We've been enjoying the start of the book! Yesterday we talked about why E.B. White might have chosen to end so many of the chapters with a journal entry by Sam. It seems like an unusual way to end a chapter. One of our ideas was that when the chapter ends with a journal entry, it makes it really feel like a whole day passed. We feel like we're going to bed, just like Sam.
Another idea we had was that the questions at the very end of the chapter give readers something to think about, if we stop reading at the end of the chapter.
What do you think about the journal entries? Do you like them?
Room 21
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Our class does not like the journal entries because the entries do not relate to the story that well. They seem to come out of nowhere in his thinking, and we would like more explanation from Sam about them. The entries seem random and not connected to the main idea of the chapter.
ReplyDeleteWe do really like the book and can't wait to see what happens next!
Mrs. Willett's Class
We agree that some of the comments were random. We especially thought that question about "What will I be when I grow up?" was REALLY random, but then we remembered the very beginning of the book, when it said that the only problem Sam had was that he didn't know what he was going to be when he grew up. We think that maybe this is going to be a big problem throughout the whole book, and so maybe the comment wasn't really as random as it seemed.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't mind the diary entry. In fact, we have taken Sam's idea and created our own "wondering" questions. We got really excited when we read E.B White's use of vivid adjectives about the predators lurking in and around the water. We thought we would record these rich vocabulary words and use them in our own writing. We can't wait to see what happens next and if our wondering questions will be answered in the next few chapters.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Savoia's Class Room 25
We like your ideas! Maybe we'll try them ourselves!
ReplyDeleteMs. Domina's class (Room 21)