Main Character Comparison

Here is an example from Emma M. that earned an A.

I'm like Sophie because she is curious. When her mom came to see her in the summer, Sophie would always asked, "What do you do on Skin Island," and,"Why can't I come and see you?" But her mom would never tell her. Sophie got more curious every time. And she even asked her dad what her mom did. But even with many times Sophie begged, he wouldn't tell her. I am curious like her too. One day when I was watching a really good show called Pretty Little Liars, (it's a mystery). I was trying to figure out who A was, but I got so curious that I couldn't take it anymore so I Googled it and was shocked by the answer. The weird thing was that the original A wasn't the person that showed up.

Another time is when it was Christmas time and a big box came from Amazon. Now when I was eight, boxes were so magical because they hardly never came. So I got super curious and lifted the big box to the couch. And while my mom was making dinner I started to open the magical box. Inside I found these amazing Christmas presents! My mom came in and closed the box and told me to go away. She wasn't that mad though, and she understood that I was only little and curious. But now I'm not allowed to touch any boxes at Christmas time.

He Used a Venn Diagram

Matt used a Venn Diagram. Some people might say "so what?" It may not seem like that big of a deal. After all, almost any sixth grader can use a Venn Diagram. They probably learned that in third or fourth grade. So what's the big deal?

We spent last week in Reading Workshop studying the lyrics in the song Monster. This song focuses on the struggle to deal with the demons within and coming to grips with yourself to be successful. This week we are looking at Let it Go from the movie Frozen. Students are going to compare the two, their message, theme, and tone.

What impressed me about Matt's action was how he thought about the assignment and picked a tool that would make him more successful. Knowing how to use a tool is important, but knowing when and why is much more important. The fact that Matt did this of his own accord shows me that he is working to be successful, and has the sense to use tools that will make it happen.