The second graders are reading a story called Brothers & Sisters. The word siblings is a fancy word that means your brothers and sisters.
The reading skill for the story is "Making Generalizations". A generalization (jen - er - all - i - za - shun) is a statement that is true most of the time.
All of the second graders in Mrs. Yollis' class have siblings. Even Mrs. Yollis has siblings! Below is an old photo of Mrs. Yollis with her younger brother and older sister. Can you use the context clues to figure out which person is Mrs. Yollis?
Here are some generalizations about siblings from the story:
1. A new baby can change life for everyone in the family.
2. Older siblings help younger brothers and sisters.
Although sisters and brothers sometimes fight,
a sibling can be a special friend.
Parents, family members, teachers, students: Please share a special memory about one or more of your siblings.
How has a sister or brother helped you in your life?
Have you ever done something for one of your siblings?
Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,
ReplyDeleteI love the photo of Mrs. Yollis and her siblings!
In my family we have six children. I am the oldest of four girls and two boys.
I have special memory of my sisters. When we were young, I used to dress them up and take pictures of them. They were so patience when I would style their hair, apply makeup and choose their clothes. Finally, I would select a location for the photos to be taken. I enjoyed creating these memories with my sisters!
Do you ever take photos of a sibling? If so, what do you like to photograph them doing?
Sincerely,
Melissa (Savannah's mom)
@ Melissa,
DeleteWow! Six kids in the family! You must have had a lively home! How did the siblings divide up the household chores?
Your sisters sound like they were very loving and patient with you. Your story reminds me of when my sister and I use to play dress up. We'd use my mom's make up and doll each other up! Fun times!
Thanks for sharing!
~Mrs. Y♥llis
Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
ReplyDeleteI love the picture, and I think Mrs. Yollis is in the middle :)
I'm a twin and I have an older brother. We fight a lot and we play a lot. We hardly get along all 3 of us. It is always two that are getting along and we take turns at that. But after all, I love my brothers no matter what .
Sincerely,
Ali and mom
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteI am Grace's sister Allie. My sister Grace gave me my name when I was in my mom's tummy. One way Grace helps me is with my homework. We love to play together, practice gymnastics and paint each others nails.
Sincerely,
Allie
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful photo of you and your siblings. I love looking at old photos when my sister and I were young. My sister is 9 years younger than me. I laughingly look back at the the day she was born, and recall as I quickly hid all of my toys and dolls under my bed so she wouldn't take them. I remember being surprised that all she did was eat, sleep and cry. Through the years, and many time to her disappointment, I was like a second mother to her watching over her and not letting her get away with anything. However now as we are both older, we have a wonderful, warm, sibling like relationship. I love my sister very much, and I feel blessed to have her in my life.
Victoria
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your comment. My twin sister and I, share many different toys together.
My older sister also helps me with my homework. Miriam is my favorite person to read with.
From,
Michael
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteI really like your post. I have two older sisters and one twin brother. What I like about my siblings is I like to play handball with them and I like to have a pajama party. I also like to play four corners and four squares.
What do you like to do with your siblings? What do you like to play with them? How old are your siblings? Did you play with them at siblings yard? I like play four corners with my twin brother at siblings yard.
From,
Hannah
@ Hannah, Michael, and Victoria,
DeleteThanks for all your terrific comments about having siblings.
You asked what my siblings and I used to do? We used to ride over to a creek by our our house on our bikes. We'd collect tadpoles and guppies. Sometimes we bring them home in a jar and watch them grow.
My sister, Jody, is two years older than me. Rob, my brother, is two years younger.
We did not have a sibling yard when we were in school. When we got out of school, we just walked home.
What is it like to be a twin? We interviewed some twins in our class, but what do you have to contribute?
Your friend,
Mrs. Y♥llis
Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,
ReplyDeleteIt seems Mrs. Yollis and I have something in common. I also had two siblings, one older and one younger. The difference was we were three boys. I didn't have a sister.
Seeing a picture of the three of us now, you couldn't tell oldest from youngest. The oldest is the shortest and the youngest is the middle height.
Can you use the context clues to decide who is the tallest?
My brothers and I have many more years of experience than you as students have had with siblings. Each of us knows if we needed help, the others would be there for us. Our link is much greater than just friends.
@RossMannell
Teacher (retired), N.S.W., Australia
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteWe have 22 students in our class, and we all have siblings. There are some things that we all have in common regarding our siblings. At one time or another, we have all been helped by a sibling, or we have helped a sibling.
Some examples include: helping a younger sister escape from a hole in the ground, assisting an older brother get along after he broke his leg, and helping an older sister after she had a tampoline accident.
Other time, we have been helped by our older siblings such as: being taught how to roller blade, helping out after a bike accident, and giving assistance wtih difficult homework.
Even though we sometimes argue with our siblings, we all agree that we love them and wouldn't trade them for anything!
SIncerely,
Mrs. Gehman's class
Dear Mrs. Gehman's class,
DeleteThank you for your wonderful comment. We cannot believe that you are beginning bloggers. Your comment has a compound sentence, great details, and it is interesting.
