4 Kids in 5E & 1 Crazy Year

by Virginia Frances Schwartz

As members of Ms. Hill's class, the fifth-graders of PS1 are challenged to talk, learn, and write about one another in ways that teach these city kids a great deal about each other, themselves, and their complicated young lives.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Writing

120 pages, Hardcover

First published October 23, 2006

Reviews

[Ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

read this in 6th grade for school and i remember our teacher getting really mad because we pointed out plot holes and discrepancies.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously it's a bit dated now (the part where they are typing up their stories on computers that only come around for a week made me giggle) but it was moving. I've been a bit obsessed with middle grade books in a school setting lately (probably because it's my new work environment) and this one hit the spot. Everyone wants a teacher like Ms Hill but it wasn't a book that focused around an inspirational teacher and the kids were just along for the ride. Rather the kids were the ones that rallied around each other with a bit of guidance and I loved it.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this! It speaks to me about my class this year, and helps me to remember I only see the shell of each student...and that so much potential, hurt, and anger can be hiding inside. I may use this as a read aloud to see if I can inspire some writers this year. You can tell this author was a teacher, and loved writing! Hopefully these 4 kids can help my class become a proud writing class as well!

[Ambergreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

That these kids are going to be bad

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my reluctant reader/writer, who is a 7th grader. The 5th graders in the book deal with some pretty heavy issues and that kept my son interested. It exposed him to inner city life and made him appreciate his lifestyle and school a bit more. I love how the author used writing to grow and mature the children. The stories the kids wrote were great. There is a little Jamaican and Italian thrown in, along with a dictionary of those words in the back of the book. My son giggled every time he read, "Scuzi," which I found endearing. I loved Ms. Hill. I know I was blessed with awesome, creative teachers in my youth and hope every student has at least one "Ms. Hill" in his/her lifetime.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The year-long chronicle of a group of NYC 5th graders placed in a small classroom with a caring teacher and a focus on writing. The book tells the stories of four students (the different voices reminded me of Shelly Pearsall's All of the Above) and how their different home lives are revealed in their writing. The writing samples and poems are wonderful. The teacher reminds me so much of the amazing 4th grade teacher at my school-that I kept thinking the book could have been written by her or about her. It is a work of fiction, though.
A nice choice for any class focusing on the writing process.

[Mrs. Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all this book was pretty good although there was something missing. The book was told from the point of view of four kids in a 5th grade class with a new teacher. It is told through journal entries that they write for the class and it shows how the class grows as writers and as people, learning that people are not always what they seem to be on the outside.
The story and the writing really drew me in at first and the characters were well developed, but I wanted to know more about the class and the girl, Destiny, seemed to be left out of the loop towards the end.
In the end, the story was a little too neat and simple but was interesting and had a good message.

[Sally]

THis is book is about 4 kids like book title says. They are all doesn't like writing. some of 5E's student are not good at English. I could understand them because I'm not good at English too, so I know writing is more hard thing. This book is consists of 4 kid's diary. From the teacher, they learned writing skills, and poem skills to advanced. When they totally learned the skills, they also get joined the writing contest. Nobody guessed, but one of 5E student get big victory.

I could learn writing skills like 5E student learned. I think that is boring part but that is also good part.

[Keyerra Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it tells you how the kids in 5e had a crazy year and destiny is telling the reader what the teacher MS.Hill the first thing that she had to do and this is what she said on the september 1st day don't think too much.let your pencil do the talking" an no one is happy because the work school is spreading around every where something i dislike is that they cant wear tank tops no midruffs nothing skimpy nothing short nothing too tight nothing above the knees.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone interested in teaching. It is written from the perspective of four children in NYC by a teacher who understand children. I was really impressed with how real it was...I've experienced a lot of situations like the ones presented in the book and it was nice to know I'm not alone!

[Rad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems to sink in the middle, but picks up again around March. I'm not sure how I feel about the entrance of Tiffany later in the book - she seems to be there only to spur on the other characters so that they enter the writing contest. Destiny doesn't get much book time - the boys all form this tight little group and Destiny's kind of left out. Hmmph.

[Brady Geary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book's focus on writing stories and poems. Some of the Italian was hard to understand, so I was glad for the appendix at the back of the book which included an Italian dictionary. I found it hard to concentrate on the book, though, because of the writing from four different perspectives.

[Debbie Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun little book about 4 kids that are in 5th grade together. For different reasons, they are all having issues with being in 5th grade. Their class is created after the first day of school because their school is overcrowded. Their teacher encourages them to write and they all find their own voices as writers.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far this might be my favorite contender ... will definitely be recommending it as a readaloud to my fourth and fifth grade teachers. Maybe even third.

[Hima · Rating 5 out of 5]

IT INSPIRED MY TO WRITE A LOT. Poems and stories. Everything!! Amazing adjectives.

[Krisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was and still is my fav. book i've told my brother he should read it but he's going to what till he's in grade 5

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am done with this book:) I kinda liked it it was a little fun:)

[Akhila]

i like this book a lot it is really funny and it has a lot of good launguage i recommend thuis book to n e 1 who likes funny stories i cant wait to finish the book.............

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the four perspectives in this story. The book made me grateful for my dad.

[Larissa Wehling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad, happy, so much people can relate to these kids up's and down's.

[Ruth Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Non-fiction about teaching.