Excerpts from student work at Sunset Elementary

Silas, 4th grade

 From the poetry exercise, "My Secret Is…"

My secret is made from the squishiest blob of air,

When I touch it it stings like 1 million bees, I can’t see it nor can I hear it but I still know what it is.

I found it when my most favorite pencil cracked as I was doing horrid homework.

It blew into pieces and somehow I knew it was floating there so I reached out to touch it.

My secret can make you think it is one place while it is not there and though it’s invisible I know that it’s somewhere over there.

If I lost my secret who knows where it will go. It will be moving somewhere not good and it just might fall into the wrong hands… 

Penelope, 4th grade

From the poetry exercise, "My Secret Is…"

My secret is made from the sharpest daggers and the softest feathers in the galaxy. It is made from the saltiest water and the warmest clouds.

I found it lying under a giant pot of gold at the beginning of a rainbow balancing on the edge of mount everest with snow on top of it.

This secret can turn anything into anything you want with a single touch of a unicorn’s horn from ten centuries ago.

If I lost this secret all animals in the world would be extinct except for snakes.

Helena, 3rd grade

Secret Recipe: Potion for Making Money

Ingredients:

3 million cups of hay

4 cans of green or white paint

A pinch of ground-up amber

40 thousand tablespoons of sour milk

2 turkey wishbones

3 pans of thinly sliced burnt bacon

60 pounds of real gold

To mix: Put on two pans. There still will be some of the mixture left over, so freeze it at -360 degrees. Put it in oven for two hours. This recipe makes you have at least twenty 100 dollar bills!

Warning! If you keep it in the oven for 2 more minutes after the 2 hours, then your money will turn into pennies.

Eleanor, 4th grade 

Secret Recipe

Ingredients:

A pinch of salt

A handful of sugar

2 buckets of water

a bucket of sprinkles

a jar of gummy worms

4 cans of sodd

8 bags of saltwater taffy

a jug of rootbeer

a cube of sugar

sour powder

To mix: Mix these all together at last until the taffy turns into goop, and the gummy worms, too. Then take a cup and pour it into your hideous mouth and swallow! You will soon find that you are in heaven and have wings. If you aren’t, you should have a larger mouth, and should be a better person.

Excerpts from student work at Grattan Elementary (grades 2nd, 3rd and 4th)

Nicolas: (Secret Poems/Prompts): “If I lost my secret the ocean’s heart will slowly sink to the bottom and after there will be a drought. I found my secret at the bottom of a pyramid and it is guarded by two gargoyles and a phoenix the last one Dracula.

Emma: (Secret Poems/Prompts):

“I found it (secret) in the middle of the dead sea

thousands of feet underwater

where no fish go

inside a witch’s lair

where glowworms

danced along the entrance

to light my way”

Alia: (Secret Poems/Prompts) “I found my secret in a dark closet. It had fuzzies and it was disgusting and smelly.

 Lilo: (Secret Identities): “Black cat is best described as a abnormal male black cat, considering that he’s 5 inches tall. He is also not so normal because he hunts fawns and bears. Black cat can transform…from his scruffy black fur to a small costume…red leotard, a red cape and a pair of red tights.”

Asher: (Secret Poems/Prompts): I found it in the corner of a torn tapestry. It was smiling as if it wanted me to take it from its evil clutches. I thought its heart was dancing as if it was flying towards its home. I felt as if it would disappear forever if I left it. Just waiting for its freedom. I felt as if I found it a million years ago.

Zoe: (Secret Poems/Prompts): If I lost this secret my house would explode and my heart would explode…I would die with my prayers and eat a pie on the way…and I would get a friend in heaven…”

Jackson: (Secret Recipes): “ 1 oz. Alcohol / 5 oz. Ice water / 1 oz. Hot lava / 1 Stone / Stir until bubbling – It came to me when my brother died in an old abandoned book that I found in a boarded up library **be careful there is no air when doing this otherwise it will explode ** It was coded but on a folded page I found a decoder. The only other coded word was on the cover. I realized it was (insert Jackson’s code here…)

Noe: (Secret Identities): “My characters secret identity is to turn into a leopard man. He looks like a regular leopard in the grassland and his name is leopard man.”

Shoka: (Secret Identities): It’s name is Paper Fold. It is a girl…she has a ribbon in her hair. She is 9 inches and her power is to turn into a paper crane. Her skin is white.” 

Check us out! Writing excerpts from Montclair Elementary grades 3-5

Exercise: The beginning of Szofia's Secrets story

BEEPBeepBEEPBeepBEEP! wails my alarm clock.

