In-Class #2: Jack

10/13/2016

Dear Students,

Please read "Jack 1," which is a chapter in Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass. It is posted on Google Classroom. Choose one of the following prompts to respond to. Submit your response in class by Friday at the end of the day.

Happy Reading!

This Week's Prompt Choices (choose one):

Text Connection: Does this story connect with anything you have seen or experienced in your own life? Explain how.
Word Review: Look up three unfamiliar words and write their definitions. Quote the section of text where they appear. Explain their meaning within the story in kid-friendly language.
Character Study: Describe what kind of person you think a character is. Make inferences about the character’s personality from details in the text.

38 Comments

Ellie

10/13/2016 11:58:25 am

Dear Class,

Hi! It's me again! Today for the In-Class Blog I am doing a text connection.
I am connecting to a time that happened when I was six. I lived in a town called Grafton. One day I was upstairs in the house and I came upon a shelf with my mom's flute case and a photo album that looked rather dusty, as if it hadn't been touched in a year. I opened it and found a picture of my mom when she was pregnant. However, something got stuck on the case holding the picture, so it covered her head and for a moment that day I thought that someone had cut the head out of the picture.
That is my text connection for the In-Class Reading Response Blog.

Sincerely,
Eleanor

Nadya

10/13/2016 12:08:11 pm

Dear Ms.Kimball
I am doing a character study.I am going to describe the boy but I don’t know his name.I think he is a character that suffers a lot.I think that because he says himself that he has no friends and fails at everything.Also finding those pictures must make him very sad.His mother won’t tell him anything about him and knowing that secrets are being kept from you can be very hard.I feel sorry for this boy.
Sincerely Nadya

Alex

10/13/2016 12:09:34 pm

Dear Class,
I am doing a text connection. I think I relate to Jack because I'm not great at sports ethier. Usually in gym class I get cramps like Jack, and I’m also pretty slow, and I like to read and draw to. Also, my dad can be REALLY annoying sometimes. Also my sisters are kind of like Mike. They always annoy me, and try to beat me in everything, and after this year, I won't be in the same school as them again. And that is why I think I am like Jack.
From,
Alex

Wyatt

10/17/2016 02:17:13 pm

Dear Alex,
I like how you related yourself to Jack and explained your reasoning. Also, I like how you told me about your family and all of the problems. I am curious if you are good at football like Jack is. And what do you mean you won't be in the same school as your sisters. Finally, I think you should go into more detail about what sport you are good and not good at.

Sincerely,
Wyatt

caly

10/13/2016 12:16:48 pm

Dear Ms.kimball
I did a character study I hope you like it. Jack is a boy who´s father left him when he was just a baby and his mother is not happy about it because when Jack goes to look for pictures of his father he finds that all the heads are chopped off. Jack is a boy who I think he wants to follow in his father's footsteps but he cannot even get to the other side of his living room without getting a cramp. On top of all that Jack is sent to summer school and he claims he does not like being there. Jack also has a big secret almost so big it can touch the sky, he can fly.

Sincerely,
Caly

Ellie

10/17/2016 02:05:23 pm

Dear Caly,

Yo Caly! I really like your Character Study. I also like the way you said, "Jack has a secret so big it can touch the sky; he can fly." That's a creative way to put it!

I am wondering why you said, "Jack wants to follow in his father's footsteps." Why does Jack want to follow in his father's footsteps? What did his father do for a living?

What do you think Jack means when he says, "I can fly"? Do you think it is a metaphor? Do you think he can actually fly? Or do you think that maybe he daydreams so much that he thinks he can fly? (Hint, hint; read the sentences before the words "I can fly." That will give you a clue about what he means.)

Overall, I think your response is awesome, Caly! Thanks for writing!

