.

I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants to learn more about the Pilgrims.

My whole class is going to Plimoth Plantation very soon. I’m really excited!! Plimoth is a place where you can learn about Pilgrims. I think That Plimoth is the best place to learn about the Pilgrims because of the following:

•    They’ve done a lot of research because it’s where the Pilgrims landed
•    Instead of it being just like a regular museum you actually get to go in villages of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans
•    When in the Pilgrim village you get to talk to role-players who are acting just like the Pilgrims

I expect that we will be doing things like the Pilgrims. What I mean by that is I think we will be eating like the Pilgrims. I also think that we might try on some clothes that the Pilgrims would have worm. I know (or think I know) this because our teacher has said these things and people with older siblings have told me. I expect to go to a Pilgrim village and a Native American village. I don’t the food will be really good. It might be o.k. but I don’t think it will be that good. I think I will learn a lot of information that I don’t already know about the Pilgrims. I also think it will be really fun.

I will write a follow-up post about Plimoth when I get back. So make sure to keep checking my blog!!

I’m a 4th grade student of the Dalton School in New York City and I’m here to tell you about the Edinger house study of forced immigration and slavery. We did this study for a long period of time. It went for a couple of months starting in January, so basically the whole winter. The reason we studied forced immigration and slavery in the first place is because of the following:
1. It’s part of the curriculum because a while ago all that the students studied was immigration and then they decided to study forced immigration because it’s really important.

2. For learning one’s history

3. And last but not least because they are important facts that you should just know.

I’m sure by now you’re wondering how we did the study, right? Well, we had many different ways of learning. We read Ms. Edinger’s online book about Margru (if you would like to learn more look for a previous blog post about it) who was forced to immigrate because people took her away to become a slave. We also read lots of picture books and stories such as the book about the Amistad, which is a slave ship and the people on the ship to give us better ideas of why people were forced to immigrate. Then we really switched over from reading to presentations. A student brought in things such as dolls, beads that they sometimes used for money, and clothes and cloth materials with special dyes from Mali. Our teacher Ms. Edinger brought in clothes, a couple of dolls, and things used for money from Sierra Leone. (Those are both places in Africa.) So from them bringing in things we could learn more, since a lot of people who were forced to immigrate came from Africa. Then, Natasha Tretheway, a fantastic poet, came in and helped us write poems of our own about forced immigration/ slavery with the help of reading Ms Edinger’s book. (If you would like to see my poem and collage, look further down for a blog post titled “Kagne Poem”)

I really enjoyed this study because I got to learn a lot of really interesting and cool information that was really worthwhile and will help me for years to come. I also thought that this whole study was fun to learn because we learned by doing many things like writing and looking at artifacts and slides. I thought that this was a good study for me because we learned some things many different ways and I think it helped me and made things more clear. If everyone had the opportunity to learn about forced immigration this way I would rush to learn about it! It’s a fun thing to do! J To leave you with something special here’s a quote from a fellow classmate, “It was a very interesting thing to learn yet it was sad to see how some people were treated and how they lived.”

I’m a 4th grade student of the Dalton School in New York City and I’m here to tell you about the Edinger house study of forced immigration and slavery. We did this study for a long period of time. It went for a couple of months starting in January, so basically the whole winter. The reason we studied forced immigration and slavery in the first place is because of the following:
1. It’s part of the curriculum because a while ago all that the students studied was immigration and then they decided to study forced immigration because it’s really important.

2. For learning one’s history

3. And last but not least because they are important facts that you should just know.

I’m sure by now you’re wondering how we did the study, right? Well, we had many different ways of learning. We read Ms. Edinger’s online book about Margru (if you would like to learn more look for a previous blog post about it) who was forced to immigrate because people took her away to become a slave. We also read lots of picture books and stories such as the book about the Amistad, which is a slave ship and the people on the ship to give us better ideas of why people were forced to immigrate. Then we really switched over from reading to presentations. A student brought in things such as dolls, beads that they sometimes used for money, and clothes and cloth materials with special dyes from Mali. Our teacher Ms. Edinger brought in clothes, a couple of dolls, and things used for money from Sierra Leone. (Those are both places in Africa.) So from them bringing in things we could learn more, since a lot of people who were forced to immigrate came from Africa. Then, Natasha Tretheway, a fantastic poet, came in and helped us write poems of our own about forced immigration/ slavery with the help of reading Ms Edinger’s book. (If you would like to see my poem and collage, look further down for a blog post titled “Kagne Poem”)

I really enjoyed this study because I got to learn a lot of really interesting and cool information that was really worthwhile and will help me for years to come. I also thought that this whole study was fun to learn because we learned by doing many things like writing and looking at artifacts and slides. I thought that this was a good study for me because we learned some things many different ways and I think it helped me and made things more clear. If everyone had the opportunity to learn about forced immigration this way I would rush to learn about it! It’s a fun thing to do! J To leave you with something special here’s a quote from a fellow classmate, “It was a very interesting thing to learn yet it was sad to see how some people were treated and how they lived.”