Ugh. I ABSOLUTELY hate the stupid torture devices. I try to slam my fist down on it, but my knuckles scrape the wall. Did I mention my puny room is smaller than my closet at my old room? If I had a nickel for every reason I had to curse moving to this infernal house I would be filthy stinkin’ rich! Sigh.

I pull out my everything-you-could-ever-need-pack and rustle around for a Band-aid. I get up and put my school uniform on, a boring plaid skirt, white button down shirt, navy blue tie, and navy blue loafers. Boring with a side of snores.

I slide down the railing all the way down to the over-crowded kitchen just in time to meet my flush-faced mother.

“Sailor Smith, how many times have I told you to quit sliding down the banister,” she hollers and bustles up the stairs. “Now where did I put my glasses?”

I see them on her head, but I don’t tell her. She’ll find them...eventually.

-By Szofia

An excerpt from the beginning of Elizabeth’s Secrets story:

The earth feels warm and moist under my bare feet. The nightingales sing and dance around me, waiting for the treats they know my sparkling green eyes and black hair to bring. Magna pads slowly behind me. I turn and award the silver lynx with some sausage that I had smuggled her.

I had first started to visit Cashmere, the woods I was in, a few years ago because I had needed to provide food for a poor family taking shelter there. At first, the family had been slightly scared of me, but they soon got used to me and to the food I brought them.

 -By Elizabeth G.

An excerpt from Ava’s I Remember Poem:

I remember my first crepe, warm and delicious, with nutella oozing out the sides.

I remember the sound of my foot pounding against the soccer ball and the sweet smell of the wet grass after a rainy day.

I remember New York. The cold slight breeze, while the shining lights take over the darkness in the sky.

-By Ava

 

An excerpt from Nicole’s My Secret Is...Poem:

My secret is made from

the sweetness of sugar,

the colors of different colored sprinkles,

the creamy, buttery frosting.

I found it in a wonder of candles lit with colorful dripping wax,

the clouds like fluffy cream waiting for me to know.

-By Nicole

Victor’s My Secret Is...Poem:

My secret is made from pipes, new pipes, old pipes.

It is like rocks and holes under the sink.

It is large, heavy, and cold.

I find it at the supply house, Ace, and in people’s homes.

My dad’s van drives it around to different places—San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, and Hayward.  

It’s in abandoned dirty houses and in nice lived-in houses.

This secret can fix things—toilets, bathrooms, rooms, floors, garages, streets, and sidewalks. It can also break things.

If I lost this secret I wouldn’t tell anyone, but I would remember and teach my sister.

-By Victor

An excerpt from Sophie’s My Secret Is...Poem:

My secret is made from the richest words in the world.

Fragile papers flip as you journey into this magical land.

Fill up your head with warmth or darken your soul with cruel characters.

Letting your mind take flight like a bird or crawl like a dog, opening doors to feel its words.

I found it sitting soundly on wooden shelves.

Waiting for someone daring enough to sunk their teeth into them.

-By Sophie

Lillian’s My Secret Is...Poem:

My secret is made from

beautiful sparkles,

the nature around us,

and all the clouds in the

sky.

I found it flying high

in the sky

floating around

going nowhere

This secret can

flutter

around in the sky,

going up

and going down.

If I lost this secret

my heart would

sink,

all hope will be

lost,

lost,

lost.

-By Lillian

An excerpt from the beginning of Elizabeth T.’s Secret Recipe Story:

Today my family and I are going to my Grandma’s house to clean out her attic. She’s moving to a nursing home on the other side of town. We started just by bringing boxes down. Then we started filtering through the boxes. And I found recipe! It wasn’t a recipe for food. It was a recipe for magic. It was in one of the old rolls, all tarnished. I snuck it home in my jacket pocket.

-By Elizabeth T.

What have "Take My Word For It!" kids been up to? Read work by Walt Disney Elementary 3rd-5th grade students.

Take a look at some of the fabulous food-themed writing our 3rd-5th grade students are cooking up in their after school classes at Walt Disney Elementary in San Ramon! 

Odes to Food

Aarushi C: 

Popcorn

The world's joy

is popping

in the microwave.

Butter in my mouth.

Popping in my brain.

Anjali K:

You, dried mango, are the heart of my mouth. Yellow, dried, and sweetness, you fill me. You are a dried fruit that tastes like delicious sweetness in my mouth. You are as sweet as candy. I want to eat you whole like nothing I've ever tasted.

