PICTURE BOOK #2

1/27/2021

Novel Approach Time!

Today was a busy day of learning. Students were introduced with 'BOOK TALKS' on their new picture books, they engaged in 'READ TO SELF' and 'LISTEN TO OTHERS READ', and they conducted a scientific investigation using the scientific method. Many students made a hypothesis on what would happen if they wrapped a coil of wire around an iron nail and then they tried to see how many paper clips they were able to pick up with the electromagnets they created. Learning was all around us!

IMPORTANT:

Parents, please talk to your child about the picture books they are reading in the class and the reading strategies, gift of words, book clubs, and thinking and learning questions they are working on.

LEARNING:
1.) SCIENCE:

Complete the first two pages of the lab booklet handout.
We will continue the lab tomorrow.

2.) POST A RESPONSE: (EVALUATION)

Today, your PAR will be an evaluation. You must complete all components of the SUCCESS CRITERIA BELOW to receive a proper evaluation.
You will write a POWERFUL RESPONSE for 'THE BRIDGE HOME'.
This will tell me if you have been listening to the read aloud and paying attention.
LEARNING INTENTION: I can write a POWERFUL WRITTEN RESPONSE of the big idea!
SUCCESS CRITERIA:
1.) Paragraph format
2.) Follows the criteria/rubric outlined here for the 'EXTENDING' column.
3.) Check for the givens (spelling, grammar, sentence structure, capitals, and punctuation).
4.) Ask one student a questions about their POWERFUL RESPONSE.
5.) Respond to any questions you receive.

VIDEO LINKS:
Q&Q with Author Padma Venkatraman

Rhea

1/27/2021 04:17:15 pm

1st

Rhea

1/27/2021 04:17:52 pm

YAYYYY

Magnus

1/27/2021 04:17:41 pm

2nd

lars

1/27/2021 04:29:04 pm

am i seriously third i was late bruh

Magnus

1/27/2021 04:41:37 pm

The Bridge Home is a book about two sisters that try two find a safer life in the city. I think that the big idea for the book is that every choice has a consequence both good or bad. One example with a choice with a good consequence is when Viji made the choice to leave her family with her sister to go to the city. They end up living on the streets with two boys. Another example was when Viji had to sell her sister's dog so she could by some medicine. The medicine was not that effective against Rukku Mutu's sickness, and the outcome wasn't good. I think that the story had some hard choices and the characters were able to handle them, but they did not see them coming. One connection that I have with the book is that I have seen homelessness in some cities but it's not as bad compared to the homelessness in the book. After reading the book I am not surprised that when your homeless and don't have a lot of money, you have to be more careful and wise when spending the money. If you buy the wrong thing, then your chance of surviving gets lower. In the book, the main character learned that blaming yourself after the problems you face will not help you. To sum up, every time you have to make a choice, don't be surprised with what comes next.

Magnus

1/27/2021 04:42:42 pm

I could add more transition words

Trevor

1/27/2021 08:02:01 pm

What do you think the city was like? Was it more residential or commercial?

Magnus

1/27/2021 04:44:42 pm

The Bridge Home is a book about two sisters that try two find a safer life in the city. I think that the big idea for the book is that every choice has a consequence both good or bad. Firstly, when Viji made the choice to leave her family with her sister to go to the city. They end up living on the streets with two boys. Secondly, when Viji had to sell her sister's dog so she could by some medicine. The medicine was not that effective against Rukku Mutu's sickness, and the outcome wasn't good. I think that the story had some hard choices and the characters were able to handle them, but they did not see them coming. One connection that I have with the book is that I have seen homelessness in some cities but it's not as bad compared to the homelessness in the book. After reading the book I am not surprised that when your homeless and don't have a lot of money, you have to be more careful and wise when spending the money. If you buy the wrong thing, then your chance of surviving gets lower. In the book, the main character learned that blaming yourself after the problems you face will not help you. To sum up, every time you have to make a choice, don't be surprised with what comes next.

Dylan

1/27/2021 04:47:32 pm

What was your favourite part of the book @Magnus?

Magnus

1/27/2021 06:16:17 pm

I'm not sure but I liked the part when Rukku met Cootie

Dylan

1/27/2021 04:46:38 pm

What would you do, if you were stranded in the streets, had no home to seek refuge except for the one with you abusive father, and had to care for not only yourself, but your sister too? This is what the characters of "A bridge home" had to go through. I think the big idea of the book is that you should always try to care for one another, no matter what the cost. For example, when Rukku sold their dog to buy medicine for Viji. This was costly, but necessary if she wanted to have a chance at your sister surviving. I think that this big idea should be used every day throughout life, and you should care for your family. For instance, if you pushed away the people you loved most, and acted rudely to them, they will not be impressed, but if you show them kindness and respect, they will probably show that back to you. To illustrate, I notice that when I'm mean to one of my family members, they tend to respond with the same mannerism, which is not what I would like. An example of an inference I made while reading was, in the book, when Rukku sold the dog, she didn't tell Viji that, but instead told her that she ran away. The book didn't say why, but I inferred that she did it to protect her feelings, and to not make her think that her dog being sold was her fault. I think one of the connections I made was, when I was reading, it reminded me of a book I read, called "A Long Road", where two siblings have to escape from Guatemala to America, in order to escape a drug dealing group that wants to kill them. Over the process of reading, I learned that you should care for others as you would care for yourself, and that they will do the same for you. Viji and Rukku learned something similar to me, which is that you should learn to care for each other, and do what's best. Overall, this was a very powerful, and emotional book, and is about learning to care for each other. You should always treat them as you would like to be treated, and show them that you care for them just as they care for you. Just as Rukku and Viji did.

Jacqueline

1/27/2021 05:55:28 pm

Who is your favourite character?

