Thursday, September 29, 2011

Squids Will Be Squids and Grasshopper Logic (Also Known as 4th and 5th Grade Projects Spelled Out for the Year

In third grade, students read and studied fables along with other variety of folk tales. When I discovered Squids Will Be Squids by Jon Sciezka and, more specifically, the first fable, "Grasshoppe Logic," I knew I would need to share it with fourth and fifth graders. Last year, as my first year in the library, I had a LOT of ideas for assignments to complete in library class to integrate with classroom curriculum and great books for kids. This year, I have a (slightly) more realistic idea of what to expect given the timeframe of the school year. I also learned to make those expectations clear. So I did. On our library website, I outlined the expectations for preparation, class participation, and assignments. I went over this information with each class following a reading of "Grasshopper Logic," Jon Sciezka's take on "The Ant and the Grasshopper.". In "Grasshopper Logic," the young grasshopper has waited until the very last minute to complete a rather large homework assignment. And his mother is none too pleased. We talked about people we know (some students recognized themselves in this fable) who wait until the last moment to complete assignments. This fable lent itself perfectly to discussing our expectations in the library for the year. Hopefully we won't have too many procrastinating grasshoppers this year.

Fifth Grade Expectations

Fourth Grade Expectations


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