Our class has twenty-seven students, and they all have siblings! We have all helped our siblings too.
Older siblings have been very helpful. Roxie's older brother helped her over the summer because she broke her leg at gymnastics. He helped her get down the stairs. Ali's older brother helped him when he was ill. His sibling brought him books and electronic devices because he had to stay down. Sheila's older brother has helped her. She broke her nose when she tripped on cement, and he brought her cold cups of water when she was thirsty.
Many of us have helped our younger siblings. Darius helped his sister when she got a bee sting. He ran and got a bee sting removal kit and gave it to his dad. Nizma helped her younger sister when she had the flu. She would gather books and then read them to her younger sister. Adam has a younger sister. He often shares his gum with her. She loves that!
We also have special siblings in our class. Two boys have a twin sibling. They like it because they are always there for their twin. Although they are twins, they don't do everything the same.
Although everyone has siblings, what do you think would be good about being an only child?
Are there any twins in your class?
Sincerely,
Alec, Nick, Ali, Roxie, Darius, Adam, Nizma, Nate, Daniel, and Sheila
Mrs. Y♥llis' students
@Mrs. Gehman's class,
DeleteThank you for your wonderful comment!
Chloe, Aashi, Sydney, and Shayna all have 1 sibling. Aashi's little sister's name is Aarna. Chloe's younger brother's name is Elie. Shayna's older brother's name is Jack. Sydney's older sister's name is Alex.
Chloe helped her younger brother by helping him do his kindergarten homework. Aashi caught her 1 year old sister when she fell out of her crib. Shayna's older brother taught her how to ride a bike. Sydney helps her sister learn to talk, because she can't talk like we do.
Can one of your students comment back to us and tell how they help their siblings? How many of you have younger siblings?
Sincerely,
Sh♥yna, A♣shi, Chl♥e and Sydn♣y ( from Mrs. Yollis' class)
Dear Mrs. Yollis' students,
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding to our blog so quickly! We feel great and good that you took the time to write back to us. We noticed that your blog comments were written in third person. Do you in third grade also learn about different points of view?
None of the students in our class are only children, but there are some times we wish we were! Many of us agree that being an only child could be better. The benefits of being an only child include: not being criticized and bossed around, becoming the center of attention, not having hair pulled, not being blamed for the actions of a younger sibling, and not being picked on.
We actually have two sets of twins in our class. They are both boy and girl sets of twins. However, we do not have both twins in our classroom. We have the boy twins in our room and the girl twins are in a different fourth grade classroom. In our grade we even have a set of triplets! Do you have any triplets in your grade?
We enjoyed blogging for our first time. Tonight is our Back to School Night and we are excited to show our family what you have written to us!
Your blogging buddies,
Mrs. Gehman's Class
Dear Mrs. Gehman's class,
DeleteThank you for leaving such a quality comment!
In our group, we all have siblings.
Chance has one sibling in a first grade class, and she is six years old. Chance helps his younger sister with her homework. Sometimes he even helps his little sister with video games!
Samantha has one sibling who is six years old. Samantha helps her with projects for fun. Samantha plays with her a lot.
Allison has one sibling who is five years old. Allison helps her sister with her homework. Allison also likes to push her on the swing. When Allison is at the breakfast table with her sister, they play games.
Keira has one older sibling who is fifteen years old. Her older sibling often bosses her around. Even though she tells on Keira, her parents get mad at her for tattling. Sometimes Keira and her sister play games when they are happy.
Do your siblings boss you around? How old are your siblings?
Sincerely,
Keira, Samantha, Chance, and Allison
Dear Mrs. Gehman's Class,
DeleteWe appreciate your reply!
We also have a set of triplets in our school, but they are in the first grade. We also have two pairs of twins. We don't have all four of them in our class, only one from each pair.
You asked why we wrote with third person. We wrote like this so everyone would know that four people are talking. If we kept saying "I", it might have been confusing. We could have used a colon. Example:
Chloe: I have a younger sibling in kindergarten.
How was Back-to-School Night? What was your favorite part about it? What was your parents reaction when they saw our blog?
Sincerely,
Chl♥e, A♣shi, Sh♥yna, and Sydn♣y
Dear Chloe, Aashia, Shayna, and Sydney,
DeleteI am at back to school night right now, and so far so good.What is back to school night like in California? My mom was very impressed. How did you're parents react?
From
Katrina
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteHello! My name is Aarna and I'm Aashi's one and a half year old sister.
I pull Aashi's hair, but I don't know how to say sorry. Every day Aashi's says something like "Mommy! Aarna's chewing my pencil!" Who cares! Aashi has a ton of pencils in her room. I saw them, really! But we love each other anyway. It is called a geniebunnyz- forget it. It's too complicated.(Hi! Its Aashi. I think she means a "generalization".)
Aashi and I play peek-a-boo, sing nursery rhymes, play with mickey mouse in her room, and many other fantastically fun things.
What do you do to solve a problem with your older or younger sibling?
Ta ta,
Aarna