Dylan

1/28/2021 01:39:42 pm

The one who died

Annisa

1/27/2021 04:47:46 pm

4th

1/27/2021 05:03:38 pm

R
Y
O

Kyle C

1/27/2021 05:30:22 pm

sixth!

lars

1/27/2021 05:33:41 pm

Have you ever been in a place where there were children on the streets, begging for food? The Bridge Home is a great book with a third-world setting, written as a letter to the main character's sister, Rukku. The two kids' father is very aggressive toward them and their mother, and eventually they run away from home to the city. They meet two boys, Arul and Muthi, and they become very close, almost like family. They also have a loyal dog named Kutti, who came with them from their house. Sadly, Muthi and Rukku get sick, and Rukku passes away. I think the big idea of this book is that life isn't fair, but you can get past the bad parts and keep going. If you let yourself give up when things aren't going your way, or not let yourself enjoy good things because of bad things, there's not really any point in living.

Magnus

1/27/2021 06:18:57 pm

What breed do you think Cootie is?

Trevor

1/27/2021 06:55:33 pm

Hey Magnus! do you mean Kutti?

lars

1/28/2021 08:07:56 am

DOBERMANN
pog
idk actually

Trevor

1/27/2021 06:55:10 pm

I think it is spelled Muthu...

lars

1/28/2021 08:06:06 am

i googled it lol

lars

1/28/2021 08:06:37 am

it is Muthi

lars

1/28/2021 08:10:32 am

wait in some places its muthi some places muthu did they just make the same typo a lot of times

Taiki

1/27/2021 05:34:21 pm

Imagine when you are trying to survive in on the streets with your little sibling and a dog. The perfect book for you is "THE BRIDGE HOME." I think the big idea of this book is great effort will be rewarded, for example Olympic athletes train to win the medal and some people are successful of it. I thought of this because despite losing the dog was sad, they were able to get medicine and good food and Viji was able to go to school to become a teacher at last. I can really connect to poverty and the BLM movement right now and it is a very interesting book. Although it did not say in the book, I can infer Rukku knew Viji sold her dog because she was so sad that she didn't even take her medicine. From this book, I learned that great effort will be rewarded and I think Viji learned to be responsible for your own lives. To summarize, results only come from efforts.

Keira

1/27/2021 09:10:58 pm

@Taiki - What are some personal connections you made?

Taiki

1/27/2021 09:53:52 pm

My connection was to Covid-19. This virus had killed 2.16 million people in the world and I connected this to when Rukku died of a fever.

Sebastian

1/27/2021 05:46:03 pm

If you like books about homelessness then The Bridge Home is a book I recommend. I think the BIG idea is something. I don't know. I thought of this because I didn't think too well on what the big idea of the book was. I just had a connection and a visualization, I didn't really focus on most because I was tired for 2\5 of the story.

Luiza

1/27/2021 07:46:20 pm

Try to think of a big idea with the 2/5 you read and based on what others already wrote.

Jacqueline

1/27/2021 05:56:02 pm

Do you think that you would be able to survive if you were homeless and had to live on the streets? The book ‘The Bridge Home’ demonstrates the life of two sisters who left home due to their abusive father to live on the streets of India. Soon, they meet two other boys named Arul and Muthu, who lived on an abandoned bridge. These children go through tough times together and this book talks about real life struggles that many children have to go through in the world due to poverty and abuse. I think that the big idea for ‘The Bridge Home’ is to never give up and look on the positive side no matter how tough it gets. Firstly, there were many times when Viji wanted to quit and give up, but she managed to keep going and pull herself together at the end. Even though Viji had to witness her sister’s death, she felt like there was no purpose in life without Rukku, but Viji managed to keep going and that is definitely something that is very challenging to accomplish. I can tell that this was one of the most toughest moments of Viji’s life considering that she was only 11 years old in the book, yet she is very strong and managed to push through everything that has happened. Viji chose to put the past behind her and live in the present. I think that another part of the big idea, is to always care for one another and treat your family and friends with respect. Building a strong stable relationship with your family and friends is so important especially when there isn’t much time left to spend with them. Overall, I enjoyed ‘The Bridge Home’ and I believe that the story illustrated a very well written character development and powerful big idea. What are your thoughts on the book?

Isaac

1/27/2021 06:26:15 pm

What if you live in a country that has tons of garbage and pollution, in the book called "The bridge home" is about two sisters Viji and Rukku, who are continually abused by their father, until one day they leave home and find shelter under a ruined bridge, soon they befriend two boys Muthu and Arul plus a dog. When Rukku and Muthu got sick, Viji was forced to make a brutal and hard decision and sold the dog to buy medicine for them. But the medicine couldn't help Rukku, then Rukku passes away, Viji stayed strong and moved forward. Overall the big idea is that what happens is inevitable and you need to move on.

Taiki

1/27/2021 08:10:42 pm

You didn't write a connection.

Nathan

1/27/2021 06:35:14 pm

Have you read 'The Bridge Home'? It's a powerful book that shows the life of Viji, a girl in India who ran away from her step dad with her sister, Rukku. It's a powerful book with lot's of moments of happiness, despair, anger, and so much more! I think the big idea of this book is to appreciate your life. We're lucky to live in a first world country with accessible healthcare, insurance, banking, etc. The book shows you the danger of living in a third world country, what it's like to be in a constant state of risk. I think this is the big idea because of the fact that from the start, it shows how easy it is for someone to hide from the government and get away with sexual abuse. I think Viji learned the importance of family and how to survive in the harsh suburbs of India. I felt sad listening to this story because of how emotional this book can be. Living as a child as a 4 people group is challenging enough, let alone living in a third world country. I made a lot of visualizations that made me remember the book. I hope that you'll read this book and be in a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings.

