Chapter 21 Trivia Question

Chapter 21: THE GREENING SPRING
- Where does Sam go to work after Louis is married?

Chapter 20 Trivia Question

Chapter 20: BILLINGS
- After getting his money back for the stolen trumpet, who does the Storekeeper donate the extra money to?

Chapter 18-19 Trivia Questions

Chapter 18: FREEDOM
- How does Louis contact Sam Beaver from Philadelphia?
Chapter 19: A TALK ABOUT MONEY
- According to Sam Beaver, what other animal likes to "Acquire things?"

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Trivia Question:

• Who steals Louis' trumpet in Philadelphia?

Discussion Question:

• It's not so easy to right a wrong. Have you ever tried to make something right after you've done something wrong? Was it difficult? Why?  What did you need to do in order to make things right again?

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Trivia Question:

• When staying at the Ritz, Where does Louis sleep?

Discussion Question:

A little talent in one area can sometimes offset a lack in another. What special talent do you possess? Is there any talent or skill that you don't have but would like to learn?

Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Trivia Question:

•  What is the first song Louis plays at the nightclub in Philadelphia?

Discussion Question:

• If you could design your own 'Swan Boat' what features would you include and why would these features be important?

Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Trivia Question:

• What kind of music does Louis play at the nightclub in Philadelphia?

Discussion Question:

• Louis needs to get a different job. What type of job are you interested in when you grow up? Why would you choose this type of job? What specials skills or training will you need? 

Chapter 11-13

Chapter 11 Trivia Question:

• What does "Kookooskoos" mean?

Chapter 13 Trivia Question:

• Why does Louis split the webbing on one foot?

Discussion Questions:

• What do you think a "noble quest" means?

• Do you think it's right or wrong to steal for the love of someone? Why or why not?

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Trivia Question:

• What does Louis write on the chalkboard to express his feelings towards Serena?

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Trivia Question:

• What is the first "hard" word Louis writes on the board? 
•  

Chapter 7 Discussion Question:

What is the main problem of the story thus far?

Have you ever experienced a difficult situation? How did you handle the 

problem? Were you able to solve the problem? What did you learn for this 

experience? 

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 trivia question:

• When Louis' family flies off to Montana, where are they flying from?

Discussion question:

• What are the three parts of flying that the cob explains to the cygnets?

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Trivia Question:

• Who says, "Swans must be cheerful, not sad; graceful, not awkward; brave, not cowardly"? 

 Discussion question:

• In what ways is Louis different from his brothers and sisters? How are you different than your brothers and/or sisters or other family members? How are you different than your friends? What unique or special talents do you have?

 

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Trivia Question

• How long does it take for a Trumpeter Swan egg to hatch?

Discussion Question 

After the cygnets are born, Sam Beaver writes in his journal, "I wonder what I'll be when I grow up.?"

• Have you ever thought about what you would like to be when you grow up? What type of career interests you? What type of training or schooling will you need in order to have the job that you would like to have? 

 

• Since Sam enjoys nature so much, what type of career would you suggest for Sam?

Chapter 3

Trivia question for Chapter 3:

• How many eggs does the female swan lay in chapter 3?

Discussion question:

• Sam needs to  earn the swans trust. How does he  win them over? 
• What qualities in a person makes them trustworthy? 
• What qualities makes a good friend?

Chapter 2

The trivia question for Chapter 2 in The Trumpet of the Swan is:

• What is a male swan called? 

Discussion question ...

• Why does the male swan feel that the island is a perfect nesting place? 

• What do you think makes a perfect nesting spot or home for swans?

One District, One Book Kickoff Assembly

This morning we had our kickoff assembly for One District, One Book. Our entire district, including bus drivers, food service workers, custodians, teachers, students, families, and everyone in between will begin reading E. B. White's classic story, The Trumpet of the Swan. You can view the reading assignment calendar by clicking on the Calendar tab at the top of this page.

The Trumpet of the Swan Chapter 1

I don't know about anyone else, but I started reading The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White this weekend and I could hardly put the book down. I absolutely love it when a book grabs my attention from the first page and has me thinking about the story and the characters even when I'm not reading the book.

Our first trivia question for Chapter 1 is: 

• Where does Sam Beaver live? 

Sam keeps a journal or diary in which he records the things in nature that he has seen or that interest him. At the end of each entry, he always asks himself a question to think about when he goes to sleep. Chapter 1 ends with Sam's journal entry and his question, "Why does a fox bark?"

In the comment section below, enter your answer to the trivia question. Also, in your comment let us know why you think a fox will bark. When you submit a comment, please only sign it with your first name and your teacher's last name. You can also submit your answer on our bulletin board in the main hallway by the office!

The Trumpeter Swan

Here is a quick video with some information about the Trumpeter Swan.

I never realized what a magnificent, majestic animal the Trumpeter Swan is. I have been looking up information on this swan and I have found some interesting and informative links that you may want to check out as a family. (Remember to be safe when you are online - Make sure you get mom and dad's permission. Better yet, learn together by searching together!)

