As a class, we have started reading the book "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer Holm. We are reading this as part of a Global Read Aloud, which will allow us to connect with other classes from around the world.
In the first five chapters we have met our main character Ellie. She is an 11 year old girl who has just entered middle school. A few of the fifth graders in our class are now a little bit nervous about going to middle school next year because of the things Ellie described. They don't have anything to worry about though because we know that they will end up loving it!
When we first met Ellie she told us about her pet goldfish, Goldie. She got him as a present in preschool from her teacher and still has him to this day (grade 6). It turns out though that her mother Melissa has secretly been replacing him whenever he dies, and that Goldie is in fact the 13th Goldie. We wondered why her mother would do that and talked about some of the reasons that she may have. We decided that maybe it was because she wanted to protect Ellie's feelings and only told her when she was older because she thought that she could handle it. As far as we know, no one in our class has been through a similar situation. We were curious though how old goldfish could live and discovered that the oldest goldfish on record lived to be 43 years old! Why do you think Ellie's mom kept replacing the goldfish without telling Ellie when they died? And has something similar ever happened to you?
We've also met our other main character, Melvin. Melvin is quite the character. He is a 13 year old boy but it turns out that he is really Ellie's grandfather! He tells her that he has discovered the fountain of youth and tested it on himself. At first Ellie is skeptical that he is really her grandfather, but soon she sees undeniable similarities and characteristics. Melvin talks about how scientists are different then other people because they don't see the impossible, only the possible. Even if they continue to fail they will keep trying because they believe that it is possible. We talked about some things that people have told us were impossible but with hard work we were able to achieve them. Katarina said that someone told her that she would never be able to make the competitive gymnastics team, but she did. Luke told us that someone told him that making 9A1 for hockey was impossible, but he made it. Can you think of a time that you were told something was impossible but you made it happen? What was it?
We are excited to continue reading the book and can't wait to find out what happens next!
Dear Miss Adamson's class,
ReplyDeleteYou've shared a great summary about the beginning of, The Fourteenth Goldfish. We like that you made connections to your own lives by sharing about a time that people told you something was impossible. It is very encouraging to hear that you were determined to achieve your goal. We are so glad that Katarina and Luke didn't give up on their dreams. They worked hard and persevered. Well done!
Our class has been thinking about what's Possible. We thought of things that don't exist now, but could with the help and persistence of science. We thought about the scientists shared in the novel like, Jonas Salk and Marie Curie. They worked hard to achieve their goals and never gave up. We recorded our ideas on a VoiceThread. It would be wonderful if you could visit our blog and let us know what you think too.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Your Global Read Aloud Pals,
Mrs. Moore and the Techie Kids
Michigan, USA
http://edublogs.misd.net/techiekids/2014/10/17/the-possible/
Sounds like an interesting book. Did Kennedy mention that we had a goldfish named Chuck that lived for seven or eight years?!!
ReplyDeleteGreat Summary!
ReplyDelete