Mason

1/27/2021 06:51:57 pm

"The Bridge Home" is a story about 2 sisters that run away from an abusive father. After losing everything, they had to start again. Since they were in a third-world country and in the city, survival was challenging. They made money off of everything they could do. Hard work kept them living. Unfortunately life isn't always fair, Viji sacrificed lots to keep the 2 boys and Rukku alive, Viji was a persistent worker and in desperate measures she had to sell their dog. Unfortunately, Rukku passed away, which lead Viji to think it was all her own fault. They do eventually get a home but Rukku's death never got past Viji. Viji eventually got rid of the past and moved on. Life isn't fair, and anything could happen, so moving on may be the best choice sometimes.

Mika

1/27/2021 07:37:07 pm

What part in the story did you connect to the most?

Aisli

1/27/2021 07:06:28 pm

Only The wise will find a way around death.
It is explained in many ways. For example Viji was wise enough to live in a third world country, she how to get fresh water, how to get food, and later learned how to get money. I think that she is lucky and clever to find the right people to live with. Her story started with her father that was abusive towards her and her sister, and a hopeful mother that did nothing but wish that things would change. Escaping from her family and finding a new one. Were she met two boys on a bridge, they were living just fine at first, making money from a waste mart and dump, they had food, home. This was until they were found by the waste mart man and got chased out of their home. Everything was scrapped now. A new start, a new beginning, but thing would go differently this time. A graveyard in the wet season, most dangerous of disease. The graveyard had its secretes that Viji had yet to discover. Manifestation by mosquitoes. Although Viji took precautions she failed to save Rukku. Going by her mothers mentality and refused to trust hospitals. One day though she gave up and turned herself in to the person that Muthu and Arul had warned her not to trust. That was Celina Aunty. Viji asked for help but little did she know it was too late. Doctors did all they could to save Rukku, but the lack of medication in third world countries was not enough to save Rukku. Heavy feelings flooded Viji for a wile, She did eventually stabilize herself mentally. Though she was full of hate and anger. Though at last those feelings were suppressed by her father. The death of Rukku was hard for him too and Viji was almost defeat by him until she Rukku spoke "No, stay.". Viji had found a home now. No reason to restart again.

Tyson

1/27/2021 07:17:44 pm

Sir can you please spare us some change? As the girls ask all they got was a cold stare. Not only were these girls poor, they had a scar in them that would always be there. This is the way of life for Rukku and Viji since they were just kids. This type of life is tough, even for the most hardened adults, but for the two girls, it’s survival, it’s food, its shelter, it’s staying alive. How would you feel if you just ran away from home, away from your abusive father and ended up on the streets with nothing. Today, we finally finished reading the book “Bridge home” which is an amazing book by T.V. Panda. I think the big idea of this book is to treasure things. Sometimes, your never realize how important something is until you lose it. This connects to me when I was 7. I lost my best dog Gemini. He was so kind and was so smart, always protecting my brother and I. Though I didn’t treasure the time I had with him. I took it for granted that I had a dog, I didn’t spend enough time with him. Sooner or later, he passed away, I was so sad I couldn’t contain myself. Even my dad cried, and to tell you something, he never cries. Spending time with people are so important, I spend time with my family so much. I always say I love you when I don’t get to see them, just in case if it’s the last time I do see them. I’m not sure if Viji regrets not spending enough time wit Rukku, but I’m sure she will treasure the last moments with her before getting sick. My second big idea is to move on. You can’t change what already happened, so don’t waste your time thinking about it. Move in, let go, and get over it. I can relate this to myself when my dog died. Even though I was so sad and all, I moved on, there was nothing I could do except to move in. Just like what Viji did after Rukku died. Sometimes, not moving on makes everything worse. There was a time where I was sad because I lost my toy, though I didn’t stay like hat. I moved in and let what happened happen. Anyways, the point is that sometimes, decisions can break your heart, but heal you oh r soul.

Btw I know this isn’t the best but I had dance practice all day and I needed to hurry.

Isa

1/27/2021 07:35:33 pm

Good luck ;)

Trevor

1/27/2021 08:00:12 pm

@Tyson. Then revise it tomorrow morning.

Seth

1/27/2021 08:14:50 pm

I know you have time!

Seth

1/27/2021 08:21:03 pm

1) Incorrect statement ‘ This is the way of life for Rukku and Viji since they were just kids.’ they lived a “normal” life most of there life with food on the table most of the time.

2) there are no examples, you go from big idea to connections.

3) you did not explain what the reader and characters learned

4) fix you grammer

Tyson 2.0

1/27/2021 09:01:27 pm

Sir can you please spare us some change? As the girls asked, all they got was a cold stare. Not only were these girls' poor, but they also had a scar inside them that would always be there. This is the way of life for Rukku and Viji since they were just kids. This type of life is tough, even for the most hardened adults, but for the two girls, its survival, its food, its shelter, it’s staying alive. How would you feel if you just ran away from home, away from your abusive father and ended up on the streets with nothing? Today, we finally finished reading the book “Bridge home” which is an amazing book by T.V. Panda. I think the big idea of this book is to treasure things. Sometimes, you never realize how important something is until you lose it. For example, I think Rukku tried hard to spend time with Viji. They both did, like they knew that it would come to an end one day. Rukku tried to always be with Viji, they are sisters, but I don’t think that Viji tried to be This connected me when I was 7. I lost my best dog, Gemini. He was so kind and was so smart, always protecting my brother and I. Though I didn’t treasure the time I had with him. I took it for granted that I had a dog, I didn’t spend enough time with him. Sooner or later, he passed away, I was so sad I couldn’t contain myself. Even my dad cried, and to tell you something, he never cries. Spending time with people is so important, I spend time with my family so much. I always say I love you when I don’t get to see them, just in case if it’s the last time I see them. I’m not sure if Viji regrets not spending enough time with Rukku, but I’m sure she will treasure the last moments with her before getting sick. My second big idea is to move on. You can’t change what has already happened, so don’t waste your time thinking about it. Move in, let go, and get over it. I can relate this to myself when my dog died. Even though I was so sad and all, I moved on, there was nothing I could do except to move in. Just like what Viji did after Rukku died. Sometimes, not moving on makes everything worse. There was a time where I was sad because I lost my toy, though I didn’t stay like that. I moved on and let what happened happen. I am sure that people reading this book will learn the importance of things, and how they need to start moving on in life, I'm sure Viji realized that. The point is that moving on does not mean forgetting about it, it means accepting that it happened.

