Friday, October 3, 2014

Student Narrative: Up the Mountain


Up The Mountain by Miles S.
1126 Words


                Imagine being up in the air with nothing but a rope and a harness to hold you on to a mountain. Rock climbers make it look so easy to climb mountains.

                Hello, my name is David, I am in the sixth grade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona where there are lots of mountains. I am a pretty good athlete, but the rock climbing thing is something that I could never figure out. I didn’t think about it much, until a few weeks ago.

                I have always thought that it would be cool to have rock climbing skills. I bet rock climbers aren’t afraid of heights. I didn’t realize that the only thing holding me back was my fear of heights. If only I could conquer my rear of heights, I could be a great rock climber.

                I was in middle school.  It felt amazing to be out of my old school with the little kids. The seventh graders called all of the sixth graders, shorty or kid. This made me remember that I am now the small kid. I was horrified. What might they do? Will they be helpful or play tricks on us? I saw a smaller sixth grader getting bullied by three older kids, before first period. I could not figure out what grade the bullies were in. In first period, I found some nice people. But, from second to sixth period, there were mean kids who wanted to fight other ids and curse at everyone.

                My favorite period was seventh because that’s where I found the kids that enjoyed this school. I went up to a guy named Josh, since he had been nice to me all day, and I had seen him in almost all of my classes.

                Hey Josh, I said.

                “Hello David,” Josh answered.

                “Would you like to be my friend?” I asked him.

                “I was about to ask you the same question,” Josh responded.

                So, Josh and I went around the school together the next day and found out few things  about the school.

                The second week of school, I saw Josh getting bullied by the same older kids. I recognized one of them. I knew Jason from my track camp and he was one of the bullies. I even knew his parents. I got in the middle of it and told Jason, “If you don’t leave us alone, I will tell your mom.”

                Jason looked at me and said, ‘Hey you’re the little dude from track. Is this your friend? He left and the others went away too. So that was the end of that.

                “Thanks man, I owe you one,” Josh said.

                On Friday, when the last bell rang, Josh asked me a question, “Do you like mountain climbing?”

                “No, I would ever think of going mountain climbing in a million years,” I answered. Then I told him my story. “When I was in fourth grade I went to a rock climbing wall with some of my friends. The rock climbing wall had a beginner’s section that was thirty meters high, and advanced section that was fifty meters high and an extreme section that was seventy fie meters high. I did not think it would be a big deal, so I tried the beginner section. But as soon as I was in the harness, I did not feel comfortable. I got up ten meters ad lost my grip and froze. I couldn’t go any further. The instructor had to help me down. My friends laughed and called me a wimp. Ever since then, I have not been interested in climbing anything and I don’t hang with those guys anymore.”

                Josh looked at me and smiled. “Don’t worry buddy, I got your back,” he said. “Just like you had my back with that bully, I won’t let anything happen to you. And, I promise not to laugh.”

                I nodded and said, “Cool…see you next week.”

                Then, we crossed paths and I went to the bus rider loop and he went to get picked up as a car rider.

The net day in the lunch line, Josh told me that he had asked his parents if I could go mountain climbing with them and they had said yes. I nodded my head and changed the subject to, “What’s for lunch?” We didn’t talk about climbing after that.

                That night, I couldn’t sleep. I had a nightmare about falling off of a mountain. When I woke up I thought to myself, Josh is such a great friend, but what if I lost my grip again. I realized that I had to face my fear and trust him and his family.

                On Saturday, josh’s family picke3d me up to go mountain climbing. His parents, Michael and Ruby met my parents. They had been climbing for a long time. My stomach was sick and I didn’t want to eat any breakfast. I felt like I wanted to call it off. But, the parents were getting along really well. They told my mom and dad that it would be a great experience.

                When we got to the park, I knew that I couldn’t turn back. I saw the mountain from the parking lot. It was enormous. I heard birds chirping and I could feel a little breeze. I was still nervous. Josh’s dad gave me instructions on how to follow him up the mountain. His dad led the way and I was second and Josh was behind me, and then his mom.

                The first part of the climb was easy. It was like climbing stairs. Then when we got higher, it was even harder than the rock climbing wall. I followed exactly what Josh’s dad said to do and I did not look down. Josh tried to help me on the way. He said things lie, “you’re doing great” and “keep it up.”

