Chapter 3- Sara Plain and Tall

Chapter Summary-
Sarah comes to the prairie by train. Papa picks her up at the station and brings her home. Anna and Caleb wait for her to come and Caleb spots her yellow bonnet first. Sarah is just what she said-plain and tall. Seal is with her. Sara gives both children special gifts from the sea. For Caleb a moon snail. For Anne a sea stone. The children think the Sarah already misses the sea, but she gets settled and they hope she stays.

What we learned about-

Science- (Smooth Stones, Rock tumbler continued....)
Science- (Sea shore Field Trip at Low tide, Exploring the Atlantic Ocean)
Language arts- (Writing,Vocabulary and Making connections)

Language arts- (Writing,Vocabulary and Making connections)

The kids continued with their journal. After reading the third chapter they had to complete questions about the chapter and compare and contrast the beach to the prairie.  They also made predictions, wrote chapter titles, asked question, and  made connections about the story. (I used www.teacherspayteachers.com for the journal paperwork)

Science-(Sea shore Field Trip at Low tide, Exploring the Atlantic Ocean)

We took at trip to a Cape Cod Beach at Low tide. We explored the ocean life.

Science-(Smooth Stones, Rock tumbler continued....)

A rock tumbler works on the same principal as water in the sea and sand. It uses electricity with grit and water to smooth the stones. This has been fun for the kids to experience. The kids Made a video of there progress with the rock tumbler... It takes awhile to complete. 

Thanks for reading! 

Chapter 2- Sarah Plain and Tall

Chapter Summary-
Caleb, Anna and Papa all write Sarah Letters. Sarah Responds, answering questions about herself, Maine, her cat and her brother William. The children enjoy reading the letters. Papa has told the children that Sarah has offered to  come for one month to visit and see how they all get along. The children eagerly give there consent. The days go by and Sarah sends them her response. Its short and to the point.

What we will cover in this chapter-
Language arts- (Writing,Vocabulary and Making connections)
Fine Arts- (Colors of the sea, oil Pastels)




Language arts- (Writing,Vocabulary and Making connections)

The kids continued with their journal. After reading the second chapter they had to complete questions about the chapter, look up vocabulary words and wrote a letter to Sarah. They also made predictions, wrote chapter titles, asked question, and  made connections about the story. (I used www.teacherspayteachers.com for the journal paperwork)

Fine Arts- Colors of the sea
Sara Tells Caleb she loves the colors of the sea. The kids created a memorable art project with oil pastels using only blue, gray and green. We talked about different shads, values and combinations of the 3 colors.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 1- Sarah Plain and Tall

Chapter Summary-
The first chapter begins with a introduction to Caleb and his sister Anna. We find out their mother died when Caleb was born, and now the children live with there father Jacob Witting, and their two dogs on the prairie. Caleb asks Anna about the day she was born. Anna tells him the story the best she can remember. Caleb knows that his mother sang beautiful songs. The children's father tells them some interesting news. He has placed an advertisement for a wife -- a new mother for Caleb and Anna. They were surprised. They were also surprised when they received a response. Papa reads the letter from Sarah. Sarah sounds kind. Papa sends a letter back and asks if Sarah sings.

What we will cover this Chapter- 
History and Geography- Kansas, Prairies
Science- Babies and Human Development
Science- Rocks, 3 types
Language Arts- (writing, vocabulary, making connections)

History and Geography- (Kansas, Prairies)
Even though the author dosen't tell as exactly where Anna and Caleb live. We can guess they live in on a prairie in Kansas.  Lily and Aj completed a worksheet about Kansas and watched a video.

Science- Babies and Human Development
In chapter 1 Anna tells Caleb about when he was born. We took some time and discussed how babies develop before they are born. We read a book about how this happens.

Science- Rocks, 3 types
On page 4, Anna Turns the bread dough she has been kneading out onto a marble slab on her table. We learned what type of rock marble is. We also wanted to know what other kinds of rocks there are. This chapter was the perfect opportunity to learn about rocks, (Where are they from? and How are they formed?) Lily and Aj decided to use a rock tumbler over the next couple of weeks to learn how to smooth rocks. (I will post the results later.) They also read books, completed 3 work sheets and watched a video about rocks form Bill Nye the science guy.

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Language Arts- (writing, vocabulary, making connections)

 The kids started a journal. After reading the first chapter they had to complete questions about the chapter, look up vocabulary words and describe the main characters of the story. They also made predictions, wrote chapter titles, asked question, and  made connections about the story. (I used www.teacherspayteachers.com for the journal paperwork)

Thanks for reading! 

Hope you enjoyed our activities.