PROJECTS
Questions? Contact Sra. Thompson at

This site is always under construction! Currently, it is only being used by Sra. Thompson, and ONLY for major projects and assignments- NOT for daily homework.
Don't forget the Math Packet for Sra. Ballón!
Book Reports for the third quarter will be due on _______________.
Sra. Thompson will edit and revise book reports with students if they are handed in at least two days early.
BOOK REPORT OPTIONS, 3rd quarter
Both book report options for the third quarter are oral presentations. Students will present their book reports in front of the class on the day the report is due. Please PRACTICE... a lot! In front of a mirror, your parents, unsuspecting siblings- get comfortable with your oral report. Reading it will not be allowed, so write your 'speech' according to the following guidelines, then read it over many times until you memorize it. Notecards with reminders are acceptable, but you will need to look at your audience, not down at your notes, while you present.
Monologue- After you read a novel, you will
'become' a main character and tell your audience all about 'your' life & things
that have happened to you recently. You will start by introducing yourself
(name, age, school/work, important relationships with family and friends,
personality traits, etc), and must stay in first person point of view during the
entire presentation. Then, tell us about your life (the plot!). For
example, 'My name is Frita Wilson, and when I graduated
from the fourth grade, it was the proudest moment in my life... except for one
thing. My best friend, Gabe, says he's too scared to go with me to the
fifth grade! When he told me that, I decided then and there to do
everything I could to help him get over his fears so he could move on.'
In addition, you must have a prop of some sort that shows something significant to your story. Frita might bring her class picture in a nice frame, Gabe might bring his dad's field book showing how to identify spiders... Be creative! You will not earn credit for something you found at school the morning of the presentation. You need to show effort and planning, and work your prop into your presentation.
Bonus points will be awarded for dressing in character- again, not for saying, 'Look I'm in uniform because I'm in school'... but something that really fits your character and shows some level of creativity.
HINT- Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographies work really well for this book report!
News Broadcast- For this oral report option, you will become a news anchor and report on the news from 'your' town. Pretend that you are IN the novel's setting, and create a news broadcast that showcases three major stories (good details please) that have recently taken place in your town. You need to allow your audience to fully experience each news story, so remember the 5 W's/H- tell us exact details.
This must sound like a real news broadcast, so your homework is to watch the news a few times to see how the reporters lead into stories/introduce them, give details, interview people, use diagrams/photos... You can get creative with this! You may also include 'extras' like weather, sports updates, commercials.
OPTIONAL- When we return in January, we will complete a research project rather quickly. If you would like to get ahead, you may begin researching by clicking here: Research: Body Systems Remember to sort your notes by subtopics according to the questions we came up with together in class before Break. You can choose the body system you study by starting now, and you will work through the process much more quickly. Remember, try some video sources through Brainpop http://www.brainpop.com (csia & brainpop as username and password) or Discovery Education http://www.discoveryeducation.com (cse.s1 as both username and password), or check out books at the library.