Maison E:

Oh apples

you are so juicy

like a sweet, juicy

pumpkin. Apples are a rosy red rose.

I want to fill my mouth

with apples

sweet juicy

apples.

Oh apples

you are so sweet

almost everyone

likes or loves

apples.

Sometimes you

are sweet.

Do you like

apples?

I sure do!

Personification

Aarushi C: 

Icy the Ice Cream Sandwich & Her Best Friend Daniella the Date

One day they decided to go on a walk. So that day they packed their gear , like five water bottles, two pairs of shoes, new clothes, and a GPS, and also a lot, and I mean a lot, of food. After they were done packing they started to walk. They saw something different! There was a lake with bushes and trees.

Icy the Ice Cream Sandwich said, "Why are't there any animals here?"

Then Daniella the Date said, "Probably they don't enjoy this place."

"You're right, I guess so." Then they kept walking happily onto a spooky, creepy mountain. 

Similes and Metaphors 

Aiden M:

The potato chip made me think of a picnic. The potato chip is salty. The potato chip is salty like the sea. Jello is jiggly like a trampoline. Bubblegum is bubbly like bubbles. The corn on the cob is juicy. Fried chicken is as juicy as an apple.

"Last night I imagined that my dinner cam alive."
 

Aiden M:

 
Last night I imagined that my dinner came alive and the foods went on an adventure together. They told me they wanted to play games with me. So we did. He also told me that his name was Mr. Steak. Then I ate Mr. Steak. It was like heaven, eating him. 

In "I Am From" poems writers describe "where they're from" in terms of foods, memories, places, people.etc.

Anjali K:

I am from swimming in wavy,

cool water. I am from the smell of sweet

rasmalai in the air. I am from dog books. 

I am from my dad going to poker games.

I am from mystery books to read.

I am from my birthday in the

beautiful summer winds.

I am from art class.

I am from cooking at home.

Kara L:

I Am From

I am from peace signs bright colorful

and waking up at 6:45am.

6:45 dark out. Don't want to wake up.

I am from having apples for dessert,

sweet juicy apples.

Going to school, seeing my friends,

having Chinese food for dinner, pot stickers

hot. I burnt my tongue.

Going to bed under 1 million warm and cozy blankets.

I am from my dad coming home late at the

dark 7:00pm.

I am from taking showers every morning,

stealing all the hot water.

I am from going to Kid's Country

that is not very far from my house.

I am from having to do homework

almost every day.

But I love homework, so I don't

get bored at home. I am from hearing

my dad snore really loud. I am also from my mom telling 

me to do my piano practice and gymnastics practice.

I am from not wanting to go to bed but then

wanting to go to bed.

"If I could turn into a food for one day..."

Christine O:

If I could turn into a food for one day, I would become something uncommon because then I wouldn't get eaten up. I would feel comfortable sitting there all day. I wouldn't even get hungry because I am a food. I might get thirsty. I would become something like cookie crumbs. But maybe the person who ate the cookie put the crumbs in a napkin and threw it away. Maybe I'll get put in a dumpster. Maybe I'll be a piece of rice and stick onto somebody's shirt and I'll get washed up. That's a horrible food. Being something uncommon might be hard, but it's perfect for me.

Students write about themselves as if they were a recipe for a special dish.

Isabella C:

Recipe for Me

2 lbs of beauty

17 oz friendship

3 oz chocolate-lover

2 cups of lava cake mix

9 lbs sugar

First you get a pink and white striped bowl.

Second you melt the 2 pounds of beauty and chop it in the bowl.

Then you put the chocolate-lover in the bowl.

Fourth, you put some sugar and lava cake mix and the 17 ounces of frienship.

Last, blend them up and put it in the oven for 350 degrees. When you hear the beep, you take it out and wait for it to cool down. Then you reach for some fresh milk in the fridge and get what we made, and eat it.

Julia S:

Recipe of Me

Ingredients:

100 pounds of craziness

100 pounds of humorous

Million tons of love

332 bones

80 pounds of blood

10 pounds of hair

100 pounds of skin and other stuff on you.

