Findings from Fletcher

1. Findings from Fletcher

3. Synopsis When the substitute for Mr. "Fab" Fabiano never shows up and his sixth-grade students are on their own, they set out to prove that they can run the class by themselves. With a little ingenuity and some careful planning, they might just succeed. But when a fight breaks out between Bastian Fauvell and Rachel White over a classmate, Tommy Feathers, who died six months earlier, everything begins to fall apart. Can Rachel deal with the anxieties that plunged her into silence the day Tommy died? Inventive and uniquely constructed, Flying Solo follows Mr. Fab's students hour by hour as they tackle the challenges of an unusual school day. Ralph Fletcher has written many well-received books for children. He lives with his family in Birmingham, Alabama.

4. Madison T. • “The instant Bastian opened his eyes he saw Barkley, curled up at the edge of his bed, staring up with eyes the color of gold coins.” • Pg. 7 • I used to not like writing because I thought it was boring but now I think it is okay because after I read Flying Solo I realize words can come alive when you are having fun and being creative.

5. Brooke Gates • “I can’t change that. But over the weekend I said to myself: “I can live with what I did. I’m not a terrible person.” And now I can say it aloud. • 138 • I used to like writing not love it, but now I love it so much because Flying Solo has inspired/taught me to share my thoughts in my writing, you can put great messages and lessons in your writing, and that even if your writing a false story that you can still put in some parts that may have happened to you, a family member, or a friend that other people may learn from that experience of that person or you, and that may teach the reader a very valuable lesson.

6. Student Name • “,Ho he does speak!” • 40 • This shows us to use words that aren’t normal to show how they say it.

7. Student Name • Quote from the text • Page • Your thoughts about writing

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11. Synopsis Take it from Cliff, being the oldest of six kids is not easy under the best of circumstances. Who can be Mr. Reliable all the time? How do you deal with a brother who enjoys sitting under the kitchen table for punishment? Or explain to your sister that she can't divorce herself from the family just because they eat meat? Or figure out what your baby brother wants for Christmas when he asks for a yidda yadda? Told in the first person, each lively, humorous episode from Cliff's fifth-grade year focuses on one of the kids. Together they create a strong, satisfying story of a large, closely knit family.

12. Student Name • Quote from the text • Page • Your thoughts about writing

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19. Synopsis Bobby loves spiders and is called "Spider Boy from Illinois" by a bully at his new school. At first Bobby's content with writing in his journal and caring for Thelma, his pet tarantula, but now he's stuck working on a school project with Lucky, another student. Bobby finds that Lucky's not bad for a girl, and things look even better when he sees a chance to get revenge on Chick Hall, the school bully. But Bobby's not ready for Chick's retaliation.

20. Student Name • Quote from the text • Page • Your thoughts about writing

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27. Synopsis Those six poisonous words suddenly turn the world of twelve-year-old Fletch upside down. In two weeks, he will say good-bye to his friends and leave behind that pretty girl with the dark dark eyes. Longing fills the time before moving day as Fletch yearns to keep life just the way it is. Even defrosting the freezer is hard; a "thick white layer of sadness" covers everything. Hetch worries that when he moves he Won't be from anywhere. He'll be "just a tumbleweed blowing across a dusty road." Ralph Fletcher's heartfelt, autobiographical poems are beautifully illustrated by Jennifer Emery and speak to anyone who has ever moved far away.

28. Gabriella Noreen • “Everything coated with a thick white layer of sadness.” • Page #23 • This metaphor made realize that it is easy to construct a simple metaphor. Before I thought that you had to come up with this whole special metaphor that is very advanced, now I know you don’t have to make your metaphor sound all advanced for it to be good. You can just make it short, sweet and simple to be great.

