Our 3rd and 4th grade students at Oakton Elementary have been busy writing adventurous and imaginative stories filled with Private Investigators, a minotaur, A man whose hands shoots out tornados and more. Read on if you dare!
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You Read it Here First! - read "Take My Word For It!" students' work
A verdant poem written by a student in our poetry residency program at Sunset Elementary in San Francisco from our curriculum called, "Take My Portrait", focusing on how to paint vivid, memorable portraits in words.
Pond
Gaze up
At the thin green canopy
of branches.
The small
Beams of sunlight
That
Manage to push through.
The beam
Looks almost green
As it shimmers down on
You.
If you want to find green.
This lush poem, written by a student at Sunset Elementary in San Francisco, explores how to paint vivid, memorable word portraits, using color.
If You Want To Find…
by Sophia
If you want to find green,
Have a picnic
At the park.
Set down a soft
Green blanket that
Disappears
Into the vibrant
Green grass.
Sit down
And
Pull open the
Picnic basket
Pull out
A sandwich
That has
crunchy green lettuce.
Happy First Day of Spring! Nia, one of our intrepid Next Chapter Club Writers wrote this excellent story about mischievous Spring. Enjoy!
I was grinning in triumph! I had stolen Independence Day from the unsuspecting Summer. We were currently in one of those girl drama situations, and, to get back at her for saying I was reckless and irresponsible, I stole Independence day. Of course, that would only affect America because other countries celebrate Independence Day on different days. But, at the time, I was, yes, reckless and irresponsible, so I didn’t bother to think. I knew the mature Summer would chase after me sooner or later, but I didn’t think about that either. I chose the Fourth of July instead of Father’s Day because I wanted something less boring than Mother’s Day to be in my range of holidays.
People were really confused. One person said, “Hey, did you hear that the Fourth of July moved to April?” “What?” said his friend. “My calendar says it’s on July 4.” People traditionally eat summer fruits on the Fourth of July and are in the mood for barbecuing in the summer, so, things changed. A lot. I moved Fourth of July to a Sunday. So, the kids couldn’t stay up to watch the fireworks because it was a school night. They couldn’t eat watermelon because it wasn’t in season. Summer ratted me out to Autumn (my best friend), and gossipy, giggly Autumn told Winter. When Winter gets mad, she goes crazy and insta-freezes everything in sight. So, yeah. Winter was so mad that she froze everyone until I apologized and reversed it. “Okay, fine. I’m really sorry,” I said. “I’ll reverse this. Here, Summer. You can have the Fourth of July back.” And from then on, I thought before I did something.
Our students at New Traditions in San Francisco are not just amazing poets, they are also visual artists. This winter they worked on a curriculum piece called "Take My Portrait" that had an art component added to it. Students stretched their imagination to create these one of a kind abstract self portraits. Research shows that adding arts to education enhances the experience for learners. As you can see from the focused and smiling faces in the pictures below, these kids would agree!
Our 3rd grade TMWFI students in Northern Virginia did a little mystery writing this winter. From things that go bang and scratch in the night to great white shark attacks, these stories are sure to give you a scare!
Mystery by Mayra
On a cold Friday night, McKenzie Robinson was alone in her house studying for the SAT next week. Since nobody was home, McKenzie let her hair down and put on her glasses (at school she wore contacts) when suddenly, she heard a noise, “scratch, scratch, bang!”
“Wow,” McKenzie yelled, while falling off her beige recliner. “What was that noise?” she wondered. “Aaghh!” McKenzie screeched softly. “I have to focus on my pre-studying session.
McKenzie remembered back in middle school when she heard a sound similar to this, “scratch, scratch, mew” instead of “scratch, scratch, bang.” McKenzie didn’t know what it was, but she was curious, so she followed the noise upstairs into the bathroom and found a cat stuck in her bathtub.”(McKenzie loved cats; she was even in a band called The Cats.”)
McKenzie tried gently lifting the kitty out of the tub, but it would not budge. She tried again with a more firm grip but the cat wouldn’t move. McKenzie was losing patience now, so she tugged on the cat: tug, tug, then “Pop! The so-called cat popped right out, but McKenzie quickly realized it was a stuffed cat!
McKenzie saw a bucket dangling precariously over her head. She tried jumping out of the way, but it was too late. McKenzie had paint poured all over her. “That’s when me and Mary clicked,” McKenzie said, giggling.
“What’s this?” she said, feeling the scratch on the couch. This was never here before, McKenzie thought. McKenzie slowly got off the couch, heart thumping. She jumped up as the noise suddenly grew. “Scratch, scratch, BANG!”
“Aaahh!” McKenzie screeched, edging back to grab her lime-neon-green baseball bat. She swung it in front of her like claws. She heard the noise worsening, “Scratch, meow, scratch, bang, BANG!”
She turned to see her nightstand edge closer on the “bang!” There it was: “bang, edge, bang, edge.”
