Just what the heck really happened at the end of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole?

My friend Travis Jonker wrote about 6 Theories on the Ending of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole.

What is your theory about what happened at the end of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole?

Answer this question in Google classroom for a chance to get some extra credit!

2nd quarter extra credit...

My mom just got a new puppy. His name is Audie. Yesterday I took this picture of him and his expression seems very meme-worthy to me, don't you think?


Your extra credit project is to make Audie his own meme.

Here are a few examples of my favorite memes:

Due date: before Christmas break

Ways to turn it in:

• Print it out and give it to me
• Email it to me
• Tag me on Instagram

3rd quarter extra credit: Newbery/Caldecott Challenge

For those of you looking for a challenge in your reading, for extra credit, you can do one of the following:

1. Read one of the 2013 Newbery honor books and write a review of it in your literature journal, explaining why you think it is worthy of a Newbery honor.

The 2013 Newbery honors are:

• Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
• Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
• Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

2. Read the 2012 Newbery winner, Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos and then write a review of it in your literature journal, explaining why you think it is worthy of a Newbery award.

3. Read ALL of the 2013 Caldecott honor books and write a review of them in your literature journal, explaining why you think they are worthy of a Caldecott honor.

The 2013 Caldecott honors are:

• Creepy Carrots! illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds
• Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
• Green, illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• One Cool Friend, illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo
• Sleep Like a Tiger, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue

The responsibility falls on you to get a hold of these books if my library or the school library does not have some of them. 

To help you with this assignment, here are the criteria for selecting a Newbery and Caldecott award:
Newbery Criteria
Caldecott Criteria

What is NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing month, is an entire month dedicated to writing your very own novel. November begins this month long endeavor and adults around the world participate in this program for the thrill of attempting to write a novel in only one month. But kids can participate in the Young Writer’s Program of NaNoWriMo and also write their own novels, too. For kids the word count is lower than the adult version, but there is still huge satisfaction in setting a goal and acheiving it. For kids who want to sign up and parents who want to know more, go to the following website:

NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program


Remember, this is a huge opportunity for extra credit in English for 2nd quarter.

If you're interested in doing this, please sign up on the website and then respond to this post with your user name.

Literature Extra Credit Opportunity

We talked in class today about two extra credit opportunities for literature.

Way #1

Write more than 6 letters per quarter in your literature journal

This is a fairly easy, straightforward way of boosting your grade: go above and beyond the minimum requirement. Write over six quality letters to classmates or to me and you'll earn one point per extra letter you write.

Way #2

Sign up for and maintain a Goodreads account

Goodreads is one of my favorite Internet websites. It allows you to keep track of the books you've read and the books you want to read. This can be a big help for you this year given your twenty book requirement. In order to earn your extra credit, you must consistently update your account - not just sign up for it and forget about it. Be sure to "friend" me too once you've signed up so I can keep track of your activity and therefore give you your extra credit.