Words from Our Young Authors at Oakton Elementary, Grades 3-6

This session in our What A Mystery! curriculum we solved mysteries through writing! Our class was all about suspense, problem-solving, and finding clues. No small detail gets past this class!

From: Grab Your Reader by the Hook

Computer Trouble

I thought it was just a glitch in my computer. But that was yesterday before I discovered that my computer was alive! … My computer is amazing now that it is alive! For instance, I don’t bother looking at my homework because I have a walking, talking super computer with arms, literally! So it just does the homework for me while I study or watch a movie…The next day I got an F on my homework! “What?” I exclaimed… Then I remembered my brother knew my password….

- Ian

When it Happened

I didn’t know how it happened, I didn’t know why it happened, I just knew when it happened. It was a cool breezy day when the incident occurred. I felt a chilling feeling up my spine when I saw the shadowy figure walking down the alley at exactly 1:45 AM. I knew the witness, but the victim was still a mystery.

“I wonder,” I thought to myself as a cool breeze brushed against my face. “I wonder why?”

- Ava

From: Beginning, Middle, and End Activity: Beginning - Characters are introduced and the reader learns about the problem, Middle - Detectives work to solve the mystery by interviewing suspects and gathering clues, End - The mystery is solved...

The Legend Of Edward I

There was once a boy named Edward Prestly. He had a mom, a dad, a younger brother named Elvis Prestly, and an older sister named Gracie Prestly. They all lived in a mansion. Edward had a secret: Whenever he reads his sister’s diary, monsters and other creatures come out. If he tells anyone, all of the things come out and attack the person he told!

- Bayan

From: Who, What, When, Where, Why

Mystery Story

I got an eerie feeling when I heard the booms and crashes of about 5 cars that mysteriously stopped suddenly. I stepped outside, it was misty, a police officer was already there. He had bright red eyes when he asked me my name.

- Nataly

Locked

We were in the teacher’s lounge when the lights went out. We waited for the generator to turn the lights back on, but they never did. We all rushed to the door (all of us except Miss M&M, because she didn’t know). The door was locked! Then the clock raced backward as fast as light! Then the door opened simultaneously. We rushed through to the front door of the school, but it was locked too. A realization dawned on us, we were all alone here.

- Brenna

The Robbery

I couldn’t believe what I had just seen and it was coming back! One night at 2:00 AM on June 3^rd a person walked by London Bank #243. He looked gloomy. I tried to keep my eyes from drifting to see his face, but I just couldn’t keep them straight. He looked at me. An alarming shiver flew down my spine. He walked into the bank, but took out a card that wasn’t from the bank. I thought about the bank robbery that happened last week.

- Devon

Detective Pudgy and the Case of the Missing Jackpot of One Million Wombats

Suddenly, Detective Pudgy woke up in the middle of the night! He had had a terrifying dream. But then he heard a horrified squeak followed by an evil laugh. A chill ran down his back. He jumped out of bed and ran toward where he though the noise was coming from. It was dark, but D. Pudgy could just make out a small car driving away from Dr. Chubby’s house. He went up and knocked. He waited five minutes, but no one answered.

- Sophie

The Tunnel

Once upon a time, there was a boy named John Pine who found a hole in his back yard. He had no clue what it was. He threw a rock into the hole but didn’t hear it hit the ground.

“That’s weird,” he said out loud.

Then his mom called him in for dinner. As he was washing his hands he heard about a crime on the news. Someone called The Tunnerler had been robbing banks all over the country!

- Charlie

Words From Our Young Authors at Grattan Elementary

This session the students worked on character and plot. They learned to make use of each of their five senses as a source of inspiration. The students did listening activities that led to poems, worked collaboratively to interpret photos, and used details from their own lives - both mundane and personal - as details to enhance character. See sa couple of the excerpts below!  

From a photograph of a Scarecrow dressed in a fine suit and hanging in a cornfield:

Ballad of the Scarecrow in a suit.

