The Best Entertainment in the Universe

If you are going to Universal Studios I have a few tips for you to make the best of your trip!

• Stay in the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and enjoy their awesome swimming pool.

• Don't miss a thing in the Harry Potter experience.  If you are driving to Universal you might want to read the books (or watch the movies) on the way to be sure to understand all the cool things you see.

• When you visit the Simpson's be sure to eat your ginormous Marge's Donut after you ride the Twirl and Hurl

• Ask your Super Hero family to take pictures of you with your favorite Marvel Super Hero.  They can be found riding their fast four wheelers.

• Get in on some Minion Mayhem.

• If you have a chance to visit Universal with Mom It Forward during the Family Forward conference you will love the surprises and special events.  You will probably also meet lots of fun new friends.

Snow Day Challenge #thekidsneedtoknow

The Kids Need to Know

1. Never stop learning.
It is important to know many things.  Most of my knowledge has come from books.

2. You are awesome, because you are here! 
And I'm glad.

3. Life can be tough, but so are you.
And sometimes... very tough!

4. Don't bite...and don't bite back.
OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. Everyone is worth waiting for.
Like when my three year old brother is trying to run across the gym in his soccer class and he is always last because it is hard for him to walk.

pinewood derby

I got a block of wood for a derby car,which is now finished. Me and my grandpa Ergang. Here are some pictures.

Benjamin Franklin by Gavin

(image credit: Microsoft Clip Art)

The important thing about Ben Franklin is that he discovered electricity.  He was born on January 17, 1706.  It is true that he had sixteen brothers and sisters.  He and his family were poor.  They had to work very hard.  When he was older he was a printer, a scientist, and an inventor.  It is true that he died at the age of 84 on April 17, 1790. But, the important thing about Ben Franklin is that he discovered electricity.  


Sources:
"Benjamin Franklin." eLibrary Elementary.  American Scienc eLeaders, 2011.01 <http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/libweb/k6/do/document?set=search&groupid=1&requestid=lib_prime_reference&resultid=1&edition=&urn=urn:bigchalk:US;BCLib;document;48797273>.


Fradin, Dennis. Who Was Ben Franklin?. Indianapolis:Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc., 2007.

Three Days in Detroit

Answers to My Quiz: This Week Review

Here are the conclusions I made using the summary information about the quiz I posted almost three weeks ago.

75% of the people were correct when they guessed that I did not go to piano lessons.

100% of the people tested knew that I stayed home from school because of strep throat.

50% of the people were right who guessed that my Derby car did get to race.

100% of the people were right.  I read more than 1000 minutes in March (actually, I read 1,550).

25% of the people guessed wrong about Detroit.  We did go there for Spring Break to see the Titanic exhibit. (Did you see the book about the Titanic I reviewed on my blog?)

75% of the people who took the quiz were right that I did swim in Lake Michigan in March.  We went to Camp Geneva Shores.

Half of the people thought I dove into a hot tub.  Which is wrong.  Diving in a hot tub is not safe, but I did sit in a hot tub.

All of the people were right that I got hit by a ball at practice.  Two practices in a row…

75% of the people were right.  (See my answer to the questions about swimming in Lake Michigan).

All of the people were right.  I had to miss Celebration of Learning because I still had strep throat. (See the answer to the second question).

This is a screen shot of what my answer key looked like:

Nonfiction Book Response - Titanic

Before Reading

 Titanic by Will and Mary Pope Osborne

{photo credit: Amazon.com}

The nonfiction text features found in my book are: index, table of contents, heading, chapter titles, italics, photographs, illustrations, captions, and diagrams (ex. page 18).  There is no glossary in this book.

During Reading:


Making connections -

Text to Self: In Chapter 6 it says that "many passengers came on deck without life jackets."  This reminds me that my mom and dad always make me wear a life jacket when I ride on the jet ski or the pontoon boat.

Text to World: Reading the facts about the Titanic remind me of the Italian cruise ship that just sank.

Text to Text: The research guide isn't the same as Tonight on the Titanic because Jack and Annie knew the Titanic was going to sink.  The people on the real Titanic didn't know they were going to sink.

Important Information -
Titanic means huge and powerful.
In 1912, $400 was worth more than $5000 in today's money.
When the passengers were underway, none of the 3 classes of people were allowed to mix with each other.

Questions I Have -
How big was the ice berg?
Did the Titanic have a hole in the hull?
I know there were kids on the Titanic.  Were there any 7 year old boys?
How many kids were saved from the ship?

After Reading


Summary of the Book - 
This book is about a ship full of more than 2500 people, some were vacationing and some were looking for a better life free from England.  The ship hit a giant iceberg.  There weren't enough life boats to save all the people.  The ship sunk and only 705 were saved.


Interesting Facts - 
Another ship called the Carpathia saved some of the passengers.
There was a library and a swimming pool on the ocean liner.
There were 100 kids on board.
The Titanic was as long as 4 football fields.  It was the longest ship in the world.  Some people thought it was unsinkable, but they were wrong.