c16sh

In fourth grade, our biggest Social Studies topic is immigration.In Edinger House we studied forced immigration from January to February. We went to the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan. They had buried a lot of bodies including children over 6 acres near City Hall.Also, c16ts’s dad came in to talk about Sierra Leone in Africa. He had a lot of pictures. My teacher wrote a book called Africa Is My Home: The Story of Sarah Margru Kinson. There is another post about her book if you scroll down. Margru traveled on the Amistad and a post about her is also further down. Enjoy studying more about Forced Immigration!

I read the book R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH (pronounced “nim”) by Jane Leslie Conly. It is the sequel to Rasco and the Rats of NIMH (2nd of the series) by Jane Leslie Conly and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (1st of the series) by Robert C. O’Brien.
The rats can read, write in perfect script, use electricity, and MUCH more. These super-intelligent rats were captured in a laboratory called NIMH but escaped to a farmer’s yard in the first book. Then they help Mrs. Frisby and her family, who are field mouses, move there house so the farmer’s tractor doesn’t turn there cinder-block house over.

In the second book, they get a visit from Rasco, a city rat who has escaped from his family and father, Jenner. Rasco also has overheard farmer’s planning to destroy the rats home entrance which is a rosebush. Then they move to Thorn Valley and the Emerald Pond is there main source of water. But construction workers are also planning to dam Emerald Pond.

In the third book, Margaret and Artie who are two children wander away from their campsite and end up living in a hut next to the rats. Because this is the best book out of 3, you have to read the book to find out!

Now that we have finished our Cinderella unit, we are studying the famous tale, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. If you have not read the book, click here. The first thing we did was have our teacher, Ms. Edinger read it to us as we followed along in many different versions. We also watched videos about it and it’s time like Betty in Blunderland, 1900 House, and The Young Visiters. We learned about Lewis Carroll and why he wrote the book, and we learned about Alice Liddell. Now we are making a comic with a partner. My partner is c16sh1 and we are making a comic from the chapter 7-The Mad Tea Party.

This is my Cinderella story. We started this unit after Christmas vacation reading a lot of Cindy variants and then a rough draft on an AlphaSmart and lots of editing. Now it is done and I am sharing it with you. I have recorded a piece of the story for you to hear. It is at the end of the story.

Here it is:

Once upon a time in New York City, there lived a boy about 12 years old named Bill. His father was a close assistant of the mayor of New York City, but his mother had died when he was about 6. After a few years with just the two of them, his father remarried and took a new job that involved lots of traveling.

When his father was away on a particularly long trip his new stepmother and her two sons, Jon and Bob, treated Bill very badly. One day it got really bad. The stepmother said, “You will do all the chores and clean every room in this house. Therefore, you will not be allowed to communicate with your father so I’m taking away your cell phone.”

Early the next day while his stepfamily was shopping, Bill went to his mother’s grave. He was surprised to find another cell phone and a note that said, “Bill, luck will come your way soon. Take this.” He was picking up the note and was going to read it again and suddenly at the same time his cell phone started ringing. It was the mayor calling so he answered immediately. The mayor was asking him to a party.

“But I can’t go,” Bill started to say, but then turned to leave and saw a bag that had “Bill” engraved on it. Inside, there was a very expensive suit and another note. “Go to the party and have fun! From your loving parents.” So Bill told the mayor he’d be there after all.

So Bill went! Everyone had a great time. Well, except for Bill’s stepfamily who had no one to dance with because they were too ugly for anyone to look at. Bill had a great time dancing with the mayor’s daughter. But as the stepfamily was starting to leave, Bill had to go because he had to be home before them. Bill didn’t notice it but his cell phone fell out of his pocket as he started running away home. When he ran off, she started to call after him.

When he got home he quickly took off his suit and hid it in the attic. He came down just as the stepfamily was walking in.
Bill asked, “How was the party?”

They replied, “It was wonderful. There was a very handsome looking man who ran away from the Mayor’s daughter. She was very unhappy. Too bad you missed it.”

“Yeah,” said Bill, “too bad.” But secretly he was smiling.
The next day the paper said:
The mayor’s daughter had a party and a mysterious man ran away. He has lost a cell phone. Neighbors say he lives on the Upper East Side near Gracie Mansion. More available in the later edition.

