Ideas for Final Project

Hey guys!

I found a great website for creating crossword puzzles and word searches. It's called theteacherscorner.net.  There are also lesson plan ideas and other printable worksheets that you can get your hands on.  Check it out!

Ramona and Her Father

Ramona, Ramona.......a persistent little pip squeak.

I really enjoyed this story. There were many parts that made me laugh out loud. I loved all the anti-smoking signs she made for her father; especially when she was trying so hard to make her point, but ran out of room to write it on paper. Her father said, "Who is this Mr. King?" "What Mr. King?" asked Ramona. "Nosmo King" answered her father. She got so ticked! I nearly busted out laughing. The "best" scene for me was on page #2230 (Norton Anthology). It had to do with the jack-o-lantern pumpkin leftovers. Beezus protested about having to eat pumpkin pie again for the hundredth time since the cat ate part of the jack-o-lantern. Mrs. Quimby goes on to apologize for not coming up with more pumpkin recipes and then mentions she remembered she had one for pumpkin soup. The whole family cried out in a unanimous voice, "no!" Then, Ramona had to give her two cents and say something at the most inappropriate time. She asked her mom, "are you sure you cut off all the parts with cat spit on them?" Her father cries, "Ramona!" He drops his spoon and goes on to say, "Please, we are eating."

My Rough Sketch: Children's Book

About a Boy named Edward

“Daddy?” asked Martin.        

“Yes, son?” responded Mr. Snagelfritz

“Did you ever get made fun of when you were a child?”

“Well, when you have a name like Snagelfritz, you can’t really get away from all the jokes and games that other kids play on you.”

“Why? What’s going on at school? Are the kids teasing you because of your last name?” asked Mr. Snagelfritz.

“No. Worse. Mrs. Sasselfratz calls it a Pho-bee-ah. She said that I have it.”

 “She did?” asked Mr. Snagelfritz

“Yeah, she said the other day that I have AR-ACK-NA-something.”

“Arachnophobia?”

“Yes! That’s the word!”

“So you are scared of spiders then?”

“Yes! How did you know that?”

“Well, son, that’s what it means.”

“Oh. You’re so smart daddy!”

“Not really. I just know from experience. When I was your age I was also afraid of those creepy crawly things. Now I can squash one with my bare hands!”

“Ewwww!  I wish I was that brave.   

 “Martin, you can be brave too. Sometimes you just need to face your fears head on.” Mr. Snagelfritz lovingly responded.

ARACHIBUTYROPHOBIA

“Here, let me tell you a story about this boy named Edward. You see, Edward was a strange little boy. Well, at least he was in the eyes of his classmates.

 “It’s the beginning of the school year at Rumpledump Elementary. Edward is a new student. Some of his friends are sitting around the table in the lunchroom eating their lunch. Ella had a turkey sandwich with mayo, Richie had a roast beef sandwich with horseradish, and Phillip had a tuna melt with pickles. Edward opened his lunch sack and realized his mother forgot to pack him his sandwich. Another boy, named Sam, wasn’t so hungry so he offered little Eddie his sandwich.

“Here you go, Eddie. I’m not very hungry today. You can have my sandwich.” said Sam.

“Thanks, Sam.” Eddie accepted.

Edward had just finished his last drop of milk. He took one bite of the sandwich and froze.

“What’s this?” Eddie asked.

“It’s a sandwich, silly.” said Phillip.

“I mean what is in between this bread?”

Sam answered, “It’s peanut butter, why?”

“I…I…I can’t stand the feeling of peanut butter on the roof of my mouth! It makes me squirm!”

Eddie fell off his chair and started to breathe heavily. He felt the flush of heat in his face as he turned bright red. All the kids in the lunchroom looked down at him and broke out into laughter. He was feeling even hotter by now. It felt like he had a fever coming on. One of Eddie’s teachers was nearby and heard the ruckus.

“Come on, Edward. Let’s talk.”

She grabbed his hand and walked away with him from the crowd as dozens of half eaten peanut butter sandwiches were chucked into the air after him.

It was not a good day for Edward.

FELINOPHOBIA

“Here kitty kitty. Here kitty kitty,” cried out the neighbor lady.

“I like most animals, but cats drive me crazy!” said Edward.

“Why so?” said Ella.

“Every time I go outside to play with my remote-control car, Jack comes out and starts rubbing his fur ball face against my legs. He starts to climb my leg and tear at my pants. What did I do to deserve that?! Then he always nips at my ankles when I’m minding my own business sitting down on the porch.” 

“It sounds to me like he likes you.” Ella laughed.

 “It’s not funny. He has the most ferocious teeth and pin-picking nails! My throat dries up and I can’t even swallow when he gets too close to me. I usually try to push him away, but he is a persistent little bugger. Then when I get mad, I just run inside and steam for a while.”

“Sounds to me like you need a chill pill,” said Ella.

“A what??” said Eddie.

 “You need to calm down and relax. You’re too uptight.”

“Sure, Ella, whatever you say.” Edward responded sarcastically.

SYNGENESOPHOBIA

“Eddie!” cried Mr. Dimpleknott

“Yes, Papa?”

“Your Aunt Hilda is here!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Eddie grumbled to himself.