                When we got to the top of the mountain, I looked around at the clouds in the sky. I could see an eagle flying. It was beautiful. I could see some of the other mountains around Phoenix. I felt like I had accomplished something. But, then I looked down the mountain. My heart was beating so hard that it sounded like it was in my head. I panicked a little bit because the ground looked so far away. I didn’t think that I could climb down again. But, I was hungry now. We had snacks, but all I could think of was pizza. It took us a while to get down the mountain. Then, we went to Papa John’s for pizza. It was a great day. I faced my fear of heights and I didn’t die. Can you believe it? I also know that Josh is my best friend forever.

               

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Student Narrative: Dragon Fire


Dragon Fire by Trinity M.
594 Words
 

                Sam wants to be friends with all types of dragons. He wants to be able to talk to them without them roasting him like a chicken and eating hi whole. Kelly’s been trying to help him go talk to the one that lives in the cave up the steep hill that’s across the street from his house. She made an experiment that freezes fire. Sam doesn’t want anyone to know he wants a dragon to be his friend. He thinks the town’s people will send him up to the dragon and make him fight the dragon.

                Kelly says, “How about I come with you on your hike to meet the dragon tomorrow?”

                “Okay, I’ll let you come, but only if you have the experiment you made up,” Sam said.

                “Alright, should I bring lunch for us and the dragon tomorrow? Asked Kelly.

               
Yes definitely, and some extra for our possibly new dragon friend,” said Sam.

                When they set out to meet the dragon, Sam stumbled on his first step on the hill. “Should we turn back while we are still living?” Sam asked.

                “If we turn away now, no one will ever know if dragons are friendly,” Kelly said.

                My favorite fruit is peaches, though Kevin and when I find them, I gather up as many as I can. If there is ever a book that I see by a fruit patch and no one is around, I pick it up and take it back to my cave ad look at it while eating my fruit. Today I did what I normally do different. I stayed out because it felt so nice out and I ate in the forest and looked at my book. When flying back to my cave, I found a surprise waiting at my cave entrance. It looked like two kids who had just finished climbing the treacherous hill that leads to my cave. As I flew in closer to look, I saw it was a little girl and a boy with a basket. When I flew in and landed next to them, they looked surprised, but not afraid. I spoke first trying to find out if they were looking for someone around here, or were just new to town. They looked astonished that I could even say anything. I asked if they would like to come in. At first they stared at each other and slowly nodded yes. When they first stepped in they were amazed at how big the cave was.

                “Can we look at your books?” was the first thing the kids asked Kevin.

                “You can, but first what is your name? Kevin asked.

                “I’m Sam and this is Kelly, what’s your name?

                “I’m Kevin the dragon.”

                Sam asked, “Kevin will you be friends with me and Kelly?

                “I’d like to so very much.”

                “That’s great! Thank you so much Kevin. Is anyone hungry? We brought lunch,” said Kelly.

                “Yes,” said Sam and Kevin at the same time.

                Kevin then said, “Please both come back whenever you want after today.”

                For lunch they had all different kinds of meat that Kelly and Sam had brought. Kevin had peaches to share. After eating lunch Kevin let both ids tae a book with them as long as they returned it when they finished it. Then Sam and Kelly left to head home with their books. They came back each day to see Kevin. Now Sam is no longer afraid of dragon fire and he has a friend that’s a dragon like he had always wanted.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Student Narrative: Safe



Safe by Jaye K.
662 Words


                "Shhhh! Hush child!" my dad Kica hissed. We were hunting and he saw something move out in the distance. There was a deer! He slowly raised his needle sharp spear, perfectly made by e of course, and pointed it at the animal. He threw the spear and struck it right in the side. Plot! It immediately fell down.

                “Yet another point for me and still zero for you.” Kica laughed haughtily as he hoisted the bloody animal onto his back. Then we headed to the trail and back to the village.

                “Hello Chief Kica,” said one of the villagers. A man came and took the deer from Kica to store for dinner. Our village was not the greatest or the biggest, but it was home. There were tents, a fire pit and some huts.