“And thus wee mead our course South South West purposing to goe to a Riuer ten leagues to the South of the Cape,…”

That’s a quote from a book called Mourt’s Relation that was trying at the time to get more people to come to the new land that the Pilgrims came to when trying to get away for religous beliefs. They had no spelling or grammar so that’s why you saw misspellings. I hope you enjoyed it.

Hi, I’m the narrator and I’m here to tell you the REAL, modern story of Cinderella. I bet that you’ve always wondered if there really are the mean stepsisters, evil stepmother, the real, kind, sweet- hearted mom that dies at the beginning, and let us not forget the dad that goes off and marries again and then leaves for a long business trip, right? Did you even think that story was real? Well it is. They jazzed the old one up so it seemed dramatic. This one is simple. Nothing fancy about it. A girl living in the city, mom dies, gets evil stepfamily, and then everything turns out fine in the end. The problem is, well she gets the meanest, cruelest, and definitely not the smartest stepsisters of all. These stepsisters are mean. Really, really mean. So if you want what really happens in a Cinderella rags to riches story: read this one.

There is a girl named Ella that lives in the bustling streets of New York City. She was happy and content and never mean or selfish. Until one day everything changed. Her mother became ill and died soon after that. From that day on, Ella was often sad and knew that no one could and would ever replace her mother.

Then one day, her dad came home with another woman. He said that he had very exciting news for Ella. Ella was worried that it would be news she did not want to hear. And boy, was she right! Her father announced that this new person standing next to him was going to be his new wife and her new stepmother. On top of that, her stepmother had two daughters of her own. They were named Michelle and Mimi. They sound very nice, don’t they? Well they were anything but.

“Clean the table, wash the dishes.” Those were the commands of Ella’s new stepmother. Now that she was in charge because Ella’s father was on a business trip, everything was awful for Ella. “Ella!” Those were the oh-so not sweet words of Ella’s stepsisters, Michelle and Mimi.

“What do you need?” asked Ella very sweetly. Well, to save you from hearing the awful things that Ella had to do for the next hour, let’s just say it was a lot of running around and hard, hard work.

A couple of long, hard working days later, Ella’s stepmother and two stepsisters went out to the movies and then after to go shopping. The reason why they didn’t take Ella was, well, because Michelle and Mimi were too embarrassed to take Ella out anywhere in public. The mother didn’t really care what they decided so let it be. I don’t know why they didn’t want Ella to be with them though, because she was far more beautiful, much, much nicer, and overall, I would think you would rather be with Ella then the two dreadful sisters.

Anyway, when her “family” was out she decided to go through the little amount of mail that was addressed to her. She was about to throw out a piece that looked like junk mail but then decided to open it just for fun. Don’t you hate those? When she opened it she found a letter that said there would be tryouts for a new movie. Ella was curious if the letter that she read was real. If it was then she would definitely try out.

You see, Ella had a very big passion for acting. She used to act all the time when she was younger and her mother always used to say, “You’re a gold star and someday you will become a star in a movie.” With all of her chores though, Ella couldn’t really act anymore.

The supposed tryouts were to start on June 14th. “Oh,” mumbled Ella who wished to try out so badly. See, the only problem was her sisters claimed they could also act. They sometimes made Ella watch their dreadful remaking of movies and plays, and they were probably going to get a hold of the invitation and also try out for the movie. Trust me, with their bragging stepmother they would most likely get the movie.

That night Ella made a big promise with herself: she would try as hard as she could to get herself to the tryouts and to keep it a secret from her “nice” as they called themselves sisters.

Ella awoke the next morning to her usual alarm clock: her stepmother’s harsh voice. “Wake up, and make breakfast!” she roared in her crackly, evil voice. She said the voice was especially for her. During her chores Ella wasn’t her usual self because she was thinking too much about the movie. She thought that this could be an amazing opportunity for her to be away from her stepmother and stepsisters. I mean what would you think if you had the opportunity to move away from your evil family and be what you always wanted to be?

Two weeks later on the night before the audition Michelle and Mimi found out.
“Oh, Ella what do you think I should wear tomorrow?” Yep, that’s right. Ella’s stepsisters found out. They were also going crazy over it. They both said they had the best chance of getting the movie. See, they weren’t the smartest in the bunch. They forgot that there was only one part that called for auditioning. So they would just end up fighting for the part if they even got it.

