At the Aquarium: Out of My Mind

Melody learned at the aquarium that a good friend stand up for each other for example, when Claire said to rose “you are here with Melody on purpose” and rose said “yes”.

Ollie’s life is like the fish in aquarium because they both stuck in a tank and they can’t get out. Like when Ollie die the fish in the aquarium want to die because they do the same thing every day.

Melody life is like the fish in the aquarium because the fish can’t talk and they both can’t say anything and they both have so much to say.

Is Melody like a normal that she has a medi-talker?

OOMM GRA

I think Melody is mad that she didn't go to Washington D.C.  I think this because Melody was very excitto go because she worked very hard and she was looking forward to meeting the president.

I think it was ok for Melody to scream, kick and hit her mom  because it was not hurting her mom. She was only trying to save Penny from getting run over. I think Melody's dad was suppose to be watching Penny go outside. I think Melody should not blame herself because it was her dad's job to be watching Penny.

If you were Melody and wanted to save your sibling how would you do that?

The Most Important Part of OOMM

We just finished reading Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.
I think the most important part of out of my mind is that everyone is different and you have to deal with it so you just have to treat everyone how you want to be treated and nobody should feel bad about being different.you just have to deal with it make the best of it.

Another important part is that sometimes friends are not your friend and they can hurt you alot I think this because when rose didn't call her she got really upset. Rose also hurt melody when she looked like she was embarrassed to be spending time with melody because she was disabled. She said she had a good time but melody doubted it.but Catherine was almost always true to melody she always stuck to melody's side.

How would you  feel if you had a friend that wasn't really your friend?

Have you ever felt really different?

The Important Thing About OOMM by Mrs. A.

Dear Students,

The important thing about Out of My Mind is that it makes me realize what a special person it takes to truly be friends with someone like Melody.  We have talked about how many of us would be nice to her, but being her friend would be different.

When I was in elementary school, I had a friend who had muscular distrophy and she was in a wheelchair.  She could speak and write and even walk if she was at home, but she was too frail to walk at school or in public places.  She could easily fall over if bumped even a little, and her bones were so fragile that she could get injured easily.  Her name was Lynn. 

Lynn was my friend in kindergarten through about 2nd grade.  I would go to her house.  I would play with her at school.  But things changed in 3rd grade.  I stopped talking to her.  I was ashamed because she wasn't "cool" or "normal."  I remember in high school she would wheel around in her chair and I would ignore her.  Thankfully, she had friends.  They were nice girls, who didn't care about her wheelchair.

Lynn died when we were seniors in high school.  I went to her funeral, but I was embarrassed to confront her parents.  I cried, and felt a lot of regret.

The important thing about Out of My Mind is that it reminded me to never let something as superficial as a wheelchair, and my worry about what others may think about me, impair my judgement about who someone really is.  Melody was much more than her wheelchair.  She was a girl with hopes and dreams and feelings and love.  She was a lot like . . . me.

-Mrs. A.

Out of My Mind

It seems like Melody has a good relationship with Rose For Example, Rose went to the aquarium with Melody even though Melody was not one of the "normal kids."Would you like to have a friend like Rose and why?.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Ollie's life and the fish in the aquariums lives are very different For Example,The fish in the aquarium are happy because they have other fish to play with and ollie and melody don't.                                                                                                                                                                               
Melody's life has got much better since she was 5 For Example, she now has one friend and when she was 5 she had no friends.

Out of My Mind

                                                  Out of My Mind

I think that Melody is really good at making friendships. I know this because when Melody met Rose in music class she was really happy and nice to her. At the trip to the aquarium Melody was really nice friendly. To me it seems like Melody and Rose are best friends and they probably are. When Rose and Melody where at the aquarium Clair and Molly who were really mean to everyone and made fun about the fact that Melody and Rose were at the aquarium together but that still did not do anything to harm Melody’s and Roses friendship.

I think that Ollie would have liked it beater in the aquarium When. Melody was at the aquarium there were a lot of fish and I think that Ollie would have liked it there and I think that Ollie would have fit in with all the other fish. I know this because since Ollie was behind her gold fish bowl the whole time of her life. Ollie probably would have liked to live with the other fish inside the aquarium because that way Ollie would have a lot of friends and Ollie also would have way more room to swim in.

OOMM By Shimon

I think Melody will get a laptop like rose except better. It could talk and you just need move the mouse and click where or what you want it to say.

I feel bad for Melody when she went to the aquarium and she was thinking about Ollie and how maybe he wanted to live there. Maybe Melody is right and he wanted to leave to the aquarium because he hated the bowl.

Melody's Field Trip and Friendship

I think that Melody leaned that you can have a lot of friends but you can't have all of them. I think this because, at the aquarium she had a couple of friends but not all. For example, Melody had Rose with her when she went to the aquarium but there were two mean kids (Molly and Clair.).

I think Melody thinks that Ollie would like the fish tank. (with out the sharks.) I think this because there is more room for Ollie and Melody would be able to see her.

The Aquarium

I think Melody learned to stick up for each other for example, when Mrs. V stood up for Melody when Clare and Mollie when they were making fun of Melody. But Rose didn't stand up for Melody that much.

Ollie’s life and the fish in the Aquarium life mirror on each other for example, Ollie was living in a small bowl and the fish in the Aquarium live in a huge tank. But Ollie gets fed fish food but the fish in the Aquarium don’t.

  Have you ever went to the Aquarium?   

Aquarium

What Melody learned about friendship is that it’s hard to bring a friend somewhere I think this because the friend Rose was looking at Melody’s little sister a lot because and saying she’s so “cute”. Or when Rose saw the bullies from school they were dressed up as girl scouts but they here making fun of them like calling Rose weird for being with Melody.