Right before dinner, there was a knock on the door. Bill answered it. It was the mayor himself. He said, “My daughter lost a dance partner that lives here, we think. We found the information about you on your new phone.

Bill said, “Why thank you! I just got it yesterday. Right know, I am the only person here. My family is in California. You came to the right person.”

“I believe you,” replied the mayor. Now I have to show you someone.

“Father!” cried Bill. “I’m so glad you came back. Lets get away from Jon and Bob. I hate them.

“Good idea. I just got divorced from her. By the way, now we can live in the Mayor’s mansion.”

“Great idea,” said Bill. And they lived happily ever after. Except the stepfamily, who lost their money buying stuff.

 

 AModernCinderella: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

My teacher was on the Newbery committee so she gave my class each a monologue from Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz because it won the Newbery award. My class each did a podcast of our monologues. We are all putting them on our own blogs. I read Drogo, the Tanners apprentice. Here is the podcast:

 

 Drogo: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

My class made poems about someone on the Amistad. I did Sarah Margru Kinson.

Africa Is My Home: The Story of Sarah Margru Kinson is a real nonfiction story of a person from Sierra Leone named Margru who goes to America as a slave because they think she is from Cuba. But she really is from Africa so she gets to go home in the end. My teacher, Ms. Edinger wrote a slightly fictionalized version that my whole class is reading and taking notes. We all are writing blog posts on it. Ms. Edinger uses a lot of good literary words like in the beginning page it says, “But they were wrong. I did go back to Africa. I did come home.” Ms. Edinger also uses a lot of historical pictures. On the cover image she has a drawing of Margru. She first goes to Havana, Cuba. Then Margru goes to Connecticut towns like New Haven, Farmington, and Bridgeport. It has a lot of historical people like in the Supreme Court when former president John Quincy Adams fights against Cinque, Margru, and the rest of the Amistad captives. I think you definitely should find out more about it!

Last Thursday, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th (Me), and 5th graders went to the theater to see an adapted version of the Tempest performed by the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders at the Dalton Middle School. The setting includes some trees with a landing in the middle. There are many different costumes for each person. For example, Prospero is the Duke of Milan and wears a lot of dark colors. He also has a stick that she uses. Ariel, Iris, Cers, and Juno are spirits and wear white. There are a lot of funny characters like Trinculo, who has a puppet and talks in a very high voice when she is talking for the puppet. I thought it was a very good play!

I have included some links to learn more about The Tempest and

The Dalton School:

Dalton Homepage

Dalton Middle School

That’s a quote from a historical fiction book I read called Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Danticat. It takes place in Haiti and is based on the author’s own story. Behind the Mountains is about a girl named Celiane Esperance who lives in Beau Jour, Haiti. Her father immigrated to Brooklyn, New York and Celiane, her mom, and her brother Moy are about to move to Brooklyn and live with her father. Edwidge Danticat uses historical facts weoll For example on page 64, she writes about President Artiside being elected Haitian President in 2001. Another example, is Haitian Independence Day, which is also New Year’s Day on page 100. Also, on pages 119-120 there is William J. Clinton’s outgoing speech as president and George W. Bush’s Inauguration. There is also some very descriptive words such as when Celiane says, “I feel like I’m floating, but I surely see I am in a hospital bed,” on page 38. On page 39 she says, “I feel like I have been thrown about and have had my arms and legs stretched out like an old rag doll.” Edwidge Danticat says, “I know the Haitian language is Creole but her diary is in English, so it is like Celiane’s book is in Creole and I am her translator.”

For Edinger House’s immigration project, I was supposed to interview someone I knew from another country. I interviewed my babysitter, who came from the Ukraine, which is in Europe. She came with her mom, dad, one set of grandparents and her 2 sisters for religious freedom. The process was very long! First I interviewed her with a tape recorder. Then I transcribed the interview. Then I made a draft on an AlphaSmart 300 and a draft on a laptop. Then I made a book dummy and finally a book, with illustrations. My book was 25 pages. On my cover, I made a Ukrainian flag and an American flag. I learned a lot about her because even before the interview I didn’t know she was an immigrant!