* FES' fourth correspondence including facts they have learned about life during the Great Depression.
950
Central Ave.
Fultondale, AL 35068
November 26, 2007
Dear
Tony,
A lot of interesting things have happened so far. As you said yes, my favorite color is blue.
We did finish reading Island of the Blue Dolphins. All
5th grade classes did go to CNN studios, but I was not able to go on
that field trip because my dad thought it was too far.
Anyways we got to see some pictures of the animals they saw there,
because they also went to the Georgia Aquarium.
My friend Gabby went and she told me it was fun.
In the pictures Mrs. Ramsay
posted on her website, we saw animals from the aquarium.
The “Scanner Collage” was sort of hard and sort of easy for me
because I had to print mine twice. I
had to do mine twice because the first time the title of my book wasn’t
showing. This summer I went to Mobile, Alabama. I don’t think we’ve had a state fair. I mean the small travelling fair has come where it is in
front of the Winn- Dixie. I’ve
only gone three times though.
We have done another technology project since
we last wrote to you. This project
is called a “READ Poster.” Here
are the simple and easy steps to making a READ poster.
First, like the last project, you read a book. Next, write a summary of your story in1st person; you know
like I, me, mine, my. You also have
to describe the adventure (which is the plot), yourself, your friends (which of
course are the other characters), and the setting (like your school, the park,
or your house). Then, you edit and
revise; we use COPS, this means Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, and
Spelling. We studied this at the
beginning of the year. After that,
you make or buy a costume, and wear it. This
will represent your character. Lastly,
you make a background so that you can stand in front of, with you dressed as
your character. Mrs. Ramsay told us
that it could be any kind of material, but it had to be several inches higher
than us. These are the steps to making a READ poster.
At the beginning of the year when we first wrote to you, we started
playing Newcomb. Have you played it
before? Well I didn’t make the
team, but I hope I make the team next year in 6th grade.
Do you know how in the first letter I told you about Super Teams, I
think? Well for the first nine
weeks all of the teams made Super Teams!!!
Mrs. Ramsay explained to us that it had never happened before, and this
was the first time!
Anyways,
I think that a week or two before that, four teams made devilfish out of hot
dogs. They are what Karana in Island
of the Blue Dolphins called the octopus. First, you cut the hot dog wiener
in half. Then, from the cut side cut the wiener in half.
Next, do it over and over again until you have 8 little legs, but
remember don’t cut all the way down. Fourth,
put it in a pan with oil make sure it’s on.
Finally, when you see that the legs are curling up, this means it’s
getting ready. Extra tip: You might want to put a rock made out of ketchup.
I hope you enjoy your devilfish!!!!!
We have started a new book called Bud not Buddy. We learned that it takes place during the Great Depression.
It is a funny story, but I guess it’s also a kind of sad story.
I really love this story; it’s incredible!!!!
We have started talking more about the Great Depression too. Mrs. Ramsay found a streaming video of the Great Depression
that we got to look, but it cut of right in the middle of it. I got a lot of
information from the video here is a little of it. I learned that 200, 000 children were put on “orphan
trains” to be sent to different parts of the United States. This meant that their parents who couldn’t afford to take
care of their children, or didn’t have enough money to feed them and give them
clothes. They didn’t know where
in the United States they were going to be sent to.
I also learned that children who couldn’t or didn’t get a job had to
live in the streets. Another thing
that I learned was that since some kids got homes or they had to live in the
streets they were treated badly or were abused.
I learned that when the stock market crashed in October 29, 1929 it was
known as Black Tuesday. One quarter
of the banks failed, 10 men were immensely rich during the Great Depression and
1,000,000 were poor are two other things that I learned.
The thing that really surprised me was that 2,000,000 people became
hoboes. These are some of the
things that I learned about the Great Depression.
So, now I really enjoy reading class.
Do you think you would enjoy reading class if your class were reading Bud
Not Buddy? Is math really your
only favorite subject?
Another thing that has happened is Honor Roll.
This is where if you get As on your report card you get a blue ribbon
that says Fultondale Elementary A Honor Roll.
If you get As and Bs on your report card you get a red one that says the
same thing as the blue one, but the difference is that the red one says AB Honor
Roll. Luckily, I was the only one
in my class that made A Honor Roll. Some
of my classmates made AB Honor Roll. I
was just surprised when I got my A honor roll ribbon. When Mrs. Ramsay told us she was going to call Honor Roll I
was thinking, “ I’m going to get AB honor roll, I know it.”
Then when my name was called I was shocked.
Another thing hat has happened is that me, some of my friends, and
students in other 5th grade classes were chosen as 5th
grade Scholars. We got a letter
that said we were elected as 5th grade scholars.
Then, we would go to the Baptist Church here in Alabama.
There we would meet the superintendent.
Unfortunately, at that time I could not go because at that time I got a
really sore throat. I felt better
in the morning when I woke up. Mrs.