Steps:

1. Get a bowl and put everything in, and stir.

2. Put in the oven and turn to 100 degrees F for 10 hours.

3. Take out and ta-dah! Julia comes out!

4. Take care of her.

5. Love her.

6. Do everything she wants.

Andrew M: 

Recipe for Andrew

10,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of awesomeness

8 cups of adventure

6 pints of speed

2 eyeballs

100 quarts of empathy

3 cups mint

4 pancakes

8 pounds of friendship

3 pounds of awesome guy

2 Uranus rocks

Combine awesomeness, speed, adventure, mint, friendship, empathy, 2 pancakes, and awesome guy, and mix it in a blender till it's smooth. Then put it into an extra, extra, extra, extra, extra, extra, extra large bowl. Put it in the oven at 1,000,000 degrees F. Keep in oven for 365 days. Then, fly to Uranus and grab 2 rocks and chuck them into the sun. Then go back to Earth and go to a volcano. Let it erupt. Then add the eyeballs. Ta-da! You made an Andrew! Serve with pie.

Food comparison and description

Julia S:

The tortilla chip is light brown and looks like it has freckles.

Kara L:

Fudge is like mud, and it tastes like chocolatey potato chips. It's as smooth as a shampoo bottle of Dove.

Olivia H:

Potato Chips

1. The chip is as rough as a 

sandy, rocky beach

at a rough ocean sea.

2. It is as golden white as a 

young sheep's fleece.

3. It's as greasy as the song 

"Greased Lightning" from the movie Grease.

Students write about trying a food for the first time

Maison E:

Good Cherries! & Bad Cherries!

I was scared of cherries so I never ate them until I was four years old. I had them in a fruit salad. Then I tried one and my taste buds popped out! Then I had another one and another and another. They were red. They were so good. Now every time I see cherries on sale I buy them and eat them.

Students write a letter to a food

Olivia H:

Dear Seaweed,

        You are soooo good. I mean, every time I have you, you always remind me of Hawaii, when I am going to snorkle. I love Hawaii! I mean, it is all I have ever dreamed of. I went in kindergarten and I'm going this summer. Well, you remind me of the sea grass, seaweed. It's green and salty, just like you. I love seaweed!

PS. I'm going to be a marine biologist. 

You Read it Here First! - Writing Excerpts from Joaquin Miller (Grades 3-5)

Exercise: "I Am From" poems

I am from eating cheeseburgers.
I am from going to school for the first time.
I am from a fossil.
I am from a sea cookie.
I am from going to my Grandma's house.
I am from clay materials.
I am from a piece of mango.

-Pearce, Joaquin Miller

:::::

Exercise: Secrets on the Line

Once there was a dark-haired boy named Rudolph. He was a really nice boy with bright blue eyes. He was very poor and all by himself, and he had a secret: to survive he had to steal small things from stores. He really hated it, but he had no choice. If he needed clothes, he would cut off the alarm and hide them under his pants. If he needed food, he would eat it at the store when no one was looking. If he needed to use the bathroom, he went to Starbucks.

One day, Rudolph walked into a dark storage room in the back of his favorite store. A light bulb went on, and behind him he heard the store owner say, "You're going to jail, you shoplifter!"

"No," Rudolph said, "Please let me go. I'm an orphan."

"Well," said the store owner, "If you're an orphan, then I'll adopt you."

-Luke, Joaquin Miller

:::::

Exercise: Secret Recipes

Secret Recipe for Epically Awesome Beast Mode

Ingredients:
One television, any variety
One video game console

Instructions:
Plug console into television. Turn on television. Use controller (not included) to turn on console. Result? Home theater!

Side Effects:
Awesomeness, possibility of seizure, tendency to not get homework done.

-Alex, Joaquin Miller

:::::

Exercise: Secrets on the Line

My story begins like this. Every night, someone named Dr. Woods climbed out of his window, went to the forest, and hung out with his best friends. I lived right next door to Dr. Woods, and one night I saw a tree in the forest move. I thought it was my imagination, but then it walked up to my front door and rang the doorbell. I heard the door open, and Dr. Woods came into my house. I hid in the darkness of my room, but soon I heard a voice behind me: "Looking for someone?" it said. I was paralyzed.

-Marco, Joaquin Miller

Check Out Our After-School Class in Oakton, Virginia!

Did you know we have a class out in Virginia? Instructor Cathi Cohen heads our class of creative writing students on the East Coast. Take a look at what they've been up to!

By Katrina

I am from…

I am from loud brothers and sisters

I am from the vibrate of my phone

I am from fainting from blood

I am from my very weird/odd family

I am from the alarm in the morning

I am from my dog barking when I walk in the door

I am from my cat purring whenever I pet him

I am from county, pop, and rap music

I am from my friends cheering me up!

I am from gymnastics

I am from cheerleading

I am from soft ball

I am from my first upside down roller coaster

I am from King’s Dominion

I am from Ocean City

I am from snowboarding

I am from the Washington Redskins

I am from the Florida Gators

By Jessica

I remember…

I remember not fitting in, no one noticed me.