                “Hachi, Hachi,” Lanca shouted, “You’re back!” She ran up to me and gave me a big hug. “Hey Lanca, what’s the matter?” Her eyes were full of fear and her face was so pale. “I have to show you something. Come on!” Lanca whispered sharply as she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the edge of the village. “Lanca! What is going on?” I asked. She continued to drag me across the village and then stopped at the hill that looks over the blank area of grass where we hunt. My mouth fell open in shock. Now I knew why Lanca looked so scared. There were a dozen people in blue clothing with metal sticks in their hands coming right towards us.

                “Come Lanca we have to tell Kica!” I said as we started to run back to the village, and into the hut where Kica was. “Kica there are people coming, a lot of people coming!” I yelled.

                “Haichi, there is no one here but us. No one is coming here.” Kica said firmly.

                “But…but.” Lanca mumbled

                “No buts now go wash up in the river. Hachi go help prepare dinner.”

                “Daddy there are people coming, he’s telling the truth. You have to come see NOW” Lanca put her hands on her hips and just looked right at him. Her voice was confident and demanding. She looked just lie mom did before her death many years ago. Lanca walked to the hill with me and Kica behind. Kica looked out over the hunting pasture as we approached the top of the hill. Then lightening quick he was back down the hill and already running towards the village.

                He barked out orders. Men get your weapons, prepare for battle—women, grab your children and head into the cave opening on the other side of the hill!” I started to head to the cave with Lanca when my father stopped me.

                “Son, I need you to fight with us. Would you be willing to fight?” he asked. I looked around at the village, a couple of men against a dozen men in blue; I just knew I needed to help.

                “I will do it,” I said even thought I was unsure of what to do.

                “Lanca get to the cave, now!” Kica yelled. Lanca ran full speed to the hill and up and over the other side.

                “Get ready men,” Kica whispered sharply as he ducked down into the bushes. All of the other men did the same as did I. The next minutes went so fast. The men came. Midi, the second best hunter after Kica rushed out of the bushes and startled a man in blue. The man turned and shot him. Then everyone ran out and started to fight. People were shot in the back with arrows, villager’s shot dead. After about three men died, the men in blue turned and ran out of the village, and into the forest across from the hunting pasture. We WON! Not all was good; Kica had been shot in the arm. The women and children came out of the cave opening and over the hill. Lanca rushed over to Kica.

                “Daddy are you going to die!” Lanca asked between sobs, tears running down her face.

                “No, I’m not going to die, but I won’t be okay for a while.” He responded in the bravest voice he could. He cleaned his arm and bandaged it. Now I know that our village, our home is safe. I am safe as long as I have Kica with me.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Student Narrative: Living Wild


Living Wild by Savannah P.
660 Words


                I woke up from my deep slumber to the sound of water sloshing around, my littermate and best friend, Lily, prodding my side with her paw. I groaned. “What do you want Lily?” I rolled on my soft belly with a sigh and closed my eyes. Lily replied with a scared, shaky meow, “Sunny, look at the floor! It’s flooded!”

                I opened my eyes and saw that Lily was right. The water rolled into my soft bed, and I scrambled to my paws. Just then, I realized that my housefolk were howling, trying to get some of their precious objects into their car. Then, all of a sudden, they just drove off, with no warning.

                O stared after the, wondering, that they would come back for me. Lily was shaking beside me, and I knew that she was thinking the same. So we just sat there waiting, while the water rose up around us, already at Lily’s neck. She’s smaller than I, and it was only just up to my chest.

                All of a sudden Lily blurted out, “They’re not coming back. They won’t until the flood is gone. And that won’t happen in a long time, will it?
 I was about to tell her that they would come back, that they always would, but in my heart, I knew that would be a lie. I muttered sadly, “No. No, they won’t. We need to get out of here, maybe live like those tigers we see on those books. Wild.”

                I stalked out of the house and jumped on the fence. “You coming?” She nodded, and we set off to the forest. While we were looking for a sheltered spot, it started pouring down rain. The drops stung like bees, but eventually, I found a hollow tree that would have to do for the night.

                All of a sudden, I realized something I’d forgotten. Food. I had forgotten food! How could I be so dumb as to forget the most important thing of all times? I remembered that the tigers in the stories would hunt for their prey. I couldn’t do that. I didn’t know how! Lily walked up to me, noticing that I was still for quite a while. She said calmly, “As your loyal companion, I would like to know just this one thing. What are you so worried about? We’ll be fine!” She sat back, clearly waiting for an answer. “Oh, it’s just, well, we don’t have any food. And we won’t for a while if we don’t hunt. Do you have any idea now?” She shook her head and replied. “Not really, but there’s no reason we can’t learn how!”  By now the sun was sinking below the beautiful horizon, and I yawned loudly, so I curled up in the tree and fell asleep.