Sincerely,
Ellie

Willie

10/13/2016 12:18:33 pm

Dear Class, In the cut of Every Soul a Star I read by Wendy Mass, I am writing Character Study on Jack, the boy in the story. I think Jack feels bad about himself because his older brother, is an all star at baseball as said in the text: “In fact, he’s the star first basemen for the high school baseball team.” I also think he rancors school a lot, because he never pays attention. The text made me think that when it said: “But not paying attention in class came back to bite me on the butt this year. Failing science class gave me a one-way ticket to summer school.” That is why I think he rancors school pretty much thinks it is a waste of time, a time eater. I also think he is a little depressed because he is a bit chunky, the text was leading me to think that when it said: “When they look at me, the other kids just see a big pudgy kid who sits in the back of every class drawing in his art book, or on his desk if the teacher confiscated the book.” That is what was leading me to feel like Jack is depressed. That is the kind of character I feel like jack is.

Sincerely,
Willie.

Nadya

10/17/2016 02:07:37 pm

Dear Willie,
I really like how you gave a lot of reasons that Jack was depressed.Can you explain what the word rancor means because I'm not exactly sure what that means.Do you think that if Jack put in the effort to try he would do better in school or not.And how do you think all this makes Jack feel.
Sincerely Nadya

Emma

10/13/2016 12:18:47 pm

Dear class,
For my topic I am doing character study. I just read the excerpt from “ Every Soul A Star by Wendy Mass”. If I were going to describe Jack, I would probably describe him as, someone who has trouble playing sports and being active. I know this because in the text it says” But I can’t even run across the room without getting winded or a cramp in my side” This shows that Jack can't really do any sports because he can’t run. One other inference I have to make on Jack is that he’s different from all the other kids. A detail that shows this in the text is “ All I want to do is be left alone so I can read (fantasy and SF), draw (aliens, monsters,and wizards), and conserve my energy so when everyone else is sleeping and dreaming their normal dreams, I can do something that most other people can't. I can fly.” This shows that Jack is different because, he can so something that most kids would dream to do. Jack can fly, this makes him very special.
Sincerely, Emma

Max

10/20/2016 10:43:38 am

Dear Emma

I like how you use text from the "book" to prove your point.
Also can you clarify at the end if you really mean that jack "can fly" because I thought that it didn't mean that he could literally fly.
In addition, what do you think the rest of the other story is about and if jack will get any friends?

Owen 5

10/13/2016 12:22:57 pm

Dear Mr.Kimball

Every Soul Star

Jack #1

Jack is a kid that does not know what his father's face looks like because when Jack was born his dad ran away leaving a pregnant wife and a 4 year old son. And Jack tries to find pictures but his mom snipped of his head on every picture leaving just his body.

Besides that he can't run across a room without getting a “winded cramp” but his brother could run across a field no problem and he was left in the dust whenever he did something with his brother Mike. Everybody thinks nothing of him he has no friends either. But Jack can do something most people can't he can fly! A brief summary is that I think all Jack needs is hope maybe if Jack sees a picture of his father's whole body he will have the hope to know his dad is with him.Also I think what he means by flying in his dreams and that would also give him hope

So I think this story has a lot to do with hope

Sincerely,
Owen 5

Katie

10/20/2016 10:46:46 am

Dear Owen 5,

I think that your response was done very well, and was detailed. Although, I think that you might have made it a little to detailed. I think that next time you should try to make your writing a little less detailed. Also, I’d like for you to clarify what your prompt was, because the succinct summary wasn’t a prompt this week. Next, what did you mean when you wrote “he could fly”? Did you mean that he can actually fly, or just in his imagination? Finally, I really liked your response.

Yours Truly,
Katie

Caroline

10/13/2016 12:23:57 pm

Dear class,
I am doing a character study.
In this one chapter Jack tells us about his father. I can tell that Jack is mysterious, I know this because in the chapter it says ”I found the pictures in a shoebox when I was snooping for christmas gifts a few years ago.” I can also tell because in the end of the chapter Jack says “I can do something most other people can't. I can fly” I infer that know one else knows that Jack can somehow fly. I also think that Jack is lonely. I know this because in the chapter it says “Everyone just sees a big chubby kid who sits in the back of the class” I can tell that jack thinks of himself as the knowbody. Jack thinks that no one wants to hang out with him and just want to make fun of him. I think that Jack needs to come out of his shell and make some friends.