I remember watching the Titanic, hearing the bed creak as we wept.

I remember the lies that had been told to me, hearing the waves crashing against the shore, with my feet sinking into the sand.

I remember the forts I made.

I remember being the Indian with the teepee that collapsed on me while I was in it.

I remember Halloween night, the dark rose above. Hearing the kids say Trick-or-Treat.

I remember, “No, Jason, that’s the funny man”.

I remember,  “Jason. Jason.  JASON. We all have spoons.”

I remember fake sleepovers.

I remember getting locked in the car while everyone was at lunch, crying so hard that I didn’t have anything left.

I remember my first famous person concert at a nice place. 

I remember story telling, gossiping, and pranking until 2 in the morning with one of my BFFs.

I remember loud noises everyone made.

I remember telling baby stories at a sleep over.

I remember running around the room saying, “Doh” in kindergarten.

I remember getting lost in Disney World.

I remember, “Don’t touch this..that…NO not that, that.”

I remember the day I thought Dad and Sam were joking about missing my birthday.

I remember hilarious times at the old lunch table.

I remember soccer ball, basketball.

I remember not having a birthday party for three years.

I remember when it hit me, my sister was at college.

I remember our favorite song, then you grew up.

I remember the old me.

I remember my Dad crying on stage.

I remember Brownie.

By Bailey

I am from the voices that only I can hear.

I am from their screaming pounding in my ear.

I am from the stories that keep me up at night.

I am from the purring that makes me feel all right.

I am from the knocking that brings new games each beat.

I am from the blades that keep me on my feet.

I am from Ah La Crepes that I can eat and eat.

I am from the pictures that keep me on my chair.

I am from the music that plays when I’m not there.

By Emily

I like the number 2 because 2 + 2 = 22

I like the number 12 because that’s how many kids are in my writing class

I like the number 4 because 4 cookies and pieces of pie are better than ice cream

I like the number 83 because nobody thinks about it.  It’s quiet. Just like the way traffic should be.

By Lyana

I am from me, myself, and I.

I am from my humorous family and a crazy dog.

I am from my annoying brother or should I say “bother”, and

I am from the competitive water.

I am from the bees knees, and

From a girl who doesn’t like to say, “please”.

I am from a tom boy and Chips Ahoy.

I am from a creative artist.

I am from fantasies.

I am from animals but not baboons.

You might as well say, I come from buffoons.

I am from birds that love to sing.

I am from a person that keeps losing her things.

I am from a great life, the greatest one of all.

And from a writing group created by Sondra Hall.

By Tom

I remember my brother yelling out, “I’m Spider Man!”

I remember a green spider at my friend’s house.

I remember my brother reading me books upside down.

I remember having balloon wars with my friends.

I remember  Santa stomping on the roof.

I remember picture day at pre-school and saying, “Bubbles”.

I remember building igloos and my brother saying , “You’re not old enough”.

I remember warm pancakes in the morning.

I remember singing songs, and apostrophes in the 2^nd grade.

I remember playing  tag at lunch.

By Tommy

I remember I was four when I went Trick or Treating.

I remember I got a lot of candy from Trick or Treating.

I remember the older kids usually scaring me with their costumes.

I remember the first time on a roller coaster. I was really scared.

I remember going to Oakton the first time. I was shy.

I remember getting my X-box.

I remember playing laser tag, and I lost.

I remember going to Las Vegas. I saw lots of people.

I remember playing paint ball.

I remember the 4^th of July last year, so many fireworks.

By Tess

(in response to “Where Did It Come From and What Is It For?” looking at a lemon zester)

How many times have you had to write something but you didn’t have a pencil? Well that will never happen again with this new tech. It is a bluock.  It holds your pencils.  The little holes are where you stick the lead. You can fill all the holes or just a few.  There is also a little hole where you can put your belt though, as long as it’s small.  And I mean TINY! But, don’t let that minor set back keep you from ordering your own.  If you do have a small belt, you can have pencils wherever you go.  Although we cannot promise you your pencils will stay.  Brought  to you by Things You Will Never Need and Won’t Work Anyway.  This is worth $1 but we’re giving it to you for just $19.99.  Warning: Must be 18 or older to order.

By Kira

(in response to “Where Did It Come From and What Is It For?” looking at an onion fork)

The hair braider is amazing! You thread the hair through and twist. It even has a hair cutter.  You thread your hair through and move it back and forth.  Or you can just brush your hair.  If you push hard enough, you can shave. Yay! Viewer discretion is advised.