                I woke up with the sun beaming down on my soft golden fur. I stretched and yawned, and suddenly I realized that we had no food. I heard Lily softly snoring, so I figured I’d have time to catch some food before she woke up.

                I jumped back into the tree; the smell of mouse woke Lily. She sat up ad her eyes widened at the sight of food. “Eww. If you’re sure that’s safe to eat, Sunny, we will,” she stated calmly. I replied, “Of course I’m sure! I even caught it myself!” So we sat down and ate the whole mouse.

                Quite a few days went on like this, and soon the flooded lake wasn’t flooded anymore, so we trekked back home where our housefolk were, waiting for us on the driveway.

                We ran up to them, purring and meowing with joy. Soon, our housefolk got some work done on their house so that if it flooded ever again, the house wouldn’t.

                I’ve spent the rest of my life, so far, wishing that horrific adventure wouldn’t happen again, and it hasn’t. Therefore I am thankful.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Student Narrative: The End



The End by Noah D.
621 Words

                War has broken out due to feared dragons and ruthless giants. The war started by a raid on the most important cities in the world; New York, France, Washington, and other cities like that. For the first four years the armies have kept the giants and dragons from destroying everything. That  all changed two years ago. That was when the serpents came and cut of supply lines that helped out every one. Slowly, one by one, humans started dropping dead like flies. Now there are about 1,000-1,500 people still on the face of the Earth. My name is John and I have survived the six years of war. Now I am faced with my greatest fear…..death. I am one of the ninety-eight humans I America that want to go to Asia to meet up with the resistance. This is the story of me and how I found my friends.

                “Help,” yelled a voice in the distance. I stopped and looked around holding my makeshift spear. “NO PLEASE NO.” There it was again. I sprinted in the direction of the noise. Once I found the kid, a dragon had taken him to a camp of two dragons and four giants. I threw the spear with all of my might and hit the giant that had picked up the kid. As it started falling backwards in shock, the id was able to free himself. Later that day, I found the id. “Mike, my name is Mike,” he told me. That was when a id ran into us knocking us to the ground. Two giant’s showed up and picked us up. They took us to the camp again. The giant that I had hit with a spear was dead. We were tied up to a pole as they started a fire. Thinking fast I took out my pocket knife and started to cut the rope. Once my rope was cut I gave it to Mike and ran for my spear. A dragon spotted me and chased me until I reached my spear. I threw it down the dragon’s throat. The dragon fell to the ground. By then Mie had cut his and the other kid’s rope. We all got out of there. Once we got to a safe location he told us his name was Frank.
                “Nice to meet you Frank,” I said to him.
                “I need to get to Asia to meet up with my family,” Frank said.
                Mike and I both said, “The you should come with us, because we’re going to Asia.”
                The Nest day we went to my hidden boat and loaded it up with food, weapons and water. “Okay, who is ready to become serpent food?” I joked. But, that did happen halfway through our trip. We ran into a serpent. Fran, Mike and I picked up our spears and threw them towards the dragon. Mike’s missed but mine and Franks were dead on. Frank hit the forehead and I hit the left eye. Worst decision I ever made. The serpent sprang into action using its tail to wipe off Fra and Mike into the ocean. Then I screamed into the air….drum roll please, a hydra. A hydra is a breed of dragon. The hydra jumped on the boat and flung me into the sky and down into the water. The weight of the dragon destroyed the boat. We swam to Asia. It was hard! In the end Mike was attacked by a baby serpent and dislocated his left leg and right arm.