I am a scarecrow. It’s a lot harder than it seems. For one, it’s a pain in the neck to re-stuff yourself everyday. Oh and, hey, wait, please don’t leave. I’m not going to complain the entire time. Maybe ten percent, but not more. Besides, I’m getting off topic, and before I do, I should tell you about my appearance. No really, it’s essential to the story. Like I said, I’m a Scarecrow, an average Joe, straw-filled, rough, canvas skin. But it’s the outfit that really catches people’s eye. I can see you’re filled to the brim with questions, and being the Scarecrow that I am, I am happy to answer them.

-Sam

I am supposed to be scary. But not that anyone thinks I am. Everyone thinks I’m funny. It makes me sad. I hope someone will understand.

-Estella

From an exercise in collaboration called the exquisite corpse, where the kids each  wrote a line of the story, without having seen the line that came before:

Bob R. Greedy

Bob R. Greedy Planned to smuggle a bald eagle into Spain. At the top of the Empire State building. In the middle of 223 BC. Because of the atomic matter in your mother’s favorite teapot. But she became so excited that she drowned. And this caused the cow to run circles around them.

-Adam

Words from Our Young Authors at Joaquin Miller

This session, our theme was Treasure and Found Objects. We explored all kinds of concepts, from different types of treasure to how found objects can create poetry.

From Treasure Maps, Details & Point of View - an exercise where students created a treasure map with lots of concrete detail, then wrote a story about it using the 2^nd person point of view.

Treasure in Mural Park

You walk to your car, get in, and start the engine. You drive around and see a homeless person on the street. You get out, after parking, and confront him. You take out your wallet and just as you're about to give $30 to this poor person, he gets up, takes your wallet, and runs. You chase him, then trip on a tree branch poking out of the sidewalk cement on 5th Avenue in Goldsberry, Texas. You fall, holding your fist up and yelling, "You'll pay for that!"

The homeless person laughs and keeps running. A piece of paper flies out of his pocket, and you wonder what it is. As you go to pick it up, you thank yourself for once: "I am so glad I only put money in there, not any cards or receipts!" When you finally get to the paper, you find it is a map of Mural Park -- a treasure map, in fact. It shows the south end of the park, with the mountain mural, the ducks, and the pond. There is a big yellow X right above the mountains in the picture, on the right-hand side. You also see a bright orange trail running right through the middle.

You decide to go check it out, and you hop back into your car. You know how to get to the park from the years you spent with your children before they went with your sister Aggie. While you drive, you start to cry thinking about the time you spent with your kids.

When you get to the park, you notice that there are only six other people in the whole south end. You wonder why, then get out of your car and ask around.

The first person you encounter, a young student from the University, says, "It has been like this since the flash." You look confused, and he sighs and pulls out a paper from his backpack. You take it and see it is a newspaper with the caption, "Fire Flash Striked Mural Park." You keep reading...

-Olivia

From Word Scavenger Hunt - an exercise where we explored the possibilities of imagery and descriptive language by doing a “reverse” scavenger hunt. The instructor provided the object, and students provided descriptive clues.

Brussel Sprouts

My brussel sprouts are sitting on my white, reflective plate. They are watching me, I swear. Those puke-green, repulsive-tasting, poison-carrying vegetables. They just had to be on my plate. Brussel sprouts. Code name for some cold-hearted stuff that couldn't be edible, meant to demolish a kid's happiness, not to mention dinner.

-Luke

From What Is Treasure? Creating plot and answering the 5 W’s to describe different kinds of treasures.

The Million Dollar Dress

I was walking across the foggy road, then I suddenly tripped over a log and fell into a revolting mud puddle. I shrieked, because my million dollar gown was ruined. I was so frustrated, because I was supposed to go to the ball, and now I had to return to my castle and clean my gown. There was no way I could change because my father wanted me to wear this specific dress. He'd said: "My mother wore this dress to her first ball; now you must wear it to yours."