Did you know the Trumpeter Swan can stand at a height of up to 4 feet and their wingspan can be more than 7 feet? A full grown Trumpeter Swan can weigh up to 30 pounds! This makes the Trumpeter Swan the largest native waterfowl in North America!

Learn more about this fantastic animal at the following links:

• Environmental Education for Kids

• Trumpeter Swan Facts (National Park Service)

• Kids Biology

• BioKids (University of Michigan)

• Department of Natural Resources (Ohio)

 

 

One District, One Book Reading tips

Monroe Road Elementary School is gearing up for an exciting month of reading activities for National Reading Month. Beginning on March 1st, many community members, including students, teachers, and families will be participating in the One School, One Book project. We will be reading E. B. White's classic story, The Trumpet of the Swan.

Many parents have asked for some tips and tricks for reading aloud with their child. Here are ten tips for creating and fostering a love for reading.

Ten Tips for Reading Aloud

1. How to Choose a Book - Make sure you marry the right reading style with each book: Roddy
Doyle’s The Giggler Treatment (about dog poop) asks for a wry, arch, playful style - lots of enthusiasm; Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins suggests a quieter, deadpan style - it’s a story about Nature, so let the prose do the work.

2. How to Make the Time - If reading aloud is important, you must prioritize: Sometimes this means
doing something else (the dishes, say) later; sometimes it means not doing something else (Monday
Night Football isn’t that good this week); and sometimes it means making something boring - say, waiting at the doctor’s office - interesting.

3. Punch Vocabulary - Make the language in a story more interesting for both you and your listener by choosing the most interesting word in each sentence, and doing something more with it: emphasize it, italicize it, underline it, enunciate it, whisper it, elongate it - bring it out to some (subtle) place of prominence and enliven the prose.

4. Pause - One of three tips that help re-set your child’s attention span and can be used to heighten
drama or suspense or emotional impact; in this case, pay special attention to every mark of punctuation: every comma and period, hyphen and parentheses. One word sentences are written that way for a reason.

5. Slow Down - Also re-sets attention span; and heightens drama, suspense, and emotion; but not the
same as pausing; slowing down means adjusting the pace of a sentence; or a paragraph; your listener
will notice immediately.

6. Whisper - Everyone knows the whisper effect, when you want to make someone pay even closer
attention; so this one also re-sets the attention span; heightens drama and suspense and - especially -
can make the most malevolent characters even more malevolent.
- Together, these three tips - Pause, Slow Down, Whisper - represent the pure heart of effective
reading aloud.

7. Accents and Voices - Borrow indiscriminately and shamelessly from everywhere to mimic different
voices; you kids don’t care how perfect they are, only that the voices in a dialogue are different and
distinct, bringing the characters alive. Also: give each character who talks a lot some identifying trait or mannerism to make it easier for you to trigger the voice (e.g. Draco Malfoy lords it over everyone - perhaps he drawls or sneers; Hermione Granger is a goody-goody - perhaps her voice is a little prissy.)

8. Ask Questions - Use the opportunity and pace reading a book give you to ask questions before,
during, and after a reading; to serve multiple purposes: rehearse or remember characters or plot
developments; explore moral or ethical questions; make associations with other books and media - film and otherwise.

9. Give ‘em a Quiz - Not to make reading like school, but as a memory cue; kids love showing off their knowledge, having a reason to pay even closer attention, owning a book or story thoroughly and in detail. Pretty soon, they’ll be asking you questions.

10. Permit an auxiliary activity - Kids will get distracted - for a good reason: because they’ve made an association and are pursuing it. When pausing and whispering and slowing down aren’t enough, it’s OK to let them color or draw or doodle - or braid their hair or wash the dishes - to let their restless minds refocus on your story.

One District, One Book

Reading aloud is widely recognized as the single most important activity leading to reading achievement. The four elementary schools in Bedford Public School District are interested in creating a community of readers. We will embark on an exciting project, a community-wide book club called One District, One Book. Everyone in our school community - families, teachers, bus drivers, secretaries, and administrators will read the same book during March’s National Reading Month.

Thanks to the very generous support of the Knights of Columbus, Bedford Lions Club, and the Bedford Parent Teacher Association, every family will receive a free copy of the children’s classic story, E.B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan. This universal story teaches kids about individuality and can be enjoyed by younger readers and still captivate and stimulate older children. Families will read the book together using a daily reading schedule.

From the time your child boards the school bus each day, students and adults will participate in discussions, writing exercises, group projects, and trivia questions. Your child will take pride in knowing and appreciating the details of the story.

Monroe Road Elementary School will kickoff this exciting journey on Friday, March 1, 2013 with an assembly introducing the program and the book. Each family will receive a copy of The Trumpet of the Swan at this time.

We look forward to having conversations about the adventures of Louis, the Trumpeter Swan! When a whole community reads a book, there’s a lot to talk about! We hope that you will join us on this exciting journey and follow this blog, One School, One Book to see discussion questions and fun activities! Feel free to pick up a copy of the book and jump into the discussion by posting your comments and thoughts on our blog!

With your help, we can build a community of readers in Bedford!