                I the end, Mike, Frank and I made it to Asia. Frank found his family. Mike and I were safe for now, but who knows when they will find us here.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Student Narrative: Even Superheroes Can Be Afraid – The Story of Solidman


Even Superheroes Can Be Afraid – The Story of Solidman
By Skyler K.
661 Words

            Everybody knows that there’s a lot of superheroes in this world. You know, Superman, Batman, Spiderman – the usual. But, you probably have ever heard of my superhero – his name is Solidman. He had an usual power. He could turn into any solid object by clicking his fingers. As you can imagine, this could be a very useful power. There was just one problem. Solidman was afraid to use his power because, there was one thing that could stop him for good – blitzoid.
            You see, Solidman came from a planet far away from earth. Years ago Solidman was forced to move off of his home planet. Then it exploded into a million pieces and fell onto the earth. These pieces of his home planet were radioactive and were called Blitzoid. For some reason, Solidman was horribly allergic to Blitzoid and it would melt the solid objects of matter that he turned into. This could spell doom for Solidman, and he was always in fear of that happening.
            One day he was walking down the street and saw a bunch of bullies picking on this kid who was kind of short. These bullies had been in a dark alley and the kid was walking by on the sidewalk. When he walked by they began coming towards him in a mean way. The kid bolted and began to run, but the bullies were faster and were almost on top of him. Then in a flash Solidman turned himself into a brick wall between the kid and the bullies, and the kid got away safe. That was the kind of thing Solidman could do. But, it was mostly little things that helped people like that kid. But, Solidman wanted to use his power in a bigger way.
            He got his chance one day. The town he lived in had a big hydroelectric dam at the end of a huge lake, fed by a river. One time it rained so hard that the water put a lot of pressure on the dam. It put a big hole I the middle of the dam and the water started coming out. Solidman heard the news and rushed to the dam just as it was going to burst. However, the water in this lake came from a big mountain nearby and that was where some of the Blitzoid had fallen. That Blitzoid had worked its way from the mountain into the water behind the dam.
            Now Solidman was scared. He knew that if he turned himself into concrete and plugged the gaping hole that the Blitzoid water could kill him if there was enough of it. He was very fearful. But, courage moved him to take the risk. So, he turned himself into concrete ad patched the gaping hole in the dam. The people in town cheered for Solidman because he had saved them from disaster.
            But wait! What was that burning sensation Solidman felt on the inside of the dam? Sure enough, there WAS Blitzoid in the water and it was putting pressure on the concrete where Solidman had patched it. What would he do? He was afraid the Blitzoid would destroy him and the dam would burst and destroy the town! But, then he thought of an idea. He took the white sand out of the concrete and put it against the water. The heat from the Blitzoid got very, very hot. And it did start to melt the sand!
            But guess what? When the sand had completely melted it had turned into a thick glass wall! This glass was extremely hard when the coolness of the water had cooled it. So, Solidman was saved, the dam was saved, and no one even got hurt! Now Solidman had new confidence because he overcame his fears. He went on to save may people from a slew of disasters.

            So face your fear and you will win!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Student Narrative: Make One Friend

Here we go again.  Today I have a part of a story written by another of my wonderful sixth graders. Enjoy.  Please leave Positive Comments.

Make One Friend by Isabella J.
687 Words

                I am Barney Appleridge. I’m not your average id. I am a geek, a reading, writing, unpopular school-loving geek. My mom always says things lie, “Nerds rule the world,” or “One day all of those bullies are going to work for you.” It never makes me feel better though.  I can’t control who I am, but sometimes, I wish I could.
                “Tic, tack, tick, tack,” rain ran down the side of our car like soft gunshots. I sat in the back seat trying to ignore my mom peering back at me and smiling every five seconds. After this went on for what seemed to be ten minutes my mom finally said, “You’re excited aren’t you? I can tell.” I didn’t say anything, and stared out the window to show my enthusiasm. “Don’t worry hun; middle school is a good place to start over new.”
                “Right,”  I say sarcastically, “instead of being seen as a geek, people could see me as a complete joke! Thanks mom that makes me feel loads better!”
                “Hey” said a voice in my head. “It’s Theo your bud!” Theo is my imaginary friend. I talk to him so much my brain makes him talk to me when I need him.
                “Hi Theo,” I whisper trying to avoid my mom hearing my conversation.
                “Hey, don’t be afraid of what you have to face,” Theo said encouragingly.
                “I know it must be done,” I mutter. Theo appears in the seat beside me.
                “Yes, it is what you must do,” Theo said. “At least have fun doing it. Make me a promise.”
                “Okay,” I replied.
                Alright, Theo muttered, “Make yourself a real friend okay?” Before I had time to answer, my mom opened the car door. I looked back to say goodbye to Theo, but he was gone.
                “Okay, I told myself, make one friend, make one friend.” I chanted those words as we made our way to Bacteria Prep, my new school. “Make one friend, make one friend.” The chanting became louder and louder in my head. I barely noticed it when my mom hugged me and said goodbye. There were many kids walking toward the school. My heart was beating to the rhythm of my waling and chanting. “Make one friend, make one friend.” I almost hit my head on the front door. I was so distracted.
                I was handed my schedule in the office. World History first period, I ran up the stairs entering the flow of many other students making their way up the stairs with me. When I walked into the classroom I sat in the first available seat. Everyone in the classroom looked like me, scared and pale. I didn’t notice it, but it looked like I sat next to a boy. Like everyone else in the classroom, he too was scared and pale. “Make one friend, make one friend”, the chant started back in my brain again. This must be a sign, a sign that me and this boy could be lifelong best friends. The words “hi my name is Barney” formed in my head. I repeated this over and over again in my head hoping it would come out of my mouth. Before I had the chance to speak he talked to me.
                “Hi, do you want to sit together at lunch?” My mouth was opened wide. I quickly wiped the expression from my face and agreed. I nodded my head yes frantically. He showed me a large ear to ear smile and I gave him one right back. 
                The next three periods flew by quickly. It turns out that I have five out of seven periods with him! After meeting him I met his friends and their friends, and I was popular. “I” was popular!.