I raced into the nearest taxi cab, and it was full of germs and terrible smells. I arrived back at the castle and asked our maid Mildred to clean the dress. She said there was absolutely no way anyone could get it clean. Without any other choice, I would have to wear a different dress.

To be continued...

-Morgan

From The Museum of Found Objects - students created their own “exhibit” of found objects and chose one to write a story about.

Fry Dude

Hi, my name is French Fry. You can just call me Fry Dude for short. I have this jelly-filled doughnut that I bought this morning, and this is my story.

2 Days Later

"Help! Help! I lost my doughnut! Do something to help my precious jelly-filled doughnut." I called 911 and said, "I've lost my jelly-filled doughnut." Seconds later, the SWAT team showed up. "Okay, what is it?" they said. "I lost my jelly-filled doughnut!" I said. Then it felt as if time froze like ice.

3 Hours Later

I woke up in a dark room with an incredibly soggy jail suit on. I stood up to the sight of puddles everywhere, a tiny window with bars, and a battered army cot on the uneven concrete. Thud, thud. I heard pounding on the door. They pulled me out of the jail cell, and the world seemed different. I saw a sign with a date on it: the year 2026. Weird, I thought to myself, and scratched my beard. Wait a minute, I never had a beard...

To be continued... 

-Gavin

From Treasure Maps, Details & Point of View - an exercise where students created a treasure map with lots of concrete detail, then wrote a story about it using the 2^nd person point of view.

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"I'm not going to make it bos-"

That was it. Another man down. Many people had tried to get the treasure, and many had failed. So a treasure association was built. They hired people who had found treasure in Colorado. They hired a specialist in mapping. That specialist was you.

To be continued... 

-Marco

From Treasure Maps, Details & Point of View - an exercise where students created a treasure map with lots of concrete detail, then wrote a story about it using the 2^nd person point of view.

To Find My Way Through

You're standing in your great-grandpa's rusty, dusty, and old-smelling attic. Man! There is so much stuff up here, with old boxes that must be from the sixties. But one box catches your eye: it is labeled MAPS. It's much dirtier than the other boxes, so you think it must be super old. As you look inside, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of maps. More maps than you can carry. One out of all of them catches your eye. It has green, plush trees and beautiful mountains. You can hardly make out the squinty little handwriting, but you think it says Owl Landia, home of the owls. You absolutely love owls, so you say, "I wish I could go there!"

The world jumbles and fumbles, twists and turns. You finally find yourself upon green, plush trees and beautiful mountains. Everything around you is beautiful, and you think to yourself, "I must be in Owl Landia!"

To be continued...

-Julia

From You Name It, We’ve Found It - an exercise where students learned about a NYC company that reunites people with items lost in taxi cabs, then wrote stories from the point of view of the taxi driver and passenger.

Ski Mask Switch

1. Joe

Hi, my name is Joe. This is an old tale, about two years old. I was doing my usual route and a man jumped into my cab and said, "Step on it! Time Square!" So I drove, and he said drive faster, so I did. When I pulled up to Times Square, he handed me two dollars and jumped out. "You're going to need more than $2 to survive in New York City!" I yelled. That's when I realized he had left his ski mask.

2. Drew

At the time, I went into the grocery store on the way back from my ski trip. I was hungry, so I tried to grab some ham from the meat counter. BEEP! An alarm rang in my ears, and I realized it was me touching the ham. That's New York City grocery stores for you. So I left, got in a taxi, and said, "Step on it! Times Square!" to the driver. He wore a name tag that said Joe.

To be continued...

-DJ

From Treasure Maps, Details & Point of View - an exercise where students created a treasure map with lots of concrete detail, then wrote a story about it using the 2^nd person point of view.