Sincerely,
Caroline

Jacob

10/17/2016 02:12:37 pm

Dear caroline,
The book wasn't serious he can't fly it was just a metaphor.
Try to include more detail that supports the truth and take examples from the text. Like you did in some other parts which was nice so good job for that. Plus I think you should try to stay at your perspective because you said,"You think Jack thinks of himself as a nobody'.Do you mean you infer that he thinks he's a nobody.
Sincerely,
Jacob

Kate

10/13/2016 07:56:12 pm

Dear Class,

I’m writing a character study on Jack the main character in the text from the first page of Every Soul A Star. Jack seems to like to draw and read because he thinks “All I want to do is be left alone so I can read (fantasy and SF), draw (aliens, monsters, and wizards)”. So clearly he really likes to read and draw because he also says that he “sits in the back of every class, draws in his art book, or on his desk if the teacher confiscated the book.” He also seems a little bit lonely, because he seems very interested in his dad which makes me think he might wish he had a father still there. Also, he seems to lack self confidence because he thinks about himself, his appearance and abilities in a gloomy way. He says “ when they look at me, the other kids just see a big pudgy kid who sits in the back of every class”. In addition, he states clearly that he does not believe he is or will ever be any good at sports, more specifically football. That is what makes me think he is lacking self confidence.

Sincerely, Kate

max

10/14/2016 01:40:15 pm

Dear Class/Ms.Kimball

(this is a character study)

In the book Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass I think that the character Jack is a boy in middle school because in the story I read that:
“My brother Mike has two normal feet, and no problem running across a field. In fact, he’s the star first baseman on the high school baseball team. Luckily he's four years older than me.”
Since Mike is four years older than jack and there are only four years of high school, I assume that Jack is in middle school.

Also, I think that Jack likes to draw because in the story I read:
“Drawing in his art book, or on his desk if the teacher confiscated the book.”
So I assume that Jack likes drawing if he always is drawing things everywhere, even in school.

Sincerely Max

Emma

10/25/2016 01:58:40 pm

Dear Max,
I agree with you that Jack is in middle school. Also when you say that Jack likes to draw, why do you think he likes to draw? Max when you pulled out the first excerpt from the book. The excerpt said he had two left feet, Do you think that's a metaphor? Or do you think the author is trying to tell you something about Jack. Overall I think you did a good Job on your response.
Sincerely,
Emma

Anika

10/14/2016 01:48:17 pm

Dear Class,

This is my Character Study. I can tell from the text that the person who is narrating was named Jack since Jack was the title of the chapter. According to what I read I also think that Jack’s dad probably left Jack and his Mom assuming that his Mother said,” Anyone who would leave his pregnant wife and four-year-old son to ”find himself " didn’t deserve another thought.” so I can assume that that Jack doesn’t really remember his Dad since he was looking through his Mother’s picture box to find a picture that doesn’t have his Father’s head cut off. I can tell that Jack is curious though about his Father even though his Mother doesn’t think well of Jack’s Father, you can tell that Jack is curious because in the text Jack states himself that he wonder about his father. I also think that Jack is not the best school student either since he writes on his desk or draws in his art book. Jack also refers to himself as a big pudgy kid so I can assume that Jack isn’t the most slender kid either. It also seems that Jack compares himself to his older brother Mike who is a star baseball player on his high school team. I think an accurate inference to make about Jack is that he has had a hard life and that he’s not the most popular kid at school since to him other kids see him as a “big pudgy boy”. Also I think that Jack has a very big imagination in order to keep himself away from others and rejection since he says in the text, "All I want to do is be left alone so I can read (fantasy and SF), draw (aliens,monsters, and wizards),and conserve my energy so when everyone else is sleeping and dreaming their normal dreams, I can do something that most other people can't. I can fly." So that's my character study I hope that this teaches you a bit about what I think of "Jack".