Seth

1/28/2021 08:33:53 am

There are countless punctuation and grammar mistakes
You only have one clear supporting detail.
You didn’t clearly share your opinion
There is a lot of fluff that lead to your grammer mistakes

Tyson 3.0

1/28/2021 10:08:30 pm

Sir can you please spare us some change? As the girls asked, all they got was a cold stare. Not only were these girls' poor, but they also had a scar inside them that would always be there. This is the way of life for Rukku and Viji since they were just kids. This type of life is tough, even for the most hardened adults, but for the two girls, its survival, its food, its shelter, it’s staying alive. How would you feel if you just ran away from home, away from your abusive father and ended up on the streets with nothing? Today, we finally finished reading the book “Bridge home”, which is an amazing book by T.V. Panda. I think the big idea of this book is to treasure things. Sometimes, you never realize how important something is until you lose it. For example, I think Rukku tried hard to spend time with Viji, like she knew that it would come to an end one day. Rukku tried to always be with Viji, they are sisters, but I don’t think that Viji tried to be as much. This was connected to me when I was 7. I lost my best dog, Gemini. He was so kind and was so smart, always protecting my brother and I. Though I didn’t treasure the time I had with him. I took it for granted that I had a dog, I didn’t spend enough time with him. Sooner or later, he passed away, I was so sad I couldn’t contain myself. Even my dad cried, and to tell you something, he never cries. Spending time with people is so important, I spend time with my family so much. I always say I love you when I don’t get to see them, just in case if it’s the last time I do see them. I’m not sure if Viji regrets not spending enough time with Rukku, but I’m sure she will treasure the last moments with her before getting sick. My second big idea is to move on. You can’t change what has already happened, so don’t waste your time thinking about it. Move in, let go, and get over it. I can relate this to myself when my dog died. Even though I was so sad and all, I moved on, there was nothing I could do except to move in. Just like what Viji did after Rukku died. Sometimes, not moving on makes everything worse. There was a time where I was sad because I lost my toy, though I didn’t stay like that. I moved on and let what happened happen. I am sure that people reading this book will learn the importance of things, and how they need to start moving on in life, I'm sure Viji realized that. The point is that moving on does not mean forgetting about it, it means accepting that it happened.

Mika

1/27/2021 07:34:09 pm

Dealing with abuse and living in danger constantly isn’t a piece of pie. The Bridge Home is about Viji and Rukku that have to learn how to survive and move on even with losses, such as Rukku’s death. The story focuses on their journey in India on the poverty line after running away from their abusive father, wanting change like Paravathi and Subbu had. It’s safe to say the story is quite a heavy topic for some but its general message is comforting and I personally agree with it. That you can’t change what happened and can only live with it and continue your life. Like how the author said perfectly, “Moving ahead doesn’t mean leaving you behind.” You can still love and miss them even after their death, you can continue with life still with them. In fact, the last pages touched me, the way it's written and how Viji moves with life while being the same person inside after all this time. Now actually, thinking back on the read alouds I feel that if Rukku (which was based on a real person) didn’t have her disability than this story would have been less entertaining. Rukku is overly trusting, and it honestly is the best thing to exist in this story. For instance, Rukku wouldn’t have left their home without even knowing why and tell her mom because of her sister being suspicious. Her death would have been more like a friend than a sister you love and brings happiness with her, with this her fall of the disease in the first stages and Viji all by herself in a bad state shifts the whole story’s vibe in an unsettling yet interesting manner. As far as I know, I connect with Viji more. Sure, Viji feels a bit broad-minded, she won’t settle for others and is strongminded, which I appreciate but don’t relate usually. However, I specially relate to when Viji knew it was dangerous to tell him where they lived, I probably would’ve slipped up our names but the man was very sketchy. Although, Rukku revealed it without knowing about his true intentions in the end. I overall think The Bridge Home’s powerful meaning is to learn how to continue with life when it gets rough and I’m honestly impressed at how the author captured the story in 208 pages.

Trevor

1/27/2021 07:59:06 pm

EVERYONE is affected by what kind of country they live in. Homeless kids in Canada would be helped. In other countries such as (parts of) India won't. This affects their livelihood. In "The Bridge Home" Rukku dies because they don't know how to help her. Here in Canada, they would be seen by someone and helped to a hospital while they could still help. I think that the big idea of this book is that, things happen. We can be upset about them, but we have to move on. For weeks, maybe even months, Viji is devastated. She doesn't even think about her dream of becoming a teacher. But Arul, Muthu and Celina Aunty remind her that Rukku would want her to follow her dreams. Remember but don't let it affect who you are and who you ant to be. Rukku would not want Viji to throw her life way because of her. I think that this is true. If your sibling dies, they would want you to grieve for a bit and then move on but remember them. Your sibling would not want you to spend your entire life being sad. Arul and Muthu taught Viji that she had to move on. And she did. When I heard the part about Rukku dying, It reminded me of when my grandparent's cat died. We were all sad for a few days. But then we moved on. My grandfather bought a whole bunch of birds and my uncle accepted a rescued dog. I learned that most people will only be able to carry on in their lives if they don't care or they have others that they care about helping them through. Even this can be affected by where you live. It seems to me that in countries like Canada, someone will help you. If a sibling dies, there will be people like adopted or foster parents that might be able to help you through as well as friends.