29. In this book Ralph puts a collection of poems into one book to tell the story of what his experience was like moving to Ohio. I enjoy reading Ralph’s writing because he has a fun and interesting way of doing it. He often explodes the moment which makes you just want to read more. Gabriella Noreen

30. Student Name • Quote from the text • Page • Your thoughts about writing

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36. Synopsis It’s the summer of 1973 and fourteen year old Matt spends his days working on a boat as a clam digger to earn extra money. His nights are another story—he spends time with his free-spirited cousin Jazzy who is visiting from Hawaii (and just happens to be beautiful). Matt can’t deny that his affection for Jazzy moves beyond a crush, and everyone knows you can’t fall in love with your cousin. Just when Matt decides to act on his feelings, Jazzy does something that changes everything between them. Like the one o’clock chop—the strong breeze that blows across the Long Island Sound—Matt’s summer proves to be as inevitable as a force of nature. Told with pitch-perfect angst and realism, Ralph Fletcher tells a gripping story of a teenager’s life-altering summer.

37. Mrs. Arzberger • “But it was Jasmine McKenzie who made the biggest headline in my life, a girl who happened to be my first cousin. I never dreamed I’d fall in love with her when she visited us from Hawaii, but that’s what happened.” –page 1 • Ralph uses the metaphor “made the biggest headline in my life” to describe the importance of Jasmine’s friendship during the summer of 1973.

38. In this chapter, Ralph uses events that happened during 1973 to hook readers’ attention.

39. Livi Moody • He handed mw a push broom and plastic bucket. • Page – 20 • When Ralph Fletcher said this quote it really made me think that as reader automatically I thought that the person handing him a push broom and a plastic bucket he wanted him to clean because he used descriptive words.

40. When I read Ralph Fletcher’s writing it really is like no other because everybody’s writing is different, and because when Ralph Fletcher writes he is unique with writing and uses descriptive words. So really anyone can be a famous writer like Ralph Fletcher but all you do is you need to believe and USE DESCRIPTIVE WORDS!

41. Allie Padgett • “They follow the spirit of the music, letting it carry them to a new place every time.” -Page 2 • “Letting it carry them to a new place every time.” is a personification. Music cannot carry you anywhere truly. Maybe music makes you happy so it carries you to a “happy place.” I learned that you can connect a personification to your feelings.

42. Ralph Fletcher uses many different tools and hooks to get you to keep reading. I love how he uses his own life experiences and puts it into his own writing. Such as he probably had dug clams so he puts that into his writing!

43. Ryan Padgett • “I had tried all the usual suspects- McDonalds, Dunkin’ Donuts, and the local hardware store, plus a greasy spoon called the Golden Egg that was famous for outrageous omelets- but I struck out.” • Page 6 • Ralph used the expression of I struck out to say that he had no luck in getting a job, because they had no openings.

44. Ralph uses phrases like I struck out and she was the biggest headline of my life to hook onto the reader and make them want to keep reading and he wants to make them so they don’t want to put the book down and that is how I felt.

45. Anna Zeek 5-W • Quote from the text “Mom says music’s in my blood’ • Page 55 • Your thoughts about writing Maybe if Ralph likes music it could be something his mom would say, so maybe he put some of his characteristics into the characters.

46. By: Anna Zeek 5-W I Wonder… What will Jazzy do to make things change between them? Will he ever get enough money to pay for the Boston Whaler?

47. Katie Seitz • Quote: “How do you know all this stuff?” • Page #: 4 • My thoughts about writing: My thoughts about writing are that when somebody is a whiz at something you should tell them because your praise that you give the person tells them to keep on doing it and to get even better!

48. I think that when somebody is a whiz at something, you should praise them so they keep on trying and that they feel great!!!!

49. Lou Sugo • Quote: “They kept talking like that, words bouncing back and fourth” • Page #: 40 • Ralph taught me that even a simple sentence like this one can become the center piece of the page because of your word choice. You can tell Ralph put a lot of effort into this sentence to make it stand out like it dose.

50. Ralph dose not only do this type of writing throughout his whole book . Ralph makes his book interesting with his writing abilities and his spectacular word chioce. - Lou Sugo