                Middle school wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Also, the boy’s name was Theo! Now that’s just creepy. He moved here from Rhode Island over the summer. He has a lot of stories to tell. During lunch I saw a friend that I once needed. He was waving goodbye, the he disappeared forever.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Impenetrable

Here we go again.  Today I have a part of a story written by another of my wonderful sixth graders. Enjoy.  Please leave Positive Comments.


Impenetrable
Elizabeth B.
1,444 words

     My name is Raven Vert, and I have a mission. With, of course, my only friends. I am going to do something that no one, absolutely no one, has ever done before. I know that it sounds like a very cheesy thing to say, but what this really is, is not cheesy at all.

     It’s a place that is hidden. It’s difficult to find, unless you know what you are looking for. I do. I live In Maine with my two sisters, Chelsea and Stephanie, and with my parents. I have two friends, John and Percy. They are the people who are accompanying me on this mission. They are my only friends. I live on a hill, three blocks away from the hidden place. John lives one block away from me, and Percy lives right across from the hidden place. He always complains how loud it is over there, how creepy it is a night. Everybody is afraid of that place, everybody in the neighborhood.

     Everybody except us. John, Percy, And I. Every Wednesday, Our only free day, we all go to the hidden place. We can’t ever get past it. See, the problem is that we aren’t even scared of the forest, it is just that we can’t get by it.

     There are giant bulky trees surrounding the perimeter of the forest. Each of the trees, only one centimeter apart, stands at least one hundred fifty feet tall. Wickedly thick trunks at the bottom. We have tried to get ten arms, stretched out, on the front of the tree with no success. Humongous green leaves as big as my face hang from the trees. The branches hang so low, and the leaves never fall off of the tree. Never. Even in the most brutal of all storms, Not a single leaf has ever came off one of those trees. Scientists haven’t even come up with a scientific name for it and well, its because they don’t know anything about it. Every Wednesday, after school, we go to the hidden place now as you know, the hidden forest. With parents permission, of course.

     You see, when we ask out parents to go there, we don’t specifically say what we are doing. We say we are going to do homework there. We do. Sometimes. But we don’t tell them what we do after that. Our goal is to get past the impenetrable forest.

     We have tried everything. Well, everything we can think of. I had an idea, and this particular Wednesday I will be able to put it into play.

     Today is Wednesday. I am eating breakfast and staring out the window. I am so excited to use my idea. I can hardly think of anything else. My favorite color is green because when I look outside, I see green, all green. The drop-off from our hill, the sun rising, sets a bright glow to all the greenery. Right across from us is a creek, the highlight of our neighborhood. One side of the community is all of the houses, and the whole other side is occupied by the creek. The road is neatly paved and all of the houses look completely different. Just like my house is the only house in the community that is one story, and painted yellow. We are the only ones as well that have a backyard. Small bushes surround our whole property. We have a whole swing set in the back, and also a garden with all different vegetables. I get ready for school ‘Arnold Tolkien Creek Middle’. Both of my sisters are in high school, and so they are still asleep. I hugged my parents, threw open the door, ran down our walkway and leaped onto the bus just as the driver gunned the engine and sped off to the place of education.

