Classy Clauses!

Mrs. Ranney's students have learned that one clever way to add class to your writing is to use a 
variety of sentence types!

One type that we have learned to write is a sentence that starts with a dependent clause.

Dependent clauses start with special words:

After, Before, Since, While, When, If, During.

 A dependent clause ends with a comma and cannot stand alone as a sentence. It must be followed by an 

independent clause, 
which is a sentence that can stand alone!

We used the story events from our story of the week,"Dogzilla" by Dav Pilkey,

to get ideas for our own  sentences 

with dependent clauses.

We hope you enjoy reading them!

Since it was the first annual cook-off, mice from all over the city of Mousopolis came to compete.

Brooke and Lia

While the ancient crater was shaking, the irresistible scent of barbecue sauce flew over the city, and the mice of Mousopolis heard a mysterious sound, “Sniff…sniff…sniff!”

Maya and Charlotte

Before Dogzilla came out of the enormous volcano, it began to tremble!

A.   J. and Tyler

Because Dogzilla breathed out horrible doggy-breath, the mice scampered away quickly!

Alexandra and Cinthia

During all the rampage, the Big Cheese and his troops organized an emergency meeting with the smartest rodent in town, Professor Scarlet O’Hairy!

Noel and Aidan F.

Since Dogzilla was destroying the town, nobody felt safe!

Jules and Cate

Because this monster, Dogzilla, came from prehistoric times, she was monstrous!

Matthew, Jackson, and Aiden R.

After the brave mice gave a Dogzilla a bath, she went back into the ancient volcano!

Alex and Shai

After the second annual cook-off, the mice were sure that they would never find Dogzilla again.

Anjolee and Rain

When puppies came out of the volcano, the Big Cheese and his troops felt so scared!

Christopher and Zachary

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How did you like our classy clauses!


If you have a sentence with a dependent clause 

that you'd like to share, we'd love to read it! (Hey, that was a dependent clause sentence!)

Happy Thanksgiving, 2012!

This  week we had a wonderful time preparing for

Thanksgiving!

One way we did that was by measuring and mixing up the ingredients 

for our own loaf of pumpkin bread!

Enjoy our slide show, and see what with did with the bread after it was baked!

Let's Celebrate Thanksgiving! on PhotoPeach

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In addition to creating clever turkey disguises for our
loaves, we read and learned quite a bit about turkeys, both real
and make-believe!

 In the factual selection, we learned about wild turkeys. One interesting fact was that they can fly up to 55 miles per hour! We also learned that they eat many interesting foods, including: seeds, berries, frogs, salamanders, and even snakes! 
Since they do not have teeth, turkeys have gizzards. 
Do you remember what these are for?

Male wild turkeys

Female wild turkey and her poults

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The other story Mrs. Ranney shared with us was  a clever Thanksgiving fable about 
Thomas T. Turkey. 
He had quite a dilemma to solve! 

In the story, Thomas was invited to not one, not two, but three Thanksgiving dinners. Benjamin Bobcat, Fanny Fox, and Henry Hawk all told him they wanted to have him for Thanksgiving dinner and that it just wouldn't be the same without him!

 

In the end, Thomas decided he did not 
want to hurt anyone's feelings, 
so he declined all the invitations! 
 He ended up staying home alone 
for Thanksgiving dinner.

 

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After listening to this hilarious and clever story, we just had to write one of our own!

November 16, 2012

Dear Thomas T. Turkey,

         We would love to have you for dinner on Thanksgiving Day, November 22^nd. Please come early, so you can help us get dinner ready! You can even work the barbecue!

         Please come dressed and ready for a our annual, delicious feast!

         By the time you are done, you will be full of stuffing!

         It just wouldn’t be a great Thanksgiving without YOU!

         Warmly,

         Bob and Betty Bear (Mrs. Ranney's students ;-)

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There are many options for a comment on this post!

What did you learn and enjoy when participating in 

the pumpkin bread project?

Will you and your family be enjoying turkey on Thanksgiving?

What other dishes are your personal Thanksgiving favorites?

Do you know any other turkey facts to share?

Here is a link to World Book Online, so you can do some research!

(Remember to put the facts into your own words.)    

How about making up your own clever invitation for Thomas T. Turkey! Be sure to include some word play and sign off as an animal from the forest. Be sure to use alliteration! 

         

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

  
 

Geography of the U. S. A!

Recently we have been learning about geography,
the study of people and
 places on the earth.

We have learned about landforms,

or shapes on Earth's surface.

In addition, we have studied the regions,
or areas that share one or more features, 

of the United States. 

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Here is an interactive quiz to help in practicing

 and reviewing what we learned! 

 

 Geography Quiz on PhotoPeach

 

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What have you learned about geography?

What landforms or bodies of water have you visited 

in the United States? 

Which regions have you visited and what have you seen? 

Science: Matter Really Does Matter!

Our first science unit of the the year  focused on matter because:

Matter matters, and it has mass and takes up space!

Everything in the world is made up of matter!

Matter can be found in 3 states:
solid, liquid, and gas.

We learned that all matter has physical properties.

We observed the physical properties of our basketball speed ball!
We posted adjectives that described
shape, size/mass, color, texture, hardness, flavor, and temperature.
(Click on picture to enlarge.)

 Watch our slide show to see what investigations with matter we have done!

Investigating Matter! on PhotoPeach

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Here is a video about another one of our
exciting matter investigations!

Science Corner: Solid + Liquid = Gas!





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We just recently had another wonderful experience with matter.
Mrs. Yollis' and Mrs. Ranney's second and third graders teamed up with Mr. JR's high school chemistry students via a Google Hangout.   The high school students gave a fabulous science demonstration about matter.

Here is a link to a post about it: 
Mr. JR's Science Stop: Matter Matters!


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If you are interested in science and would like to do more investigations and demonstrations with matter, a great website for you is Science Bob!

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What did you find  most interesting about matter?

What investigation did you most enjoy?

Do you have some facts about matter to share?

Leave us a comment about experiments, investigations, or demonstrations you have tried!

Learn to Write a Compound Sentence!

Mrs. Ranney's students are always trying to improve their writing skills.

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 A compound sentence:

1. Combines two shorter related sentences (This means it has two subjects and two predicates!)
2. Joins the two sentences with  a conjunction (and, or, but, so)

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Here are some sample compound sentences, and they are all about Thanksgiving!

(Hey, that's a compound sentence!)  


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Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, and many families gather for a traditional feast. 

In 1620, the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, but they had really 

planned a trip to Virginia. 

The Massachusetts winter was extremely cold and harsh, so everyone 
had to work together to survive!

The Wampanoag Indians helped the struggling Pilgrims, so they were able to harvest crops for their first feast!

  

Modern Americans dine on turkey and stuffing at home, or they make a 
reservation at a local restaurant.

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Comment Challenge!

In the comment section, tell about your plans for Thanksgiving. Be sure to include at least two COMPOUND SENTENCES!