McKenzie came closer to the noise and pushed back the nightstand and a kitty appeared. McKenzie poked it to make sure it was real. Unlike last time, it was. “Awww, let’s get you home,” McKenzie said.
The End
Mystery by Kathleen
On a windy Friday night, Gabby was in her room doing her essay. She heard a sound in her living room: “bang, bang, bang.” Gabby was scared, but she was thinking about what college she was going to. While she was finishing up her essay, she smelled something burning. That smell of burning reminded her of when she was little. When Gabby was a little girl, she used to watch her mom cook. One time, the doorbell rang. Her mom went to open the door. While her mom as at the front door, the stove started burning. Gabby tried to get her mom’s attention, but she couldn’t. So Gabby screamed. Wondering what the noise was, Gabby was scared, but she was also thirsty. She went downstairs and noticed something different. Her whole house was full of straws! Gabby looked outside. Her neighbor’s house was burning! Gabby ran over as fast as she could. The neighbors’ stove was burning! The lady who lived there was upstairs with her baby. Gabby knocked on her door. One of her children opened it. Gabby ran in and turned off the stove. The neighbors thanked her, and Gabby decided she wanted to be a detective.
The End
The Last Little Box A Nora Nilson Mystery By Alice
Nora Nilson is 8 years old. She is pretty, smart and kind. Nora lives in a big house. Nora’s room is up stairs. Her room has a desk, her family’s picture, a piano, and a pink bed. When Nora goes to her room, she is happy. When Nora is doing her homework, she hears a little sound: “scrape, scrape, scrape”. She looks around. The sound is coming from next to the piano. Nora can’t move because she is too scared. “Nora! Dinner Time!” called her mom. “I’m…I’m coming,” said Nora. She ran to the kitchen. When she finished her dinner, she said, “Mom, there’s a ghost in my room,” “Ha, Ha, Ha,” her dad laughed. “You are joking, right?” “I’m not joking, shouted Nora.” “I don’t believe you,” said her younger sister. Nora walked to the living room and sat on the sofa. She sighed. “Nobody believes me,” she said. “Mom!” called Nora. Yes?” answered her mom. “I don’t want to sleep in my room,” said Nora. “Why?” asked her mom. “Because the ghost is in my room!” “I told you at dinner, just forget about it.” In her dream that night, Nora is being chased by the ghost. “Aaaagh!” Nora screamed. “Wake up, Sweetheart,” called mom. “Mom, the ghost is chasing me!” said Nora. “Go and eat breakfast,” said Mom. “Mom, what day is it?” asked Nora. “It’s Saturday,” said Mom. Nora went to the kitchen and ate breakfast. It was almost 12 o’clock. Then Nora went to the bathroom. “Aaaaagh!” something was making a ghost sound. “Yikes!” yelled Nora. “G-G-Ghost!” “Ha-Ha-Ha,” somebody laughed. “Sara and Nick! You scared me! And how did you get in my house?” asked Nora. “When you were sleeping, we asked your mom,” said Sara. “Can you help me?” asked Nora. “Because the ghost is in my room, next to the piano.” “OK,” said Sara and Nick. “Let go and find the ghost.” They went up to Nora’s room. “I can’t hear a sound,” said Nick. “Scrape, scrape.” Nora ran out of her bedroom and ran into the living room.” “Wait,” called Sara and Nick. Nora stopped running. “What do I do now?” she asked. “Oh, I got an idea!” said Sara. “Nick and I will open the box, and Nora, you stay here.” “Great idea,” shouted Nora. Sara and Nick went up to Nora’s room and Nora waited. While she is waiting, she can hear Nick and Sara’s voices. “Catch that, Sara!” yelled Nick. “I want to!” shouted Sara. “I wonder what they are catching!” thought Nora. Finally Sara and Nick came down. “What are you trying to catch?” asked Nora. Sara and Nick smiled and showed Nora something. “A cute little puppy!” yelled Nora. “Just what I wanted!” “What is its name?” asked Nick “Ummm…Mystery,” said Nora “Ha, ha, ha,” everyone laughed and Mystery _____. “Seat down, Mystery.” Mystery sat down. “Who gave her to me?” asked Nora. “We don’t know; it’s a MYSTERY!” everyone shouted.
The End
The Attack of the Great White By Annie
Hi, my name is Steven Brown. I am thirty years old and live with my brother, Ryan Brown, in New Jersey. One day me and my partner, Sally Lee, were walking on the beach, but then a shark jumped up and grabbed a rotten fish! We know that it was far away, so we kept on walking, but then the shark jumped up and grabbed us, pulling us into the sea’s coral reef! As we were in the water, we saw a lot of stinky sea creatures. One smelled like Ryan’s room! When Sally and I got pulled into the Shark’s cave, we stayed there for 15 minutes, and then we heard a loud noise! We thought it was somebody who was trying to steal something, but instead, it was a broken submarine! Then the shark left…
The End