     “Everybody off!” the driver yelled to the kids. I shot out the door. I then trotted to my  home room, and sat down. Just then, my best friends John and Percy sat down on either side of me. John had dirty blond hair and brown eyes, Percy had black hair and blue eyes, while I had brown hair and unusual wild green eyes.
     ”Hey guys, I have an idea for mission impossible. But it will have to wait until after school when we are over there. I don’t want anybody to overhear us.” John exclaimed,                                  “What's mission impossible? Is it something that I don’t know about? If so, why didn’t anybody tell me?” I laughed. Then whispered,    
     ” No it’s the mission with the bulky trees that Percy lives across from. Remember?” Percy rolled his eyes.    
     “That was just the question you asked about the science test!”
     “So how did your dance practice go yesterday, John? And what about your soccer game Percy?” I asked. John replied in a hushed whisper.
     ”SSHH!! Keep it down! I don’t want anyone else to know about my dancing! Oh, and it went very well, thanks!” Then Percy,
     “Great! We won! It was a very tough game. As we advance, teams are getting much much tougher. How did your track team tryout go?” I felt proud.
     “Amazing!” I exclaimed, “And I got in! And by the way John, there is really nobody in here. It was John’s turn to roll his eyes. He scanned the room.
     “Yeah, except meanie Jenna over there.” Jenna was talking to her best friend Abby.

     Jenna was a very mean girl who had the same classes as John and took every chance she could to bully him. We have tried to get her to stop countless times, and also have talked to the administration about it. They said that they are working on getting her expelled for next year. She has blond hair and blue eyes, and everybody is her friend. But, she has reserved one person to be her best friend. She is, if you want to put her evilness into words, a lying, cheating, bullying person. And people love her. Want to be like her. She is very wealthy, and she criticizes people who are not.  I can’t understand why people want to be like her.

     I had just rolled my eyes and said,
     ”Hey, remember? We can go and play an instrument now, if we leave our homeroom teacher, Mr. Harrison a sticky note!”
     “Since when do you like playing the bass? I thought that you said that it was a waste of time and that is because you are not very good at it…..” Percy inquired.
     “SSHH!! Come on! Let’s just go!”

     So, they got through the rest of the day and got on the bus in a flash. As John, Percy, and I rode home on the bus, Percy exclaimed,
     “Wow! The school day went really fast.” “Yeah,” I agreed, “I already asked my parents to go to the impenetrable forest.”
     “Me too,” Percy and John replied in unison. We neared the place to get into the hidden place. We hopped off the bus and neared the drop off to the creek.

     Our routine was as usual. We started to climb on the rocks of the creek. From there, we crossed the creek and took a detour from the creek to a hidden cave filled with spider webs. We climbed through the cave , under the spider webs and came out to a clearing.

     The hidden place. It looked the same from last Wednesday. Same huge trees and leaves that don't look real, and the forbidden aroma.
     “Well guys, let’s set to work.” We sat down next to one of the trees.
     “Ok, so my idea is that we can….. climb up the trees! I mean, we have tried to go through the space in the trees and tried to go underground. I know, we even tried looking around all of the trees. But then, we haven’t thought hard enough. So, what else can we do? We can climb up the trees!” John perks up.
     “Oh my gosh, that is brilliant! I love it! You can try it out first, though!” ‘Some friends’ I thought to myself.
       “Fine,” Percy said, “I don’t believe it. I personally don’t think that you can do it.” 
     “Ok, then. I will show you that this can be done and that it will work.” As I  was explaining my thinking, I was also thinking,’ I’m scared. They call me brave, but I am terrified of breaking something, or dying!’
     All of a sudden, I stopped thinking. Instead it was replaced by either determination or foolishness, I could not pin-point it.
     “Ok, I’ll do it.”  I was terrified. I went to the nearest tree and I started climbing.


Monday, September 22, 2014

First Student Writing of the Year

It is with great pleasure that I share with you my readers, the first student writing of the year.  We have been working on Narratives.  Our first assignment has students writing about a character's fear, since we have been looking at fear for your unit.  Here is a piece of really fine writing by one of my sixth grade students.  I hope you enjoy and please leave a POSITIVE comment.