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James Bond, you have a new mission. First you have to go to Till's-Land Island. Then you must go over the Tomb Hills, and then you have to walk aside The Lake. After that you must cross The Bridge, then climb the everlasting, ever-erupting, red-orange, earth-created Volcano. Then walk over more round, green hills, and then you will find the treasure!

From,

Your Boss

P.S. I am pretty sure the treasure is a pigeon with a pack of gum.

P.P.S. I think the bridge might be broken.

P.P.P.S. I am actually pretty sure that there is no volcano.

P.P.P.P.S. Call me at five or whenever you get the treasure.

-Pearce

From Treasure Maps, Details & Point of View - an exercise where students created a treasure map with lots of concrete detail, then wrote a story about it using the 2^nd person point of view.

Map

You're walking to the supermarket, but you trip on something. You look down and see it is a map with lots of details. It's a map for a place called Candy Land, and at the end of it is a blue X. Twenty seconds later, you get sucked into the map!

Soon you're surrounded by candy, and your mouth is watering. You look at the map in your hand and decide to find the treasure. First you start near a bunch of lollipop trees, and the dots on your map point out of the trees and southeast. A chocolate river appears, too deep for you to cross. You see a piece of paper that says, build a bridge. You collect some marshmallows and throw them in the river. Then you quickly across them to the other side.

Next there is a big slide. You spin up the stairs like a rabbit, wondering why you have to go on the slide. Then you realize that below you are thousands of beasts, like dragons, mermaids, dinosaurs, and lots of others.

To be continued...

-Dani

From Treasure Maps, Details & Point of View - an exercise where students created a treasure map with lots of concrete detail, then wrote a story about it using the 2^nd person point of view.

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To find the mystic treasure, you must swim through the Water of Death with violent waves roaring against you. Then you must go through the exquisite Unicornlandia, where majestic unicorns live with their silver coats and paper-white horns with unique engravings. Then you go through the steep rolling hills, following the map's path to avoid dying (you will notice graves every five steps, if you think death is near and want a peaceful death without anyone stepping on you, simply leap into a vacant tomb).

After that, you must go to the Balking Chickens of Fear, and you will see humongous chickens with their high-pitched, ear-pearcing balks that will make a deaf man hear again. Then go to Bobville, where everything's name is Bob. Run as fast as lightning to avoid Bob-itis and pass safely through the Daggers of Death. Find your way to the Maze of Death, where plants grow together to make a huge maze. Exit the maze and go through the roaring, erupting volcano, where the blood-red lava is pouring down.

Leave the volcano and stay on the path until you arrive at Creepy Hollow, where all you can hear are shrills and screeches of the owls. Go to the red X and try to find your way back. Good luck.

-Samantha

From Word Scavenger Hunt - an exercise where we explored the possibilities of imagery and descriptive language by doing a “reverse” scavenger hunt. The instructor provided the object, and students provided descriptive clues.

Something Homemade

As I hunted around the house for an old earring box, I tripped over a toy. "Oliver!" I felt something under my well-worn glove. Success! A box the perfect size.

Rushing around, I found my baby blue paint in a mad paw through the big black paint box. Squeezing the last drops of sparkling paint out carefully so I wouldn't waste the last of it, I smoothly stroked the paint on. As I set the box to dry, I proudly looked over the work I had done. The box shone like Io, the Greek Godess of Dawn, had shone her light on it.

Here came the hard part. Quietly, I snuck into my parent's room. Slipping a diver's suit under my coat, I flashed out. I cranked open my side window and climbed down the rickety fire escape. As I dressed up for diving, I prepared the old boat for takeoff. Once I reached the heart of the ocean, I hooked my rope around the kelp forest trees and leapt off the boat. As I paddled down to the oyster bed, I immediately spotted two perfect pearls. Snatching the pearls, I thought to myself, "That was easy." I had a spare change of clothes on board the boat, and I changed as quickly as possible and rode home.

To be continued...

-Marley

From Treasure Maps, Details & Point of View - an exercise where students created a treasure map with lots of concrete detail, then wrote a story about it using the 2^nd person point of view.