 As soon as Eddie got word of his aunt visiting, he bolted right up to the attic to hide. He locked himself up in an old wooden trunk. He was starting to vomit in his mouth as he could hear his aunt calling out his name.

“Edward? Where are you? Your favorite Auntie is here!” 

“Where is that little boy? He is hiding on me isn’t he?

“I don’t know, sis.” Said Mr. Dimpleknott.

The day goes by, and Eddie ends up falling asleep in the trunk.

BACK TO REALITY

“Daddy, wasn’t Eddie afraid of being all alone in the attic where there are spiders and creepy crawly things all over the place. It’s so dark in that trunk too!”

“Son, I think that he was so worried about his aunt that he didn’t even think about those other scary things.”

“Really?” asked Martin.

“Really.” Said Mr. Snagelfritz

“So can I overcome this AR-ACK-NA…”

“Arachnophobia.”

“Yes, that word.”  

“Martin my little boy, you can overcome this fear.”

“Thanks daddy.” 

“But there’s more, son. The young Edward overcame his fears eventually. He fell in love with the neighbor cat, Jack. His parents bought him a cat for his birthday. He decided that he liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches after all, and he finally let his Aunt Hilda come into his room and sit beside him. A few inches away, I might add. But it was a start, a good one.”

Life's a Stage with Roll of Thunder.....

The Guthrie Center for the Performing Arts introduces Mildred Taylor's--
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry!


Soundtrack:

First two songs taken from O Brother, Where Art Thou?--(www.losthighwayrecords.com)

1.) Down to the River to Pray-by Alison Krauss

I chose this song because it relates to that time period of the 1930's. The movie that this song was made for related to the South and hard life of those days. I felt it was a nice somber song for the country life that they lived in. To me, it set up the mood for how they faced daily life.

2.) I'll Fly Away--Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch

This is the contemporary version of an old gospel hymn that was written in 1929. It brings me happiness every time I hear it. When life gets difficult, this song gives me hope for the next life. I'm sure the Logan's wanted to be "free," just like a bird. They wanted to fly far away from all of the harrassments and abuses they had to endure.

3.)Down Home Folks Blues Harp Jam--by: Markus Bravo (Composer, producer, multiple instrumentalist)

http://www.audiosparx.com/sa/display/sounds.cfm/sound_group_iid.1751

This song makes me want to learn how to play the harmonica. This fun toe-tappin' song lifts my spirits and I'm sure it would appeal to the audience for setting the mood for this story. It would be one that plays often throughout the musical.




The Logan's house



Cotton plantation


Meet the cast!


Will Smith as "Papa"



Jada Pinkett Smith as "Mama"



Yara Shahidi as "Cassie"


Terrell Ransom Jr. as "Little Man"


Laurence Fishburne as "Uncle Hammer"


Diggy Simmons as "Stacey"


Tyler James Williams as "T.J"

Oprah Winfrey as "Big Ma"

The Children's Crusade: Fact or Fiction?

Laura Amy Schlitz, Author of of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! writes about the “Children’s Crusade”: “In 1212, a French shepherd boy had a vision that the Holy Land could be recovered by innocent children. Thirty to forty thousand children from France and Germany set off to Palestine, believing that God would favor their cause because of their faith, love, and poverty. They believed that when they reached the Mediterranean, it would part, like the Red Sea. They were mistaken. Most of them starved, froze to death, or were sold into slavery.” [Page 37] Some scholars aren’t sure that this “crusade” occurred in the form Schlitz describes.

I think that the "Children's Crusade" is somewhat of a mystery. By doing a little research I came across differing viewpoints on the subject. It seems like maybe some of the information was distorted over the years. Remember the game, "telephone?" You start with some statement, pass it on down from one person to the next, and then you get your final answer. It usually ends up with something entirely different from the first "phone call." I think that is what happened here. But then again, this is just my opinion.

The Encyclopedia Britannica states that the "Children's Crusade" lasted for only four months and that none of the participants ever reached the Holy Land. It was also known to have sparked the fifth crusade of 1218.

There is very little information known about Stephen of Cloyes and yet he stands out as the leader of this group that suppossedly ventured out to reclaim Jerusalem back from the muslims. Some would say that this "crusade" wasn't even a crusade because it wasn't blessed by the pope. It surprises me to see that a 12 year old could have this much influence on people, but then again they were just children. I still wonder about how they would be able to get away with all of this? Where were the parents? Did they even care about what they did? The medieval period is a mystery to me. I think that religious fervor mixed with superstition and pure ignorance lead a lot of these people to do some crazy stuff.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/111277/Childrens-Crusade

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/childrens_crusade.htm

Walk Two Moons

Blackberry-meets-Grams Gooseberry Pie

Pastry for 2 - 9" pie crusts
2 cups blackberries 1 cup gooseberries

2 cups sugar
3 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter or margarine

Prepare pastry. Stem and rinse berries. Crush 1/2 cup berries; combine sugar, tapioca, and salt and mix with crushed berries. Cook and stir until mixture boils; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add remaining whole berries. Pour into pastry. Adjust top crust , cut slits for escape of steam. Brush with milk and sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

Huzza! Huzza!