Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are writing excerpts from our 2nd grade authors at Thornhill Elementary:
Viewing entries in
After-School Programs
Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are some writing excerpts from our young authors (and some of their parents!) at Chabot Elementary's Spring reading:
By Helen
Prompt: This I Believe...
By Tess
Prompt: You are home by yourself. The postman comes to the door to deliver a package. It's a large box wrapped in brown paper and says in big black letters, Caution: Content Dangerous.
By Grace
Prompt: You are home by yourself. The postman comes to the door to deliver a package. It's a large box wrapped in brown paper and says in big black letters, Caution: Content Dangerous.
Then, both the kids AND their parents were asked to form a story starting with "Just then..." and using the characters George, Charlie, Greg, Obama, and Dr. Bob Shishkabob.
See what they came up with!
Today we discussed the relationship between dreams and creation myths, focusing specifically Aboriginal and Native American cultures. Students watched a video, read explanations of the myths and then discussed them before writing their own myths. While they were very proud of their work, many were reticent to share them on the blog today because a number of them will be reading these pieces at the reading/exhibition tomorrow afternoon. These excerpts were taken directly from the dream journals of three students:
Titus
I was sleeping in my bed in my dream and I don’t really know how this happened, but in my dream, I dreamed that I fell off my bed and that everything started spinning.
I was Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We were fighting the Triceratons (which are basically Triceratops on tow feet). We were trying to defeat their imaginary leader, Traximus.
Elizabeth
Monday night I dreamt that I called up my friends and the next day me and my six friends rode to Stonestown Galleria for free ice cream. It was Alessandra, Sohila, Riong, Faith, Praise and Michelle. On the way back, we got eaten by a cabbage. Too bad for him, we ate our way out. Next, we were surrounded by carrots. We also ate them up. Next were squashes. They exploded on us then we were gunked with squash juice. We turned around and headed out the other way and everyone slept over at my house. The next morning, I saw a thing that had donkey legs and a tail, an eggplant head, a cabbage body, a carrot neck and olive eyes. Then I woke up.
Calla
I dreamed that I was frozen in a giant cube of Jello and I could not get out. Then my brothers, Jonas and Jasper were going to eat me and the Jello, but the Jello wasn’t locked, so I got out and became a giant.
I dreamed that I was in my house and three giant furry monsters were playing cards.
In the afternoon we talked about Aborigine dreams and looked at examples of their traditional dot art. We sketched ideas and then each student painted a piece depicting a favorite animal:
Isabella did a jellyfish, Madeline did a tiger, Emily painted a dolphin, Calla a spiral/snake, Emil a dragonfly, Elizabeth did a polar bear, Emogene painted a turtle, Eli a panther, Titus did a lizard and other animal, and Junior painted an entwined snake and lizard. The results are awesome!
Students at Los Perales Elementary show off their creative writing from their fall after school classes!
Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructors, Michael David Lukas and Jenny Chu at Thornhill Elementary in the East Bay:
3rd - 5th Grade:
By Izayah
“My favorite food is sushi. My favorite sushi roll is a 49er roll. I could eat sushi all day. If someone had a food fight with sushi I wouldn’t be part of it!”
By Emily
“Brownies are brown. Brownies are good. Brownies are any shape and size. You can have them with whip cream or a cherry on top.”
By Benji
“Looks like a boiled-on mustache. Smells like a plant or a green house. Tastes bad. Feels hairy.”
By Leah
“It’s in a can. It has artificial flavoring. It’s sour but sweet. It’s weird but normal. It’s yucky but delicious. IT’S LEXI IN A CAN!”
By Matthew
“They pick me up and eat me. They call me a cutie (mandarin orange) but they do not love me. I would be happy with my carrot friends.”
By Rachel
“This green bean looks like a green bean. My green bean is like a unibrow. My green bean is crunchy.”
By Mayer
“Mr. Carrot was a nerd. He met some hippies and hobos. He was the leader of them.”
By Brooks
“I love pie because it comes in different flavors. It has a soft delicious inside and a crunchy outside. It’s good for throwing.”
