Mr. Grinch

We are using the Dr. Seuss story of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' to learn some new concepts.

Using the song from the animated version of the story that is shown on television every Christmas, we distinguished between metaphors and similes.  In a metaphor one thing is said to be another.  Here's a wonderful example where the Grinch is told "You really are a heel."

Similes are a bit easier to spot, because the word like or as is used in the comparison.

"You're as cuddly as a cactus."

The BEST quote from the story became an art project last Friday.

The students also learned that synonyms are words that mean almost the same thing.  They brainstormed for synonyms of the word smile, then brainstormed again for ideas of what makes someone smile at Christmas.  Using that information they wrote a letter to the Grinch persuading  him to smile (or grin, or beam)  This letter explained to the Grinch that "You will feel better and you might even smile when you're drinking hot chocolate and eating Christmas cookies."

I love this one "You should smile because Jesus saved our lives and also other people will like to be friends with you."

The students are also practising making connections with the text.  That means that as they are reading, they are thinking about what they read and think about how it relates to an aspect of their own life, or reminds them of something else that they have read or they remember something in the world around them that is similar to the text they have read.  In this assignment, they used the three coloured hearts to write the connections that they made.