Stranded by Logan C.

            I opened my eyes and was surrounded by green. I was being awakened by water dripping on my forehead. I shook my head frantically, like a dog after a bath. I sat up, and as my eyes focused, I realized that I was on a beach, under a palm tree. “This is new,” I said.
            I stood up, and attempted to brush off the sand that covered me from head to toe. The last thing I remembered was Sunny, my new, yellow lab puppy, licking my hand as I dozed off on the couch. Now, I have no idea where I am, or how I got here.
            Everyone knows my ultimate fear is being stranded on a deserted island. I briefly recall watching “Swiss Family Robinson” as a kid, and how everyone else loved it. The thought of not being able to go home either filled me with dread, or scared me to death. I think a little of both.
            “I have to know,” I muttered as I set to climbing the tree. There were no limbs, so I used my shirt to shimmy up Mulan-style. The higher that I climbed, the lower my heart sank. My worst fear is now my reality. I reluctantly lowered myself back down.
            The thud of my body hitting the ground was met by a scurrying of what appeared to be either giant opossums or banana rats. Both are rodents, so to me, both equally disgusting. “Just when I thought this could not get any worse,” I mumbled, as a chill went down my spine. Of course my deserted island would be barren of people, but filled to the brim with possibly rabid creatures. I wish I was wearing red ruby slippers right about now. I wouldn’t even care what my friends thought. I would be home, and away from here.
            My stomach started churning, partly from my feeling of impending doom tossed in with my hunger. “Please let there be fruit. Please let there be fruit,” I chanted as a little prayer. I scanned my surroundings thinking…Fish? No hook, no line, no spear, no luck. I imagined a little rotisserie rat. It’s not gourmet, but it’ll do in a pinch. “This is definitely a pinch,” I laughed sarcastically.
            I tightened my laces, put my shirt back on, and stammered deeper into the jungle, determined to find a meal and not be one. I grabbed a cantaloupe-sized rock as my weapon of choice as I tiptoed toward the squeaking. I thought about all of the nature shows I’ve watched, and realized I’d need a plan. My slamming of my mini-boulder with my bare hands would most likely leave me bitten, bloody, and frothing as I croak, never to be found again.
            I took a quick inventory of my possessions: fully clothed with long pants and long sleeves, a belt, socks, and tennis shoes. I’d love to tell you that I created some awesome trap, but time was of the essence. I kicked my shoes off, slid out of my jeans, pulled my shoes back on, tied a knot in one pant leg, dropped my rock in, and swung away! Just out of reach of retaliation, I nailed two nasty rats to the ground. My wild man screaming sent the rest scattering.
            “New problem. I didn’t think this through,” I sighed as I dry-heaved at the thought of eating raw meat. I dragged the carcasses back to the beach by their tails. I gathered some dry palm fronds and took my belt buckle off of my belt to reflect the sun to start a fire. When the brush began to smoke and burst into flame, I nursed it until it became larger. I dug a hole in the sand and lined it with rocks. I threw the rats in, fur and all. Then, I gently lowered my fire on top of them. I knew it would be hours before they cooked, so I tended the flame that would also serve as my protection through the night, and hopefully draw human attention for a speedy rescue. While my nummies roasted, I created a makeshift hut out of green fronds. I hoped it would be a one night stay.
            Two hours passed, according to the sun, and I used a stick to retrieve my feast. Although still encased in charred flesh with remnants of fur, the meat fell tenderly from the bone. I tried to imagine something less gruesome, and tried to avoid eye contact with their hollowed sockets. “This is some “Lord of the Flies” nightmare,” I choked as I tore the meat into bite sized shreds. I gorged myself until I was in a Thanksgiving kind of stupor. I piled more dry fronds on the fire, and sprawled out under my primitive hut and slipped off into a food coma.
            My eyes fluttered in the darkness. I saw flickering through my slits. I assumed it was the fire as my eyes slammed shut. Then, came the licking! In a half a second, my mind raced. The rat family had come back for their revenge! I snatched my hand away, jumped up, and started running for my life. I immediately tripped over the coffee table, head first into the wall. I rolled over groaning as Sunny came to my aid cautiously, as the T.V. flickered in the night. I had been forced to face my fear. I headed off to brush my teeth to get this awful taste out of my mouth.
           
                                   


 
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