Isa

1/27/2021 08:01:19 pm

Today we finished the book “Bridge home”. It talking about two little girls have to leave their home because their father always abusive them. They have to survive by their self without any money or food. It’s very hard to survive for only two little girls. But They did it. Viji was super tired to take care Rukku. But she never thinks it’s tired and annoying. Rukku is her sister. Viji is the only person she can depends on Rukku to keep survive. I really think they are very brave. We have to go to school everyday because we need so many knowledges in the future to find the job and surviving by ourselves. But Viji and Rukku are only children. They don’t have any ability to survive like adults. Even if they can eat enough food in their father’s house. But they still chose to leave even they were not sure they can survive by theirselves. I think that’s the best choice for them to run away from their father. I will also do that if that’s me. These are my points with the whole books. Thanks for reading!!!

Seth

1/27/2021 08:14:10 pm

The bridge home is about four friends trying to survive in the teaming streets of Chennai. This book is about friendship, kindness, family, making your own if you have to, helping each other, looking out for each other, and mostly the importance of everyone's talents and gifts. I think the big idea is the importance of everyone’s traits. I have many reasons to believe this. Firstly, when Viji and Ruku first arrive in Chennai they have no idea what they will do, with no idea how to survive or make a living. Lucky for them they meet Muthi and Arul, due to their background knowledge they can teach Viji and Ruku how to live. Secondly, throughout the book Ruku is underestimated. She proves herself capable by making bracelets that they end up selling for money. Viji finally realizes that Ruku is way more capable than she, her teachers and parents ever thought. Lastly, Viji embraces her bright future by going to boarding school. She reflects on the events that happened and comes to a realization that Ruku was the one who helped Viji this whole time. Always being happy and laughing at all the wrong times made her happy and willing to go on in life. She longs to be more like Ruku. Trying to make the best of the worst. This book has been my Favourite out of the ones we’ve read by far. I think this because it’s so exciting happy and yet sad. They run away because it’s an abusive father, they discover Ruku’s great motor skills and make lots of money, then get robbed by the man buying garbage, after that, they have to move to a graveyard where Ruku along with Muthi gets sick, they sell there dog for medicine and Ruku dies. In the end, Viji is given closure by her father and takes the opportunity of a better education. Working hard to accomplish her dream of opening a school for kids like herself, abandoned and in need of hope. One especially sad part of the story was Ruku dying, this reminded me of my great grandfather’s passing. My great grandfather was a nice man. When visiting him he would secretly give me candy, and we would go on nice vacations with him. Sadly, he died. I was super sad. My great grandmother got sad and sick. She would say ‘ I see Ope right behind the bushes’. I remember my mom asking my grandmother how to respond to such a comment. I still think of Ope. Remembering him for his kind-hearted actions, longing for his presence but expecting the inevitable. All things come to an end, the only think guaranteed in life is death. It’s what you make of life that is important, will you be brave and persever like Viji?

Ryo

1/27/2021 08:54:49 pm

You should have a effective opening.

Tyson

1/27/2021 09:02:21 pm

Take out i have reasons to believe this, its fluff

Seth

1/28/2021 08:10:48 am

Hypocrite

Seth 2.0

1/28/2021 08:14:58 am

Have you ever fielt as if you were alone? As if no one cared? This is what Viji and Ruku felt like when running away from there abusive dad. The bridge home is about four friends trying to survive in the teaming streets of Chennai. This book is about friendship, kindness, family, making your own if you have to, helping each other, looking out for each other, and mostly the importance of everyone's talents and gifts. I think the big idea is the importance of everyone’s traits. I have many reasons to believe this. Firstly, when Viji and Ruku first arrive in Chennai they have no idea what they will do, with no idea how to survive or make a living. Lucky for them they meet Muthi and Arul, due to their background knowledge they can teach Viji and Ruku how to live. Secondly, throughout the book Ruku is underestimated. She proves herself capable by making bracelets that they end up selling for money. Viji finally realizes that Ruku is way more capable than she, her teachers and parents ever thought. Lastly, Viji embraces her bright future by going to boarding school. She reflects on the events that happened and comes to a realization that Ruku was the one who helped Viji this whole time. Always being happy and laughing at all the wrong times made her happy and willing to go on in life. She longs to be more like Ruku. Trying to make the best of the worst. This book has been my Favourite out of the ones we’ve read by far. I think this because it’s so exciting happy and yet sad. They run away because it’s an abusive father, they discover Ruku’s great motor skills and make lots of money, then get robbed by the man buying garbage, after that, they have to move to a graveyard where Ruku along with Muthi gets sick, they sell there dog for medicine and Ruku dies. In the end, Viji is given closure by her father and takes the opportunity of a better education. Working hard to accomplish her dream of opening a school for kids like herself, abandoned and in need of hope. One especially sad part of the story was Ruku dying, this reminded me of my great grandfather’s passing. My great grandfather was a nice man. When visiting him he would secretly give me candy, and we would go on nice vacations with him. Sadly, he died. I was super sad. My great grandmother got sad and sick. She would say ‘ I see Ope right behind the bushes’. I remember my mom asking my grandmother how to respond to such a comment. I still think of Ope. Remembering him for his kind-hearted actions, longing for his presence but expecting the inevitable. All things come to an end, the only think guaranteed in life is death. It’s what you make of life that is important, will you be brave and persever like Viji?