Bob

You wake up in a dark, misty jungle full of life. You look around and see many jungle trees and ferns. You pick up your REI axe and start hacking away at a tree. It falls to the ground with a thump! You find some vines from the tree and cut them off. You start to make a boat with your axe, hollowing out the tree as you go, and finish just before nightfall.

You set out on the silver sea with glistening water. You must paddle with branches that you found, and it takes two hours just to get out of sight of the steaming island you now dub Breegronkfrizelcrob. It's another two hours before you and your boat reach a monkey-shaped island with a broken sign that says, "Welcome Bob, to Death by Monkeys Island. Meet my evil cat named Fluffy!"

To be continued...

-Hunter

From Word Scavenger Hunt - an exercise where we explored the possibilities of imagery and descriptive language by doing a “reverse” scavenger hunt – the instructor provided the object, and students provided descriptive clues.

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The noise in the cafeteria was loud.

The volume in the echoing lunchroom was so ear-breaking, it sounded like 1,000 lions were roaring at different times. Almost like 100 mad monkeys. I wish this noisy lunchroom was like a green meadow with soft, neighing horses.

-Marcella

From You Name It, We’ve Found It - an exercise where students learned about a NYC company that reunites people with items lost in taxi cabs, then wrote stories from the point of view of the taxi driver and passenger.

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One day I was celebrating our team's World Cup win. I decided to leave a little bit early so I could go home and play video games with my friends. When I got into a cab with my trophy and bodyguards, I realized that one of my bodyguards was playing with his choo-choo train. I was about to yell at him, but just then a very round pig with a jetpack and a snort-oink translator flew right into the cab.

The pig said, "You shall die, fellow potato!"

"Dude, I'm not a potato," I said.

"Dude!" the pig said, "I'm not a dude. I'm Mr. Round Piggy."

The bodyguards rushed out of the cab, screaming like newborn babies but 500 times higher in pitch.

To be continued...

-Louka

Words from Our Young Authors at Park Day, Grades 2-3

This session’s curriculum has been Poetry Palooza! Students have thrown themselves headlong into odes, alliterative poems, free-form poems, riddle poems, nature poems and more. Students have sharpened their metaphors, honed their personifications and written through all five senses. The results speak for themselves.  From: On Turning Ten, an examination of the free-form poem by Billy Collins

On Turning Ten

On turning ten I hope to still be able to Still play imaginary games Still want to learn about Greek Mythology Still have time to go swimming and ride my bike

What scares me about growing up is that I might not be able to imagine the same thoughts I am thinking right now ever

-Zoe K

From: Imitation of the poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me At All” by Maya Angelou

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Snakes slithering on the ground Spiders creeping up the wall Darkness in the sky Clowns with red noses Sharks swimming through water They don’t frighten me at all

-Zoe M

From: Poetry with a rhyme scheme

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Lightning strikes the highest peak Sometimes it makes a little leak You fall from so high in the air Sometimes you give me a little scare

-Dolci

From: Odes to things

Cookie

Sweet Yummy You are crunchy You make me happy and excited when I bite into you Lovely Awesome Appreciated

-Meera

From: Odes to things

Snow Leopard

I see you pounce around the forest missing, jumping, getting food Oh dear snow leopard why so prancy? why so pretty, why so dancy?

I see you try to climb trees high I see you fall, I see you cry. In the snow I see you eat I see you kill, I see you eat meat.

Oh dear snow leopard why so prancy why so pretty, why so dancy?

-Aidan

From: Odes to things and experiments with the 2^nd person

Light

Sunny colors orange and yellow you help me see in the dark your light can change every part of my day at daybreak you’re up and lighting up my day at dusk your light is dark orange and the skies are purple, blue and pink people celebrate your light in Alaska

-Meilin

From: Odes to things and experiments with the 2^nd person

Monkeys

O Monkeys swinging through the sunny trees O screeching, so ever can be I hear rustling through the leaves I see you through the greenish grass I watch you from my windowsill, playing

-Anonymous

From: A letter poem

Dear painting,

I am very glad you are here to excite my simplicity to add your color to my blank white surface And just so you know, my best color is orange So please can I have orange?

