Saturday Movies

If you were tuned into the ABC Family Channel this afternoon, you probably noticed they had on the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie, and directly following was the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie that we will watch in a few weeks. Do you think the TV station knows we are studying this book right now? I think they may be spying on us!

I have never really cared much for the new movie, probably because I am old school and love the one I grew up watching, but I sat down and actually gave the Johnny Depp version another chance (it's still not my favorite.) It is really funny to me how different the new movie is from the original movie, but the reality is, it follows the book a lot more than the old movie. Even the songs the Oompa Loompas sing in the new movie are the actual lyrics Roald Dahl wrote in the book! I recognized the "Augustus Gloop" song right away since we just finished that chapter a few days ago!

Another movie based off of a Roald Dahl book will be on at 8:00 tonight on the same channel: Matilda! We read this at the beginning of the year. If you get a chance, tune in and see if you can find some similarities and differences to the book version.

Oompa, Loompa, Doopety, Doo!

Our class is Roald Dahl obsessed! We have read some of his great masterpieces such as Matilda and The BFG.  Our latest Roald Dahl novel the class requested was my all-time favorite: Charlie and the Choclate Factory.


Once we have completed the book, we plan to have a special "Willy Wonka Day." We will use this day to do some activities based off of the book, learn about the real Wonka brand candies, and we will watch the original movie. For those who have seen both versions, you probably know the Johnny Depp version is more like the original book, than the Gene Wilder version. Because of that, we will use the old movie to do a compare and contrast of the story versus the movie (plus it's one of Mrs. Owen's favorites, and she likes to see how children react to old movies they are not familiar with!)

I have found some Willy Wonka/Roald Dahl links, and wanted to post them for the children. Also, there is a BrainPop about our beloved author. We watched it in class a while back, but we may want a refresher to remind us about the life of this whimsical man. Enjoy!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Quiz

The Oompa Loompa Songbook (from the book, not the movie!)

The Offical Roald Dahl Website

I Gotta Feelin'...

The day we have all be anticipating will arrive in just a few short hours. All of our third graders should be fast asleep by now (and if they're not, please make sure they get in bed immediately) and resting up for our big "Show What You Know" day tomorrow. 

Don't forget to make sure your child eats a good breakfast, is at school on time, leaves all toys, cell phones, noise makers, etc. at home. Remind them in the morning to underline their reading and number their paragraphs. Remind them to look for key words in the questions and in their stories.

Most importantly, though, remind them that you love them, their teachers love them, 

and that we are all here to support them all the way. 

Let's ROCK the FCAT!!!