Luiza

1/27/2021 08:20:40 pm

Breaking someones trust is like crumpling a piece of paper. You can smooth it over but it's never going to be the same again. In my opinion I think this matched the book The Bridge Home because there were many parts in the story showcasing my big idea trust. For example, as the story started, we learned the father was abusing them and it broke
their trust so they ran away from home. Secondly, when Viji sold Kutti without telling Rukku. Another key point was regret. As soon as Rukku died I imagine Viji must have felt regret for not enjoying moments together as much and not having her be able to have a happy and long life. Next, when her father came I visualized him being so desperate for forgiveness. Obviously felt ashamed and sorry he couldn't be there for them. To clarify, don't break your trust because although you can be forgiven they will still be scared.

Luiza

1/27/2021 08:24:18 pm

quotations and scarred not scared

Luiza

1/27/2021 08:26:50 pm

"Breaking someones trust is like crumpling a piece of paper. You can smooth it over but it's never going to be the same again." In my opinion I think this matched the book The Bridge Home because there were many parts in the story showcasing my big idea trust. For example, as the story started, we learned the father was abusing them and it broke
their trust so they ran away from home. Secondly, when Viji sold Kutti without telling Rukku. Another key point was regret. As soon as Rukku died I imagine Viji must have felt regret for not enjoying moments together as much and not having her be able to have a happy and long life. Next, when her father came I visualized him being so desperate for forgiveness. Obviously felt ashamed and sorry he couldn't be there for them. To clarify, don't break your trust because although you can be forgiven they will still be scarred.

Trevor

1/28/2021 08:03:37 am

Hey Luiza. Do you have any connections that helped you find the big idea?

Ryo

1/27/2021 08:52:55 pm

What would you do if you became homeless, living in a poor country with bad politics, with no money and food, adults who try to kidnap you, and have a dream that you want to accomplish? This all happens in the book "The Bridge Home". This book takes place in India, where lots of homeless children live. I think that the BI (Big Idea) is "To make the readers aware of the lives of homeless people and people who live in third world countries". For example, when Viji and Rukku ran away from their home/dad, the bus driver tried to kidnap them. This happens lots of times in third world countries. The man that collected the garbage tried to kidnap them too. Secondly, there was lots of kids who were homeless. They were begging for money so they could live. This is happening right now too. In third world countries, lots of kids are homeless and dying. I sometimes see homeless people sitting on the streets, begging for money. To illustrate, Viji tried to give some money to a begger, but when she pulled out her waklet, she stole it. I think that for homeless kids to live with no ways to get money, they miht have to steal. Thirdly, there are lots of stray dogs in third world countries. Viji and Rukku also met a stray dog which Rukku named it "Kutti", and Rukku made him/her her pet. I learned after reading this book, that third world countries have lots of homeless kids, stray dogs, and strangers that try to kidnap children. To sum up, life of living in a third world country is hard and lots of kids are suffering.

Roy

1/27/2021 09:02:12 pm

Surviving in today's world is tough, especially when you were forced to live alone on the streets at a young age. In the story “The Bridge Home,” the main characters Viji and Rukko had to run away from their home because of an abusive parent. They managed to make friends and be successful for a period, but ultimately still had to rely on others. This leads me to think that the big idea of the story is about kindness and trust. To illustrate, the girls were able to find a place to live and a steady income for a brief time but were compelled to move out and exist with their own talents and skills. However, they failed to sustain themselves and it was only until they met Arul and Muthu when they started to learn how to live in such horrific conditions. This also reflects Arul and Muthu’s kindness and trust in two complete strangers, for normally people who struggle simply cannot assist strangers in their own lives. Viji and Rukku certainly wouldn’t have survived for very long if they hadn’t met the two boys. In other words, kindness and trust saved two children and allowed one to have a bright future. Another example of this is how they helped / adopted a stray dog. Though adopting a dog when they’re barely able to live seems like a terrible idea, it was arguably the most significant decision of their lives, for Kutti inspired and motivated them to keep going. He was also their last hope of survival, for he was sold a lot of money which gave them that final push to live a happy life. I feel like this shows how being kind guarantees a reward that could range from a simple feeling of happiness and joy to something that could potentially change our lives forever. Despite their impressive feelings and mentality, they lacked one critical thing — trust. Their tragic past experiences have caused them to lose trust in most people around them. For instance, before Rukku and Muthu became ill, Celina aunty offered to take them in, but they declined. In fact, if they had accepted the offer that day, Rukku wouldn’t have gotten dengue fever and pneumonia, meaning she wouldn’t have died. I couldn’t make any personal connections because I never had to experience anything in the story, but I could make connections to other stories with similar meanings and occurring world events. “The Bridge Home” is a great story that reflects the conditions and mindset needed to survive. It has many deep themes and symbolistic things / events that we could learn from and relate to. Kindness always comes back, don’t forget that and make a change in the world.

Kyle C

1/27/2021 09:03:37 pm

Having to live in a abandoned place in the middle of the streets can be devastating. In this book (The bridge home), Viji and Rukku had to force them selves to leave there home because of there irresponsible step father who was addicted to drinking and that's why he has been treating them like garbage. The two of them was fed up of how they had to suffer, so they bravely headed towards the city hoping for a better life. As they travel through abandoned houses and bridges, they luckily made 2 friends, Arul and Muthu. They both have been living at bottom of the bridge for years and also ran away from there parents because of harsh conditions. While working together hoping to make some money, they suddenly ran up to this nice lady named Celina aunty. She generously let the four of them live in a boarding school with her. Although life was great at first when they stayed there, Rukku sadly passed away because of a dieses that need way more time when they found out. After understanding what the book is about, I came to a Big Idea! No matter how substandard life is, you should always get back on your feet's and keep on moving forward. Having to just sit there and do nothing will never change anything nor help you. As mentioned, Rukku have sadly passed away by a disease because she was lacking off nutrition's. After the incident, Vijji was devastated because Rukku was the only family member left to her. Surly enough, she got back up and started achieving her goal which was becoming a teacher one day and help the poor's. Having a strong relationship with your family members is extremely important because You never know what's going to happen in the upcoming days or hours. Generally, I think we should all treasure our time with our family and friends! Overall, having to read this book just makes me feel so grateful to live in such harmony because as you can see, thousands of kids are living in poverty right now. How do you feel about the book?