Sincerely, Canvas

-Ellie

From: A letter poem

Dear Wasabi

Dear Wasabi,

I like the spiciness you give to me. I like when you swim in the soy sauce.

Sincerely, Sushi

-Max

Words from Our Young Authors at Oakton Elementary

This winter at Oakton we explored the fantastical world of dreams. Take a look at some of the work our students dreamed up!

From a warm-up writing exercise describing daydreams:

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“A daydream is a dream but your mind is confused so you do it during the day. A daydream is a magical sight you saw earlier. And after if you think you can find similarities of what happened earlier. You can also find similarities in the characters. Your mind is a fly trap. It traps moments. You can also add to what happened earlier in your daydreams.”

– Pearl

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“A daydream is a dream during the day. You may be feeling tired or something, and you may make it turn into a daydream to dream. Then a dream to REM. The REM to a deeeeeep sleeeeeep. Then a deeeeeep sleeeeeep to a daymare! Aaah! Then, your teacher says, “Wake up Suhani. You are suspended from sleeping in math!” Sigh. All because of a daydream. Time to go to the principal’s office. Bye.”

– Suhani

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“A dream is a fly speck of dust from dreamyness. It flies and flies until it hits your head and the redder ghost and then you wake up!”

– Wesley

What is a daydream?

"A daydream is when your imagination comes to life. A daydream could also be a warning. A daydream is unrealistic. A daydream is not paying attention. A daydream is gets your trouble. A daydream is more secret than 51. More powerful than a whale."

– Bayan

From What if Pencils Had Dreams:

A Candle’s Dream

“I dream of being the brightest burning and the longest fire lasting candle. I dream of being alive. I dream of giving peace and quiet to the world.”

– Ian

From What Dreams Tell Us About Our Personalities:

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“I got lost going on my way to my house when I found a forest. It was misty and had vines hanging from the trees. The trees started to shoot killer gnomes at me. I ran until I found a path. The only problem was there was swamp with lava instead of water. I was walking on the bridge when I found a door. I looked in a tree’s hole and found five keys….”

– Dillan

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“The forest is dark and spooky and smells like smoke of bananas. There is a path to a sponge, black and huge! They can dance. I can see a key!...”

– Kajvan

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“I am driving through a dark and dreary forest and that smell! I don’t even want to start… It is like cinnamon mixed with farts and the other thing is that the grass is lime green and the trees are droopy. There is a wide path. It is white and mossy and there are a lot of insects and parrots that repeat what you say…”

–Alessia

Freewrite:

When We Meet

“One day a kid named Sam wondered what was in the sky. His teachers and parents said the only things in the sky were planets and stars. Sam thought there was more so when he was 18 he signed up to be an astronaut at NASA…”

– Charlie

From Dreams for the World:

I Have a Dream!

“I have a dream that all tacos should be treated equally in Tacotopia Town where the burnt ones will have freedom! I will lead taco marches and do whatever I can to help tacos! We cannot work for you anymore!..”

– Nataly

Words from Our Young Authors at Commodore Sloat Elementary

This session at Sloat we are exploring the elements of a good mystery. The kids have been crafting mystery stories and learning all about creative writing techniques, from character and plot development to using concrete details and the five senses to tell a story. We’ve been having a great time. Here are some teasers...  

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street. 

One night I got a package from an old man. He said to protect it. I didn’t get a good look at him, but I opened it anyway. Inside there was another box that was black. When I got home, I opened that box and found nothing. “Stupid old man, gave me nothing,” I muttered, but he had given me the greatest gift of all, a dragon egg.

-Declan

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street. 