Cornelius our principal was able to give my certificate.
Anyways if we went we would meet the superintendent.
I have a question for you. Are
there any churches in Arizona?
Another thing that has happened is that Mrs. Ramsay took a trip to
Nicaragua. We learned many
interesting things. One thing is
that they actually speak Spanish there. Mrs.
Ramsay was able to communicate with them because Jersain, one of my classmates,
and I tutored Mrs. Ramsay in Spanish. We
give her flashcards, she studies them, I make a test, and Mrs. Ramsay takes the
test. On the first test that Mrs.
Ramsay took she made a 100%. Anyways,
we also learned that there are 32 churches in Nicaragua.
There are also many volcanoes. Mrs.
Ramsay said that one of the volcanoes you could see the lava at night.
The churches that Mrs. Ramsay showed us were majestic. One picture that she showed us made us laugh our head off.
There was a pig swimming in the water!!!
Of course you might see flying pigs, but this was a floating pig!
Mrs. Ramsay said this was because animals were used to go around freely
and they had adapted to swimming. So,
Tony this is some of the things that have happened so far.
In our Science class, which we have with Mrs. Wicker, we learned that
there was a meteorite (also known as impact crater) that actually hit Arizona!!!
Did you already know about this? Do
you have spelling bee in your school? We
do. My friend Gabby and I are in
it. My other friend Ashley was
going to be in it, but the day they were supposed to go to practice, Ashley
decided she didn’t want to be in it. So
my friend told me that I could enter it. Now
I’m in it and I hope that if I don’t win I’ll at least be in 2nd
or 3rd place. Have you
ever been in a spelling bee? This would be my 2nd time in the
spelling bee. I really don’t remember if this would be my second or my
third time in the spelling bee. Sometimes
I forget things that are really important and then when somebody asks me about
it I won’t even remember. This is all I have to tell you for now.
I hope you write back really soon!!
Your
E-pal,
Ariel
950
Central Ave.
Fultondale
AL. 35068
November 28, 2007
Dear
Kevin,
How are you doing? I’m
doing great. I am the third youngest in my family. I would like to go to
your school too. I have about 16
friends. How many do you have?
Does it get real cold in Arizona? It
gets real cold in Alabama. Maybe I
can get your phone number so I can call you sometimes.
Now to answer some of your questions: my favorite color is turquoise
blue. I have 2 brothers and 3
sisters. Their names are Seth,
Micah, Gaby, Molly, and Angel. My
friends’ names are Diana, Will, and Willie. I play games on the Internet.
I am playing basketball this year. We do have a lot of things in common.
That is really cool that we have a lot in common.
Maybe you might come to Alabama. That
would be awesome. Please keep
sending letters to me.
Have you heard about the Great Depression?
It is a time when people became poor.
They lost all their money. They
had to get food from food lines. People
lost their houses. They lost their
cattle also. Then, when World War 2
started, things got back in shape. They
had lost a lot of things. It got
back in shape because the Army needed guns and ammo so factories had to be
running and that gave people jobs. That’s
the Great Depression.
Sincerely,
Donny
950
Central Avenue
Fultondale AL. 35068
November
28, 2007
Dear
E-pal,
Hi, I am glad that you are having a great time.
I am too. My family is doing
well. How is yours? Next thing I want to tell you about is that I’m going to
start a reading girls club. It’s
going to be fun. Are you in a club?
Also what do you want for Christmas?
I really want a kitten and a laptop.
My mom said I could probably have them.
Last question is, what is your favorite thing about Christmas? I love to
do the baking. Like cookies and candies.
Next is do you
have e-mail? Also what is your favorite thing to do? My favorite thing to do is read and color.
Also, I like to do arts and crafts.
I also ask, do you have any animals?
I have a chaiweenie named Mya. Also
a rat terrier mix named Max. I don’t know if I spelled their breeds right
though. Last I love righting
stories.
Next thing
I’m going to tell you about is school. In
Math, I am doing well. Are you
doing well in school? In writing
lab, we are competing to be in the young authors’ conference.
I’m writing a story. We
also as I already got a new school. So
now they finally got our new playground. We
can go on it this Friday. Also
we’re going to have a Christmas party and a field trip.
I don’t know where yet though. Last
thing is what activities do you do in P.E?
We have done a game called Island Maniac.
It’s where you get to this big island and when the music goes off you
have to go to a little island and try to make it safe back with your play food.
In the game there are sharks all around you.
Next thing I
want to tell you about is about the Great Depression.
The Great Depression was a time of sorrow and bad times.
One of the books, we were reading was Bud Not Buddy. It is a time of the Great Depression. That is the time when the stock market crashed.
Also people fought and fought for a better life.
Next is that when they finally had peace.
Also before that they had no food or money.
Last is all the businesses were shut down and work was scarce.
Goodbye. Please keep in
touch writing. Also if you have an
e-mail send it please. Write soon.
Your
E-pal,
Marie