Roen

1/27/2021 09:07:24 pm

The bridge home is a very open-minded book about poverty that is actually occuring in this world and not just in movies. The word poverty if you didnt know means when a person cant even afford basic needs like food, but in the story it was not food they didnt have, it was the child abuse that drove them away. In a world or state of absolute no hope, Viji and (Rukku?) survives for a short period of time with two other boys until Rukku dies of a sickness we can only call sickness. I think the big idea of the story even tho it seems like there isnt one is: to never give up no matter how big the odss might seem, with determination and a will to learn and survive. you can survive just like Viji and Rukku. (Dont try this at home tho) par 1

Keira

1/27/2021 09:08:37 pm

"To be or not to be." - William Shakespeare, an English Playwright. This quote is very common and can be heard throughout many plays as it has such a strong meaning, a variety of meanings. Provided that this quote would define my big idea of the book 'The Bridge Home'. This book underlines the problems of poverty and shows an extensive plot to find joy in this terror of a society, hiding away from the bullies. To explain, a quick summary of the story, two siblings who run away in fear of their father who physically abuses and hurts them, they attempt to find a new life and to discover their dreams in the bigger city. Though they struggle as money becomes a priority and as they need to find shelter. Luckily, they found a place to stay on the streets, they live with the little money they have and try to sell the products which they produce with the materials given from their first job. They profit with the money the rich give in empathy and are able to survive for a few days. Unluckily, they are soon chased away and robbed of what they have by an acquaintance. They find themselves to be ill as they move to a different area, soon found that Rukku (Viji's younger sibling / sister) has an illness that she can not be cured from due to her fragile body, though, if she were to be in contact with the hospital earlier, she could have bee cured. Viji lives with this regret in her mind though she is reminded by her counselor / savior of her sister's care in her heart and their big dream to become a teacher. With this in mind, as I listened to this book, I understood about the problems of poverty all over the world and how we only see the pros and avoid the cons. Through this book, I made a connection about losing loved ones, family, and I earned some background knowledge on survival. Though, the probability may not be high. Overall, I think the big idea is to never forget who you are, after all, who you are, were, will help you overcome many obstacles. To illustrate, when you look back at your past events, or certain memories, remembering who you were will allow you to feel relieved and walk past the regret. As a result, your heart and mind will be at peace as you will know when you have reached your goal. Moreover, I connect with this result as I know the feeling of achieving my goal. To explicate, when I was in my old school, KGV, I did not have the best grades in the subject math for the first semester so I studied hard, focused more in class, asked necessary questions and achieved my goal by the second semester. When my family praised me for my quick recovery, I was gleeful. This feeling must have been what Viji felt when she was given the opportunity to go to a new school with better education. With the support of her friends, she would achieve her goal. To summarize, throughout this book, I have learnt to set my mind on something and allow it to flow as it takes on a goal as with practice and hard work only may I achieve my goal; even if 'The Bridge Home' had a sad story and beginning, the context and message was deep as it displayed a positive note telling you to "Never give up and work to the end, your hard efforts will
be awarded, as long as you put your true intentions into your work, you will see your progression." How did you react to this book and what is your goal? How will you achieve it?

Keira Oops sorry, I accidentally clicked enter

1/27/2021 09:12:22 pm

"To be or not to be." - William Shakespeare, an English Playwright. This quote is very common and can be heard throughout many plays as it has such a strong meaning, a variety of meanings. Provided that this quote would define my big idea of the book 'The Bridge Home'. This book underlines the problems of poverty and shows an extensive plot to find joy in this terror of a society, hiding away from the bullies. To explain, a quick summary of the story, two siblings who run away in fear of their father who physically abuses and hurts them, they attempt to find a new life and to discover their dreams in the bigger city. Though they struggle as money becomes a priority and as they need to find shelter. Luckily, they found a place to stay on the streets, they live with the little money they have and try to sell the products which they produce with the materials given from their first job. They profit with the money the rich give in empathy and are able to survive for a few days. Unluckily, they are soon chased away and robbed of what they have by an acquaintance. They find themselves to be ill as they move to a different area, soon found that Rukku (Viji's younger sibling / sister) has an illness that she can not be cured from due to her fragile body, though, if she were to be in contact with the hospital earlier, she could have bee cured. Viji lives with this regret in her mind though she is reminded by her counselor / savior of her sister's care in her heart and their big dream to become a teacher. With this in mind, as I listened to this book, I understood about the problems of poverty all over the world and how we only see the pros and avoid the cons. Through this book, I made a connection about losing loved ones, family, and I earned some background knowledge on survival. Though, the probability may not be high. Overall, I think the big idea is to never forget who you are, after all, who you are, were, will help you overcome many obstacles. To illustrate, when you look back at your past events, or certain memories, remembering who you were will allow you to feel relieved and walk past the regret. As a result, your heart and mind will be at peace as you will know when you have reached your goal. Moreover, I connect with this result as I know the feeling of achieving my goal. To explicate, when I was in my old school, KGV, I did not have the best grades in the subject math for the first semester so I studied hard, focused more in class, asked necessary questions and achieved my goal by the second semester. When my family praised me for my quick recovery, I was gleeful. This feeling must have been what Viji felt when she was given the opportunity to go to a new school with better education. With the support of her friends, she would achieve her goal. To summarize, throughout this book, I have learnt to set my mind on something and allow it to flow as it takes on a goal as with practice and hard work only may I achieve my goal; even if 'The Bridge Home' had a sad story and beginning, the context and message was deep as it displayed a positive note telling you to "Never give up and work to the end, your hard efforts will be awarded, as long as you put your true intentions into your work, you will see your progression." How did you react to this book and what is your goal? How will you achieve it?