Today an old guy ran into me while I was walking to school. He shoved a black box into my hands and said don’t let this out of your sight. Instinctually I dropped it and ran the rest of the way. Stranger danger, right? As soon as I got to school I kept quiet. During lunch I pulled over Grover, my best friend, to talk about the old man. He said I shouldn’t worry but I couldn’t be so sure. After school got out I ran home.

-Grace

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street.

One day I was walking down the street and a strange man handed me a package and said “Don’t let anything happen to this” and ran away. I ran after him. Suddenly I lost him. I looked at the package. It was brown with white tape. I shook it and heard a loud shake.

-Julia

From: How to organize a mystery around Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? using the prompt “It was missing.”

This morning when I woke up I was about to walk my puppy, but it had disappeared. I was horrified. I asked my sister to help me find her but we couldn’t. Our mom told me to go to school and that after school we can find her.

-Emily

From: Describe a setting and mood with the five senses. 

Hello, my name is Bradly. I’m 10 and in the fifth grade. I’m coming up to ghost town for the weekend. The town used to be called San Francisco. The date is March 7, 3519.

-Colby

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street.

The memory was horrible. It was late at night when it happened, but then, I can only tell you the beginning. So then, it came , that evil memory came. Well, I was walking home from Nuvema town on that chilly night. My Pikachu shivered in the cold night wind. Professor Juniper was checking my status. I, Linzy, had been a professional Pokemon trainer for 8 years.

-Olivia

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street. 

I was walking down Blackberry Drive when I saw a man with black glasses and a black detective coat. He walked up to me and handed me a package. Then he said, “Whatever you do don’t let anybody touch this.” He ran down the street and left me standing there with no idea what happened. I woke with a start.

-Katie Rose

From: How to organize a mystery around Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? using the prompt “It was missing." 

My teddy bear is missing. His name is Robinhood. I was taking him on a biking trip. He was sitting in the basket in the back. My name is Lilly. It was a nice sunny day in London. Robinhood was riding with me in the park. When I got to the top of the hill I checked on Robinhood but he was not there. I looked down to see if he fell out but no. So I rode home.

-Clara G.

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street.

I was walking down Giva Drive when I ran into a strange man with a peculiar large gray beard, a rough heavy coat, and large detective glasses. He handed me a medium size package and said to me, “Whatever you do, don’t let anything happen to this.” Then he looked both ways and ran away into the distance. I quickly ran home. When I got home I put the package on my desk and wrapped it and put it in a box, like it was a fragile china porcelain bowl then put it in the way back of my closet.

-Hannah

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street.

One night I went for a walk. There was no one outside. Then I saw an old man appear. He said “Don’t let anything happen to this” and disappeared leaving a bag in my hands. I took the bag home and opened it.

-Sam

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street.

One day I was walking down the street when a man handed me a package and told me not to let anything happen to it...After he left I opened the package. Inside it was an old book. The book had all kinds of facts about magical creatures. All of a sudden a man started chasing me! I’m sure he wants the book. I remember he said not to let anything happen to the book so I started to run away from him.

-Michelle

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street.

It was a lovely sunny day. Stephanie and I were walking down the street. There was an old guy who had a box that looked strange. And he said “Don’t let anything happen to this!” and he ran away from us. We were kind of scared and nervous, because we didn’t have any idea. But we kept walking down the street with the strange box.

-Clara K.

From: Describe a setting and mood with the five senses.

The planet smells like free pie and the sound when you walk is a crunch sound and it felt smooth and it tastes like pie so they plan to take over the pie planet.

-Michael

From: Explore motive with the following scenario: an old man comes up to you, hands you a package, says “Don’t let anything happen to this” and then sprints down the street.

I was walking down the street one night. A homeless man jumped out of the shadows and stuffed a package into my hands. “Don’t let any harm come to this,” he muttered. Then he bolted around the corner. I tried to follow him, but he had disappeared.

-Sophia