The Campfire Chronicles

• Following our rules to be safe, be kind, and be productive.

• Remembering to push in her chair.

• Keeping her cubby organized.

• Bringing in her homework and Take-Home Folder every day

• Listening to and following directions.

• Consistently giving her best effort with a great attitude.

Congratulations Krisztina!

Was Columbus the first European to discover America?

When did the very first people arrive in America?

Who found America 500 years before Columbus?

For the answers, click on the ships!

On Friday, October 12, at 2 p.m. EST, all of the students in America stood up and, in one unified voice, recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America.

Students at our school were led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Brennan and Nikki from Camp Linus.

To be a complete sentence, only two words are required! They can't just be any words, however! They must be a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE. What in the world are those? A subject is the main NOUN (person, place, or thing) in the sentence - the one being described or doing the action. A predicate is the main VERB (action word) in the sentence - what the subject is being, having, or doing.

by James Preller

We are reading one chapter from this Jigsaw Jones mystery each morning. Jigsaw is a kid detective who solves mysteries. We are finding lots of our own clues in the story. Check these out:

• Context Clues: From reading these 3 sentences, we can figure out who's the HE and who's the ME: Only today, Ralphie wasn't smiling. He plopped down next to me in the school cafeteria. "Hey, Jigsaw," he said.

• Prefix Clues: The two letters UN can go in front of a word and turn it into its opposite! Friendly - Unfriendly. We came up with some of our own: Happy - Unhappy, Kind - Unkind, Safe - Unsafe, Locked - Unlocked

• Clues about How to Write a Good Story: "Leave 'em Hanging!" End a chapter with a sentence that creates some "suspense" - makes the reader want to keep reading! Chapter One ended with this sentence: "Jigsaw," asked Ralphie, "do you believe in ghosts?"

Do you like to read about wizards, dragons, elves, dwarves, goblins, magical lands, and great adventures? This genre is called fantasy, and The Hobbit is one of the most famous books of this genre ever written!

At Camp Linus, the scouts hear a few pages of The Hobbit every day. It is an opportunity to practice "attentive listening." Attentive listening is the ability to repeat back something that was heard. For example, the scouts heard what hobbits look like, and they can probably still tell you! See if your scout can answer these questions:

1. Does a hobbit wear shoes? Why or why not?
2. Does a hobbit dress in green & yellow, or in orange & black?
3. Is a hobbit short or tall?
4. How good is a hobbit's hearing?
5. What kind of magic can a hobbit do?
6. A hobbit has curly hair. What color is it?

Just like us, the Berenstain Bear Scouts are working on earning merit badges. At Camp Linus, we have divided into 3 scout troops. Each troop is reading about a different merit badge that the Berenstain Bear Scouts are working on earning.

	Troop 801 is reading about Bigpaw, and the Bear Scouts' attempt to earn a Rock Climbing Merit Badge.
	Troop 83 is reading about the Coughing Catfish, and the Bear Scouts' attempt to earn the Scuba Diving Merit Badge.
	Troop 250 is reading about the Backscratcher, and the Bear Scouts' attempt to earn the History Merit Badge.

Each troop works together to write in their Reading Journals. This week we used the Reading Journals to list the 5 W's for each chapter we read. After listing who was in the chapter (characters), what happened and why, and when and where it happened (setting), the troop decided on two complete sentences that would sum up the main event of the chapter. Once done, each student checked and scored their own work using a Reading Journal Checklist.

Who:	Me, Seymour, Tex, Mom & Dad
What:	Moving out west & doesn't want to
When:	Now (Present)
Where:	NY City, "out west"
Why:	Thinks it will be a lot different out west

What is the difference between a summary, main idea, and theme?

Figuring out the theme can be tricky. Here's a tip: What's the point of the story? Why did the author write it? What message is the author trying to give? While the summary is about what happens in the story (the 5 W's), the theme is about the point of the story.

Summary: A boy tells about moving from NY City to somewhere "out west." He doesn't want to go because he thinks it will be a lot different. He finds out it's not so different.

Main idea: Moving, Fear of Moving

Theme: Be careful not to judge something you don't know about, or a place you haven't been. "Assumptions" aren't the same as "facts."

When writing a rough draft, we don't worry about the conventions of spelling, punctuation, and capitals. (That is Step 4: Editing!) Our focus during Step 2 is to write the story so that it makes sense, is organized, uses descriptive words, and has expression ("voice") appropriate for the intended audience and purpose.