By Sophie
“Oranges small like me / Smooth as a baby / Silent as the air / Sweet as candy / Sour as a shriveled plum”
By Makayla
(excerpt from "Escape of the Refrigerator")
They took the Mrs. to the BLUE JAIL PALACE and put them in a dungeon filled with gummy snakes. Of course they weren’t real but they thought they were. "Guys...guys can you hear me?" "Yeah." "Yup." "Open up the vent and meet me in Antartica. We’ll be cold but free, they have Free Food Land there." "Ok bye." "Bye." "Why what did I say that? The things I have to do for my friends."
.................... A WHILE LATER (500 HOURS later)....................
"FINALLY," Mr. Grumpy Brocolli said. "I’m here in Antartica but not only that, I’m in Free Food Land. I’m free, it’s me. I’m free!"
By Emma
“I’m a little lobster, I squiggle down the road. When I see some water I say, Oh No!”
By Lauren
“Bacon, bacon…is my favorite food. I like it because it’s juicy and crispy. Bacon is in all my favorite foods like omelets.”
By Madison
“My green bean is a unicorn horn. It tastes like water. It smells like nothing. It is a banana filled with seeds.
By Sam
“It’s rubbery, green and good. This green bean is like ice cream.”
By Gabby
“Hello, I’m Mr. Lobster. I don’t like being a gummy lobster because everyone eats my kind! I live at the factory on the floor.”
By Aidan
“I am a gummy lobster. I sit in a candy store all day. Kids come up to me and then their mom drags them away.”
Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructor, Emily Phillips at Thornhill Elementary in the East Bay:
2nd Grade:
By Anneke:
Carrots are a crunchy orange and they vibrate in my mouth. They make me feel silly.
Chocolate tastes like dark oceans swelling.
By Austin:
Recipe of Me
To make an Austin you have to have:
2 pounds of toys
1 pound of golf
1 cup of soda
Blend it. Add 1 cup of milk. Mix it up one more time. Have it after you have eaten a lot of sugar. Use a straw because this smoothie bites very, very hard.
By Emma:
Dear Tortellini,
I think you are a sweet sun-shaped thing of a food. Your best friend is pesto. You walk around in my plate until you fall in my trap. You hang on to pesto while you float through my mouth. Pesto is brave and you are too, but you both are scared as you fall down, down, down.
Love,
Emma
By Gwen:
Dear Chocolate,
You are so good and tasty. When I eat you, you feel soft. When I suck on you, you start to dissolve in my mouth. Can I marry you? You are the best.
Sincerely,
Gwen
By Michaela:
ALLITERATIONS
Sofia’s sausages smell.
Snails sniffing sandwiches.
I AM FROM POEM
I am from the all the animals.
I am from the smell of good.
I am from the unknown.
I am from the smell of the wild.
I am from magic.
I am from the smell of flying and spying.
I am from the beauty of nature.
I am as a delicate as a feather.
I am from the sound of water.
I am as a light as a feather.
I am from the chirp of a bird.
I am from the gift of happiness.
By Nuala:
Dear Spaghetti,
You are as slimy as a snake, as white as a beluga, as pretty as a dolphin. Oh my spaghetti, you are most excellent.
Love,
Nuala
By Rachel:
Dear Bagels,
Your best taste is cheese. You’re crunchy. You’re good. You’re surprising. I wish I could have you every day.
Love,
Rachel
By Sidney:
Dear Ice Cream,
Thanks for writing to me in your ice cream pen. (Can you write in strawberry next time? I did not like the earwax so much). You’re so tasty, cold, delicious, and a sweet yummy chunk of yummy-ness. Please send me 1,000 strawberry, 500,000,000 cookie dough, 4,000,000 mint chip and infinity spoons.
Love,
Sidney
By Sophia:
Persona Poem- The Shark
I am fun and dumb
I wonder who you are
I hear blupe-blupe
I see a fin
I want some food
I am fun and dumb
I pretend to eat a fish
I feel water on my tail
I worry I will die
I cry because I can’t find food
I am fun and dumb
I understand I might die
I say I need to find some food
I dream that I will not die
I try to find fish to eat
I hope I find my parents soon
I am fun and dumb