Sincerely,
Anika

Thomas H

10/18/2016 10:59:06 am

Dear Anika,
That's one long character study! Congrats! I also think that Jack is not the most slender character, more one that lacks confidence. But how does Jack's life have an effect on you? What do you think is going to happen next? I ask you to play with your mind.
Do you have any connections in your life with jacks?
I do. I kind of live unknown here. Just like Jack.
I appreciate you listening to my feedback.
Sincerely,
Thomas H.

Kate

10/20/2016 10:57:27 am

Dear Anika,
I'm not your assigned partner but I'm rresponding to you anyway.
Your response was extremely desciptive and detailed. You also did a great job telling your audience abou Jack. What do you mean by "Jack isn't the best school student either," do you think Jack isn't smart, can't pay attention or just doesn't care? What do you think Jack means by he can fly? Also, when you say other kids see him as a "big pudgy boy" do you think Jack cares what these other kids think?

isaiah

10/14/2016 01:50:08 pm

Dear class,

I just finished “Jack 1” from every soul a star. The kind of character jack is is sneaky, and lonely. We know he is sneaky because he says “I found the pictures in the back of my mother's closet, in a shoebox, when I was snooping for Christmas presents”.
I think he is lonely because he says he gave up on things like competing with his brother, giving up paying attention, and making friends. Jack says “it's just too much effort. When kids see me all they see is a big pudgy kid who…” any way that's the kind of person I think Jack is, sneaky, but lonely. I feel kind of bad for him.

Sincerely Isaiah

Owen C

10/17/2016 02:06:26 pm

Dear Isaiah,

I really like your response. You did a good job connecting your thoughts to the text. Can you clarify a couple things for me. You said he was lonely. Can you back that up with some more evidence that the was lonely. And you also said some thing about a pudgy kid. Can you explain that a little more? I think that you can find one more trait about Jack. An what makes him sneaky? Can you reply back soon.

Sincerely,

Owen C

Jacob

10/14/2016 01:50:29 pm

Dear class,

The book Every Soul a Star is about a kid whose father left his family when he was four years old and he wants to know more about him so he looks in his mom’s closet and finds pictures of his dad with the head cut off of the picture then he stops trying in school and trying to get friends it is sad because he just wants to learn more about his dad but his mom gets mad if he asks.Plus, the doctor says he has bad feet and can’t run well.

Sincerely,
Jacob

Caroline

10/17/2016 02:09:32 pm

Dear Jacob,
It sounds like you likes the book. Did you? Did you learn anything about him?
What did you mean when you wrote the heads were missing, also what was wrong with jacks feet.
I would love to know more!
You had some funky grammer in there. Remember to fin the right places for periods. I almost ran out of breath, otherwise Good Job!

Sincerely
Caroline

Katie

10/14/2016 01:52:01 pm

Dear Class,

I’ m writing a character study on Jack, the, what seems to be, main character of the story. Jack seems to like art. I can tell because when the story was in Jack’s perspective, he said that he drew in his notebook during class and even sometimes on his desk. In addition, Jack seems like he might be being bullied because he talked about himself in a pessimistic way, as though that’s what he thinks other kids think. For example, he said that kids probably look at him as a “big pudgy kid.” He said that “he wasn’t any good at football” and could barely run. I think that he doesn't think that he does very well in gym. I also think that nobody believes in him, so he’s starting not to believe in himself.

Yours Truly,
Katie

Owen 5

10/17/2016 02:19:51 pm

Dear Katie,

I like how you laid the story out and you described it well but could you infer on Jack's personality. It seems that Jack does not believe in himself and he only believes in others that bully him, am I right? And do you think Jack ever got in trouble for drawing on his desk if yes why?

Sincerely,
Owen 5

Owen C

10/14/2016 01:53:11 pm

Character study.

Dear Ms.K

Jack is an interesting character. With that one page, I learned allot of info. Jack is kind of a guy who gets distracted easily. Jack has his own world like this. All he wants to read about is fantasy and SF. He also said that he can fly. Which I thing is one of those things he does in his world. The fact that he was snooping for christmas presents. That means that he is secretive. That is all i could find out about Jack.