Keira

1/27/2021 09:13:58 pm

*been

Samantha

1/27/2021 09:27:53 pm

What if you had to choose to either live a life with an abusive father or choose to live on the streets, homeless. Which one would you choose? In a book called "The Bridge Home" tells us about two sisters named Viji and Rukku who had to choose between these two horrendous lives. The big idea of this story is that even when dreadful things happen, good things will always come. Many bad things happened in this story, they had trouble finding food and money but they had good friends and shared each others happiness. Rukku had past away from a disease which was very heartbreaking, however, everyone found a place to stay and Viji found herself a goal to become a teacher and to help others. The Bridge Home is a very heartwarming book where there are ups and downs and shows us vivid visualizations of the tough and happy times. I connected to the story when Arul was warning everyone about nuns and preaches taking you to stay in their church and beating you up and giving you unbearable punishments reminded me of residential schools. Where there were nuns punishing you and forcing you to do chores and to learn. In this story I have learned that bad things do happen but so do good things and in those bad events, there is also happiness. In summary, I really enjoyed this book and it taught me positive things like staying positive and not losing hope even when unsatisfying things happen.

Annika

1/27/2021 09:49:09 pm

Today in class we finished a book called a bridge home. What I thought the big idea was about is to do the right thing even though it will hurt. For example in the begging of the story the 2 girls ran away from their home because of the dad not treating them nicely. Imagine having to do that, you would have to not look back and keep going. Then, when Viji had to sell their dog just for medicine and some food, having to sell something important to you especially when its your pet. But in the end not all of us get happy endings, in short just do the right things I know it sounds simple but when times are hard and especially when you need to leave and never come back it might help in the long run, but that's only if things go too far.

Marlow

1/28/2021 08:13:29 am

What would you do if you had nothing? Homeless, sick, and the only thing you have are each other. The Bridge Home is about a about a young girl and her little sister as that run away from an abusive home. The book talks about poverty, homelessness, and sickness, most of which, don’t take much heed too. I think the big idea of this story is where you call your home. Wether it be a tent under a bridge or a boarding school, home can be defined by people not places. This is shown by the fact that even tough the kids have barely anything throughout the book, they had each other to persevere together with. I take this for granted sometimes and don’t think about how people can make a home a home. Also, Im glad the father didn’t get a full redemption. If I were in Viji’s shoes and had the option to forgive my abusive dad that was physically abusive and didn’t deserve his 1000th time of forgiveness for what he caused I don’t think I would be able to either. The fact that he keeps getting forgiven isn’t good, it juts shows him that no matter what he dose, it will be forgiven to an extent. I am however, glad the author showed the dad in a human light to give him some sympathy. All in all, The Bridge Home was an amazing read and prompted some deep thinking. Im glad that I got to experience it.

Melissa

1/28/2021 08:14:38 am

Imagine being forced to go to a place where everyone hates you and you can't go home, this is what hundreds of thousands of indigenous people went through, and the book "when I was eight" is a story about how residential schools treated indigenous people. When I was reading "when I was eight" I thought about what the meaning of the book is, I came up with 2 big ideas. My first big idea is that the author is trying to tell us the experiences of indigenous people and how residential schools were made to make everyone like the outsiders. Residential schools are schools in Canada that forced indigenous children to go there to learn how to be like an outsider. The other big idea is that you shouldn’t give up on your goals because Olemaun had a goal of reading and she didn’t give up even though she was getting bullied by the nuns and the other girls. Text evidence of this is "she could not wear out my determination.", and "I used every task as an opportunity to learn new words." Olemaun was saying that she wanted to read no matter what and that she won't give up even if things got hard. She also didn’t want the nuns satisfaction of her crying because Olemaun knew that's what the nuns wanted. At the end of the book she knew how to read because of her determination and her confidence. Text evidence of this is "By the second paragraph I confidently sliced through the words.", which shows that Olemaun learned how to read because all of the effort that she put into it, and the book that she read was a green reader that the older girls used which shows that if you put a lot of effort, you can even overtake people who've been doing it for longer than you because the older girls probably didn’t put a lot of effort, and I connected to this because I played in a competition and I tried really hard and I beat most of the people that had more experience because I put a lot of effort. In short, you can do almost anything if you put a lot of effort and you try hard.

Simone

1/29/2021 08:42:46 am

Holding back won’t do anything but bring out the worst in people. We need to look to the future for the good or for bad. I believe the Big Idea is that we need to move on from the Current and look at the future. This is very important especially since we all have something that had or are holding/hold us back. Moving on doesn’t mean we are ignoring on, it means that we has overcome it. Examples to back up my big idea is when Viji took Rukko away from their abusive father, when they look for the better and escaped and ignored the current. Another example is when Rukku passed, Viji was stuck in the current and couldn’t move on. When she moved on however she achieved much more and has still honoured her sister. I connected to the scene of the passing of Rukko lot, and it was a really hard scene for me to understand. I’m not going to go into detail since its pretty hard for me but I connected to Viji a lot since around 2 and a half weeks ago I personally went through the journey that viji felt during that scene. I understood her pain for the first time of what’s its actually like to lose a family member and thats one reason why this Big Idea stood out to me a lot. During the scene it was never really said that of Rukko’s passing just that she was stone-like and I inference what the author was trying to say. I really liked that the author didn’t just clearly write about her death and phrased it so that it sounded smoother and softer. Moving on gives you a chance for better good, when saying still you will continue sticking in the word of misery you are in. Moving on and overcoming the current will have a bigger likelihood of changing you world for the better. Therefore Moving on is the better solution and my Big Idea for the story A Bridge Home.

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