But for once in her entire life Ella wasn’t thinking of helping her sisters, she was thinking of herself. I mean she really wanted that role. She was going to work hard to get it. She knew she could act and that wouldn’t be a problem. She wouldn’t want to be seen by her “sisters” at the auditions, because if they saw her they would make a big ruckus.

It was the bright, sunshiny morning of Ella’s hopefully big day. Her stepmother was really the only one who wasn’t going crazy in some sort of way. Michelle and Mimi were practicing what they were going to say on the audition. “Well, I’ve been acting for a very long time and everyone says that I’m going to be famous.” Mimi said this in what she told Ella was her professional voice.

Well, you’re probably thinking how Ella was going crazy. It was like how she showed most emotion: doing nothing. Well something, but it looked like nothing. She would think about it in her head. If you could see inside her head right now you would see a lot of mayhem. “Oh, Ella come do my make-up. I want to look beautiful for my big audition.” That was ugly Michelle who needed make-up to look the least bit decent.

A couple of hours later Michelle and Mimi were ready to leave. “Good-bye and break a leg,” chirped Ella closing the door behind her. Now was her time to get ready. She put on her best clothes she had left, brushed her hair, and looked at the address on the letter. “Somewhere in SoHo,” she said. She had never been that far downtown by herself before, but today was special.

Ella was there. She was at the audition, her first audition. She was so excited, but yet she could feel the butterflies coming on. “Just breath,” she muttered to herself.

Ella should have just breathed because she did so well in the auditions that the clients made their decision on the spot. Ella was going to be in a movie!! There was more good news that also followed. Ella’s dad came back from his unexpectedly long business trip. This was probably the best day of Ella’s life. She wished she her mother could be there for the good news. She would have been so proud.

When Ella got home she told her dad, stepmother, and two stepsisters. Well Ella’s dad and even Ella’s stepmother were happy about the great news, but Michelle and Mimi were furious. “Oh mom,” moaned Mimi.
“Yeah mom, she can’t act,” said Michelle.
“See, only some people are born with the talent to amuse people and Ella can’t!” explained Mimi.
“Girls, girls, girls, she’s your sister and you should be happy for her,” replied the stepmother.
“Stepsister,” mumbled both girls.

It was the anxious night before Ella was to start on her movie, and everyone was celebrating, even Michelle and Mimi. Believe me, it was hard to get them happy. “I want to make a toast to Ella,” said her father. “It has been very tough for her over the years dealing with her mother passing away and I think this is the one true thing that makes her happy.”

“Oh thanks dad, but I couldn’t have done it without good old junk mail!” Ella joked.

From that day on Ella lived happily ever after in the bustling streets of New York City.

“And Action!”

There, are you happy? You finally got to hear the real Cinderella. Can you believe how fake the other story is? Well, I guess I better be going… oh and can I ask you for one more favor? Please go and tell everyone that this IS the real
Cinderella and the other one is very, very fake. I hope you enjoyed The Movie of Ella!!

I wrote a poem about a girl named Kagne that was taken as a slave on the slave ship The Amistad. I used some true facts that I researched and found from reading my teacher’s book Africa Is My Home. Be sure to look at the collage above that I did along with this poem. Enjoy!
:-)

Kagne

I miss the comforts of my home
I miss my four sisters and brothers
Speaking in Mende was so familiar
These white ghosts make Mende seem wrong
I wish I could be home

The Amistad means friendship
But I think that’s wrong
They treat us like we’re nothing
They push us around with their
Harsh, cold hands
They treat us like we’re nothing
What we have to eat is barely anything

I wish I wish
I could be back home
No more Amistad
I wish I wish
I could be back home
The sweet smells of Africa
I wish I wish
To be home where I belong

Africa Is My Home by my teacher Monica Edinger is a great example of historical fiction. It’s about a girl named Margru who was taken from her home in Africa to be a slave. She was taken on the ship the Amistad which means friendship. I will tell you it was anything but. In the end she won her freedom and became a teacher.

I think it’s a great example of historical fiction because it uses true facts such as dates like their case to win freedom was taken to Supreme Court on March 9th 1841.
I also thought there were good examples of literary devices. I especially enjoyed her poems in the book. I thought this book could be a Cinderella story because Margru started out with a good family, then she came down when she was taken to be a slave, and in the end came out on top when she got to go back home and become a teacher. This book is not published yet, but when it does come out I would definitely read it. One more thing, I thought I would leave you with one of the fantastic poems.

I dreamed I was home
Where I belonged,
In the place of my heart.
In Africa.

I dreamed I was home
In the land of my birth,
In the country I admired.
In Africa.

I dreamed I was home
With my family,
With the people that I loved.
In Africa.

I was home.