Sincerely,

Owen C

Isaiah

10/21/2016 08:37:26 am

Isaiah's Reading Responses

Dear Owen C,

I think you did a good job on your response, although you might want to pay a little more attention to capitals I noticed you didn't capitalize the word I in the sentence "That is all i could find out about Jack". Also maybe you should also use full words instead of shortened versions, like instead of info you should write information. other than those little mistakes you did a excellent job.

Sincerely Isaiah

Owen C

10/25/2016 01:52:08 pm

Dear Isaiah,

Thanks for the tips. I will watch out for those little spelling errors. I thought you did a good job on your response.

Sincerely,

Owen C

Thomas H

10/14/2016 01:53:17 pm

Dear class,
Here is my character study.
I think Jack is cool but unknown. For instance, he can fly! That is cool. I think the ability to fly could make him popular, if the kids at school would give him a chance, when he says “I’m not good at anything…… I try to be liked.” I think this has made him want to be more unnoticeable.
I would advise him to do the things he wants--even if it means showing he can fly.
I think Jack is cool, but unknown.
Sincerely,
Thomas H.

Anika

10/19/2016 04:29:44 pm

Dear Thomas H,

I don’t necessarily agree with you, so let me explain why. I don’t really think that Jack can actually fly, I think that “ I can fly” is a metaphor to say that Jack is very creative on the inside but doesn’t let people know. So I don’t think that flying is one of his abilities I think that flying is something he thinks of so his life may not sound so bad to other people. So for me to understand, I ask you to clarify your thinking or to dig a little deeper with your thoughts on this. I also think that him not being good at anything doesn’t make him want to be unnoticeable either. I just think that maybe he feels a little excluded, and though I do believe my theory I would like to understand yours so I ask you to clarify what you mean or even to go deeper. And my final question to you is. Do you think the story could be about more than that?

Sincerely,
Anika

Wyatt

10/14/2016 01:59:52 pm

Dear Class,
I am doing a Character Study. I think Jack has gone through a lot with his father. Also, I think Jack is too hard on himself. And he thinks everyone thinks he is a “ big pudgy kid that sits in the back of every class drawing in his art book”. I think Jack a quieter because he quit in science but he is going summerschool, he’ll learn his lesson from that. Also, he said “ he’s trying to get people to like him but it is too much effort “.

Sincerely,

Wyatt

Alex

10/20/2016 10:42:30 am

Dear Wyatt,
I liked how you used a lot of quotes from the text. You also said " and he thinks everyone thinks he is a 'big pudgy kid that sits in the back of every class drawing in his art book'." Do you have and evidence to back this up? Also, can you add more detail on why you think Jack is a quieter?
From,
Alex

Willie

10/17/2016 02:13:33 pm

Dear Nadya,
Just saying, but the boy in the story is named Jack. I definitely agree with you that jack must be sad that his mother hates his father to cut off his head on all of the pictures she has of him. Also it must not help to have no friends. But what would you do in that situation? Would you be sad? Would you care?
Sincerely,
Willie

Nadya

10/25/2016 01:53:07 pm

Dear Willie I would be very sad if I were in Jacks place. I would definitely care.
Sincerely Nadya

Caly

10/18/2016 10:50:57 am

Dear Ellie,
I loved your text connection I just want to clarify on one thing, was you mom pregnant with you or one of your siblings( if you have any)? Also did your mom play the flute when she was younger? Other than that I think that you had a very nice text connection.
sincerely ,
Caly

Ellie

10/25/2016 01:50:28 pm

Dear Caly,

Thanks for the questions! At the time she was pregnant with both me and my sibling (we're twins!). Also, my mom still did play that flute from time to time, though I don't believe she does anymore.

Sincerely,
Ellie

Thomas B.

10/25/2016 01:42:03 pm

Dear class, I think Jack sounds like a very imaginative character. He also seems a little quiet. He always doodles silly comics, but he also drifts away and is distant from the other people.
Sincerely, Thomas B.

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In-Class #2: Jack

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In-Class #2: Jack

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Reading Response BlogForMs. Kimball's Grade 5 At Pine Hill, 2016-2017​

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Ms. Kimball's Grade 5 At Pine Hill, 2016-2017