Born To Run: Craig's Side of the Story

In the last chapter, Craig had Alfie "taken away" because he came up lame in a race and would never be able to run competitatively again.  Craig has always said that the greyhounds are not pets; they are his working dogs.  Becky was horrified when she saw what actually happened to Alfie and all the previous dogs that could no longer run.

1. I'm going to ask you to do something hard!  Defend some of Craig's rules: what possible reasons could Craig have for

• not allowing the dogs in the house
• not allowing Becky or anyone coddle the dogs
• not keeping the dogs around after they are no longer able to race

2. What alternatives could Craig have chosen for his dogs, once they can no longer run?

Remember:

Draft your answers in MS WORD. Edit them for clarity and details; PROOF READ them for COPS before copying them into the blog editor and posting them.

Born To Run: Mrs. Brightwell and Lazy Words...

The following quote is from chapter one of Born to Run.

"Mrs Brightwell...was always on at Patrick about...using what she called "lazy words", such as 'cool' or 'wicked', or worst of all, 'whatever'."

Explain in your own words what Mrs. Brightwell means by lazy words.  Come up with a list of six other "lazy words" that you or people you  know sometimes use.

Don't forget to include your name when you post.  And of course, your spelling must be "wicked".  If it isn't, then that isn't "cool"...

Comment on a comment...

Please comment on the comments your fellow students have left on the The 9 Lives of Montezuma...The Black Cat  Lab posting.  Remember to keep your comments constructive and positive; although that doesn't mean you have to agree...You can disagree constructively by offering clues to evidence that you think shows someone's idea might not be correct in your opinion.

Please construct your answer, as always, in MS WORD and COPS it before you post.

Math Review for Thursday's Test

Please click on this link.  Do all CHAPTER 3 lesson quizzes in order from 1 to 8.  Tell one area you had difficulty with, and one area you have mastered.

The 9 Lives of Montezuma...The Black Cat

In his sixth life, Montezuma was stalking a fledgling pigeon when he came across an intruder in his territory.

"This was a cat Montezuma had not met before and he would take his time before he attacked.  He watched the black cat move and noted the strength in his shoulders: he glared into its yellow eyes and probed for weakness but found none.  Montezuma...struck out across the black cat's nose.  But the black cat was young and knew only how to attack.  He sprang forward again...Montezuma knew now that he had underestimated his adversary."

1) Using two or more sentences tell what the author means when he says

"...he glared into its yellow eyes and probed for weakness but found none.

2) Write a description of the black cat in your own words using at least two sets of Quality Dual Adjectives to paint a picture in my mind of what the cat looks like and sounds like to you.  What do you imagine the cat is called?  Where did he come from?  Will he be back?

Do both questions in Microsoft Word.  Use all your COPS skills and include as many dressups as you need to make it interesting to read and descriptive.

Science - Simple Machines: Levers

Please go to this website and spend at least ten minutes there reading and understanding the information about the three different classes of levers.  Pay attention to the where the load is in relation to the fulcrum and the effort force: that will help you understand the three classes of lever. 

Then take this quiz.  You must click the green START button on the top of the page to take the quiz. 

When you have finished the quiz please comment on one question you got wrong.  Then comment on one thing  you learned.  You must not have the same comment as a previous poster...

Math Review For Your Test

I would like you to practise for your upcoming Math test.  Click on the link below and try an online review quiz for any of the Chapter 2 lessons.  Please do at least 3 lesson.  You might want to choose a lesson from the chapter that you feel you need some more practise with.

http://www.nelson.com/mathfocus/grade5/student/tryout.html#ch2

Howard Who?

Kenneth Oppel didn’t have to create Theodore Grunel totally out of his imagination. There have been a number of unusual and eccentric inventors and millionaires in history, and one of the most famous was Howard Hughes.

Howard Hughes sits in the cockpit of one of his inventions: The Spruce Goose that still holds the record for the largest wingspan of any plane ever built—319 feet 11 inches (97.57 meters). This eight-engine wooden flying boathad room for 700 passengers...

Howard Hughes was born in 1905 and died in 1976.  He was an American businessman and inventor, and became one of the world's richest people. During the 1930's and 1940's, he gained fame as a motion-picture producer and aviator (flyer). Then, in the mid-1950's, Hughes deliberately dropped out of sight. He became a mysterious figure who never appeared in public and even refused to have his photograph taken..

Hughes was born on Dec. 24, 1905, in Houston. His father died in 1924, leaving him the Hughes Tool Company, an oil-field equipment firm. The firm became the basis of Hughes's financial empire. He later owned the Hughes Aircraft Company, RKO Pictures Corporation, and a controlling interest in Trans World Airlines.

Hughes led a varied life. He became a Hollywood film producer after his father's death. His most successful movies included Hell's Angels (1930), Scarface (1932), and The Outlaw (1943). Hughes also designed and raced airplanes. He set several speed records, including an around-the-world mark of 3 days 19 hours 14 minutes. In the 1940's, he designed the plane that still holds the record for the largest wingspan of any plane ever built—319 feet 11 inches (97.57 meters). This eight-engine wooden flying boat, nicknamed Spruce Goose, had room for 700 passengers. In 1947, Hughes piloted the plane on its only flight. It flew 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) at a height of 70 feet (21 meters). Today, the Spruce Goose is on display at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinville, Oregon.

At the time of Hughes's death on April 5, 1976, estimates of the value of his estate went as high as $2 billion. His relatives squabbled with each other over the inheritance of his money.  An agreement to share the inheritance from the Hughes estate between 22 cousins was agreed apon.

In 1971, the McGraw-Hill Book Company paid about $750,000 to Clifford Irving, a writer, for a manuscript he presented as Hughes's autobiography. Irving claimed he worked on it with Hughes, but Hughes denied knowing Irving. In 1972, Irving and his wife admitted to misrepresenting the manuscript to the publisher. They were fined and imprisoned.

Remember what you have learned about Theodore Grunel in the book Skybreaker.  Write a paragraph of at least 6 sentences in MS WORD that outlines the similarities and differences you notice between Grunel and Hughes.  Make sure that you proof read it before uploading it to the blog.

The Engineerium...

Once again the author, Kenneth Oppel, has selected certain words to help the reader get a feel for the mood of the chapter. Consider the following passage from the text:

How do the words in bold influence the reader, and what is the mood these word choices help to create?

Complete darkness did not greet us this time, but pale light, revealing a chamber even bigger than the last. Dark, silhouetted shapes hunched everywhere, as if ready to stand or spring. Our torch beams danced about nervously. Against the far wall was a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows, all iced over. Looming darkly in the corner was an enormous machine, bent like a gargantuan crone, peering out the window. It looked to me like a telescope. (p. 202)