Reading: Rump- The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstiltskin.This funny fractured fairytale goes behind the scenes of Rumpelstiltskin. “A most magical feat,” writes Newbery Honor-winner Kirby Larson, “Liesl Shurtliff spins words into gold.”
In a magical kingdom where your name is your destiny, 12-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone’s joke. But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems to change. Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold. His best friend, Red Riding Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she’s right.
With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse. To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen. The odds are against him, but with courage and friendship – and a cheeky sense of humor – he just might triumph in the end.
The purpose of this unit is to have students relate to a character in a book to their own life. Rump is the main character who is on a mission to find his destiny. Where he grows up the meaning of your name determines your destiny. Unfortunately, Rump only knows half of his name, which makes others and even himself sometimes see him as a lesser person. Throughout this novel, Rump is learning more about himself and what he is capable of doing. The purpose for 4th graders to read this novel and to be a part of this unit is because students should learn that they are much more capable of what they think they can do. This unit is used to give inspiration to students and help them connect with Rump through the realistic struggles he goes through. Rump being a realistic character allows his struggles to be relatable and allows for his successes to also be realistic to students reading! The lessons of “you’re not alone with your feelings” and “you are much more capable of what you think you are” are important lessons for students to learn at such a young age. This is a time in their life before they enter those dramatic teen years. One of the biggest struggles of teen years is having thoughts of being alone or not being good enough. This unit allows for students to live through Rump’s story and hopefully apply it to their own life when needed! Of course this unit is important because it will get students to read an engaging text, but this unit is important because of the lessons found within and the skills students will use throughout to understand this novel.
Essential Questions:
What is destiny?
How do you find your destiny?
What do you do if there is more than one side to a story?
For a little bit of fun, children can watch the original tale of Rumpelstiltskin on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/4W_53-fIYdI
Some students have been asked to reread the chapters covered in class each day. This is a great way to recap what we’ve covered and practice their listening, fluency, and comprehension skills.
Writing: Use descriptive words and sensory images in our writing to EXPLODE THE MOMENT.
Numeracy: Students will be learning how to find angles and know their characteristics. They will have a challenge at home to complete, so be ready!
Science: Students will begin a new topic on weather. We will be learning how air pressure affects weather and how to describe, label and illustrate the outcomes.
Social Studies: We began our focus on our Central American neighbors and we’ve been having fun learning all about these countries. Students were given an in-class project to work on over the next couple of weeks. They were each given a Central American country to research, create a poster for, and then present. This is a great discovery project and a wonderful way to teach others what they’ve learned.
Reminders
NO SCHOOL FRIDAY AND MONDAY! Enjoy celebrating an extra day off and hope you can ‘discover’ something new on Discovery Day!
Homework and Quizzes
Monday:
- Literacy: Padlet and reading for 30 minutes
- Unfinished Rump booklets
Tuesday:
- Numeracy: Angle Challenge, this is from their practice book. Have a family competition!
- Students need to bring in their total points and a list of all the items they found. Example: Window corner – Right angle
- Literacy: Padlet, reading for 30 minutes
- Unfinished Rump booklets
Wednesday:
- Numeracy: Practice book p.303-304
- Literacy: Padlet and reading for 30 minutes
- Unfinished Rump booklets
Thursday:
- Numeracy: Angle’s quiz
- Literacy: Padlet and reading for 30 minutes
- Unfinished Rump booklets
Monday’s Numeracy Challenge: Instructions
Assessments
Students will be completing STAR testing in Literacy and Numeracy as well as DRA testing (reading, fluency and comprehension) this is for next year to see where students are in their reading levels.
Bible Verse
Students were given a hard copy of all the verses for the remainder of the year! Please check they have these in their folders.
Fruit of the spirit: Kindness
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32