Ollie’s life compares to the life of fish in the aquarium because there all just stuck in bowl getting looked by people, getting feed and swimming around.

Ollie’s life also is like Melody’s life because Melody was stuck   couldn’t get the words she needed to get out, like she was trapped in a bowl.

O.O.M.M.

Melody learned from Mrs. V that a friend is a friend. I think this because when Molly and Claire were being mean to Rose Mrs. V stood up for Rose and Melody.

Ollie was stuck in a small bowl like Melody stuck in a small world. But the fish in the aquarium they get a big tank. 

Global Read Aloud Update

The Global Read Aloud (GRA) experience is going strong.  The students are connecting with the story of Melody, and they love sharing the story with our partner class in Florida.

We Skyped our partner class again today and while students were doing a 1:1 Skype with their assigned partner, the rest of the class was "backchanneling."  Have you heard of backchannels?  Backchannels (the one we used was at todaysmeet.com) are private spaces where selected people chat about a subject.  The students were able to ask questions about each other, and most importantly, have an online chat about the GRA book.  Students discussed the characters, plot, problems and more about Out of My Mind.  It was amazing to see conversations happening on Skype, while the rest of the students were engaged in an online discussion.

Here are some pictures of the Skype/Backchannel session.  Hopefully some of the students will post reflections on this experience next week!

O.O.M.M.

 The author put the story of Ollie the  fish because Melody’s has a similar life.They both can’t talk and Ollie is stack in his boll.

           

Melody and her fish Ollie live on the same world they both can’t tell people how they feel or what they want.  

Melody feeling when she couldn't tell her Mom how her fish Ollie really died were ,sad ,angry and she felt alone.                                                                                                    

What do you think about Melody’s life?

OOMM

Melody felt mad with her mom because she could not tell her that Ollie  jumped out of her bowl. Melody’s mom said Melody what have you done? Melody wanted to answer her mom. In the story “she was angry I was too’’

I think Ollie and Melody are the same because they both can’t move around a lot and both can not talk 

Our First Skype

  Last Friday we Skyped with MJGDS for the first time.  I  think it went really well.  I think it went really well because we all met our partners, we had a check in with our partners about where we were in the book and we each had questions for each other.  I was one of the three kids that got to ask a question.  I think it was good this time but next time it will be awesome!!!


  Next time we Skype it will be with another school.  I do not know what the school is called but they have also been reading Out of My Mind.  The Skype will be a lot better even if they only have four kids.

  Did you ever Skype anyone?

Out of My Mind

Melody was like hear fish because they both can’t talk, and walk .Melody is also like her fish because they can’t say what is going on in there brain. Ollie jumped out of a tank. And could not breath. And Melody could not get her mom to get up in time. So Melody put water on the fish but it died. Melody felt stupid when she could not tell her mom what really happened when she got there.

Is Melody Going To Learn How To Talk and Walk ?

OOMM Melody and Ollie

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Ollie had a very sad life just swimming in circles all day. I think Ollie swam out of his bowl because. He thought that he could live outside of his bowl and wanted to see what it was like outside. I think what Melody did to try to save Ollie was a good idea but it wasn't enough to save him.

I think Melody’s life is like Ollie’s because Ollie is stuck in a bowl and Melody is stuck in a wheelchair and they both can’t get out.

I think that Melody is feeling very bad because she said that she wished that her mother could understand what she was really trying to say. Do you think Melody is ever going to learn how to talk? How? 

O.O.M.M

We are reading Out of My Mind By. Sharon Draper

I feel bad for melody she wanted to tell her mom so badly what really happened to Ollie that he jumped out of the bowl and that she did not tip the bow.Her mom was kind of yelling at her because the mom thought that she tipped the bowl.

Ollie had a life like melody it seemed like he was stuck in the bowl.It seemed like he wanted to be free like how melody would want to be.She would want to talk and walk but she can't.Melody feels like she is stuck in the bowl because she does not feel free.

I think Ollie had a tornado reaction so he probably just jumped right out of the bowl and sadly died.I think that he freaked out.

Ollie the Fish

OOMM Globel Read Aloud by Sharon m. Draper

   I think Melody talked about Ollie in the book. Because it probably reminded her about her self. This is how I think this reminded her about Ollie. Ollie died when Melody was 7.

    Ollie feel out of the bowl and Melody poured the bowl out so melody would get water but it didn't work so Ollie died.

    I think Ollie is like Melody because he wants to talk but he can’t like Melody they both can’t talk but they both try.

      Melody was probably sad because in the book she was crying. She couldn't tell her mother what she was feeling. Melody hit the fish bowl over but she couldn't tell her mom why.

Why do YOU think Melody is telling the story about Ollie?

How do YOU think Melody is feeling.

OLLIE THE FISH

               OUT OF MY MIND

                               BY SHARON M DRAPER

I think that when Melody is calm and relaxed (it sometimes happens when she is listening to music or audio books) she would look at Ollie (Pet Fish) and feel good like she could anything like a “normal” (non-disabled) child.                                                                      

I think that Melody’s life mirrors Ollie’s when Melody is wanting something but people don’t know what she wants I bet she feel like she is stuck in a bowl.

Melody’s probably feeling upset when she can’t tell her mother what actually happened when Ollie died, he was her friend and she felt better when she looked at him during the middle of a bad mood. She also can't get the words out.

DO YOU HAVE A PET THAT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD AFTER A BAD MOOD?

DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE YOU’VE LOST YOUR VOICE?

DO YOU EVER FEEL UPSET WHEN SOMETHING SAD HAPPENED BUT YOU DON’T WANT TO TELL ANYONE?