Writing Portfolio: Part 2

A student in my class who is the most caring and thoughtful child I know inspired this story! Her birthday is on Valentine’s Day and it is oh-so-fitting. I decided to make it into a fictional story with animal characters to add another element of fiction to an otherwise realistic story.

Sorry about the speed, you may have to pause it while you watch.

I started writing this about a friend that had moved to Spokane and we had the best summer going on walks, riding bikes, and hanging out. I love having summers off, but when all your friends have to work during the week it can get boring. My new roommate and I hit it off and it was one of the best summers yet. In process of writing, one of my students moved away and then moved back again, talk about hard on a kid! I wanted to add the feelings and reality of having to move all the time, even if it is back to where you originally moved. The last element of the story, which I notice happening more and more at my school is, students are friends at school and then parents don’t allow them to be friends outside of school because they don’t trust their families. I understand the motivations of the families wanting to keep their children safe from anyone that makes them feel uncomfortable, but I wish they would do more investigating before just going with a gut feeling. I feel for those kids that their friends can’t come over.

Summer

June 10           

            This is going to be the worst summer ever! I live out in the country and all of my friends live in town. I’m going to be stuck at home, watching T.V. or doing yard work for my mom. I won’t get to see any friends because my parents will probably be too busy, this always happens!

            I had to leave school today with every other kid being all excited to get on the bus for the last time this year, and I was just filled with anxiety.

June 13

            All I have done is sit on the couch and watch Good Luck Charlie reruns. Nothing good is on. My mom asked me to clean my room and that was the most excitement I have had because I played with some old toys that I found under my bed. I can’t believe I used to play with Barbie’s! I like to dress them up, but other then that they are so boring.  

June 16

            Started a new clan on Clash of Clans. It was taking too long to load my characters. I think it will keep me busy to be working on the two separate clans.

June 20

            Today there was a ton of traffic driving by our house. Normally there is hardly a car that goes by! My mom told me that a new family is moving in down the road. They may have kids that are my age, but she didn’t know for sure. I am soooooo excited. This could change everything if there was someone to play with. She said we could go visit them in a few days once they are more settled. I cannot wait!!!

June 25

            It took longer than expected before we could go visit the new neighbors because we had to go visit grandma and grandpa since they just got back from Arizona. I’m not really sure why they go there, but mom says it’s because it’s warm. We should be able to visit tomorrow though. Stay tuned!

June 26

            THEY HAVE A GIRL MY AGE!!!! Her name is Tina and she seems just like me. We took cookies over and while my mom was talking to her mom, she gave me a tour of her room. She showed me a few Barbies and stuffed animals that she had. I was surprised that she had to share her room with her sister, but I’m guessing some of her stuff was in another room.  

            I cannot wait to hang out with Tina again. My mom said she could come over to play tomorrow!!!

June 28

            Tina came over to play yesterday and today. We have had the best time. We played with some new nerf guns that my mom brought home. Tina had never played with them before. We were in a real heated battle trying to hit the targets that we made.

            We ended up getting out my old Barbies and playing with them too. I thought I was over playing with them, but it was sure fun. Tina had a great idea to make a school. I got to be the teacher and she was all of the students. She would act like bad students and it was cracking us up!

            When she was about to leave, I asked if I could come over to her house. My mom said that she was going to make cookies for us the next time she came over. She agreed.

July 7

            Sorry, I have not written in a while. My family and I sent on our 4^th of July trip to the river. This is always one of my favorite times of year. Being on the water is fun and I love the fireworks! All of the colors and loud noises are so exciting.

            I want to hang out with Tina soon, so I can hear about her 4^th of July. I bet it’s her favorite holiday too, since we have so much in common.

July 9

            I could hardly believe it when she told me that she didn’t go anywhere to watch fireworks. And I thought my parents were lame! She said that they were still working on moving in so they had to stay home.

                                   

July 14

            Today I got the worst news ever! Tina told me that she would be moving before summer was over. We had made a plan about how we would be best friends in school and now that was all ruined. I couldn’t believe she would be leaving so soon, when she had just gotten here.

            She told me that she hated moving, but her dad was offered a better job back where they used to live. I am crying as I write this. I just can’t believe that things were starting to go my way and then my new best friend has to leave, it is so unfair!

            Too upset to write anymore

July 20

            Tina came over a few more times before she had to move. We tried to pretend like nothing was about to happen, but it had already been done. Neither of us could put on a happy face. She left yesterday. I gave her my phone number so I hope she calls soon. Now its back to Good Luck Charlie reruns.

            Tina was the shining light to my summer and definitely made it not so bad after all.

Writing Portfolio: Part 1

A couple attempts at poetry. The first is my frustrations and finding balance in teaching. The second poem, my attempt at a birthday gift poem.

Finding the Joy

Kids speak their minds

Wanting to see

Just how far they can take it?

Freedom is good but respect is more

How do you go about teaching it?

Wanting creativity and structure at the same time.

Parents you have more power than you think,

Keep trying to teach it.

Where is the line,

Between home and school?

How far do you go

To make a connection?

Got to be productive in the time I have

Birthday Poem

You came at the best time

Before summer with nothing to do

You are fun and single

We had everything to bond over

You are always down to have a good time

Trivia, baseball, Shocks games

Drinking at bars and trying new places

How could I forget all the shopping?

The Tim concert was one of the best times

Walks and workouts

Such fun it has been getting a new friend.

I wrote this to have a sample personal narrative story. This is an essential element of writing in third grade. I had this trip over Christmas break, so it was fresh in my mind and I have already shared it with my students.

My Own Snowmobile

         In my quest to be entertained on the family New Years Eve trip to Winthrop, WA I decided to go Fat Biking! I figured this year I would not be bored while they’re out VERP VERPPPING around and I would find a cheaper, equally fun activity!

         It ended up being the coldest day of the year, but I had decided on Fat Biking and that was what I was going to do! I got all bundled up in my thick snow skiing gear. I felt like the kid on a Christmas Story hardly able to move, but at least I was warm! My nostrils were sticking together as I trekked around the town searching for the rental shop.

         I walked in the rental shop and asked for a fat bike. The nice lady said, “Of course, let me see if we have any available.” Why hadn’t I thought of this before! This has to be one of their busiest weekends and I didn’t even think to call ahead! I was afraid my quest to find something to fill my vacation would be ruined! I would have got bundled up for nothing!

         The lady came back in the door. “I’ll let you take this demo bike out if it fits you, come give it a try.” I walked outside to see a bright blue bike with tires triple the size of a regular mountain bike’s. I was intimidated by the size and just realizing that it had been a while since I last rode a bike.

         She set the seat height, strapped on a helmet and gave me a map of the trails. Then she left me. I was on my own; the Fat Bike and I ready to hit the trails.

         I had to ride back through the town to get to the trails. I felt like Bambi on ice trying to ride a bike. The handlebars kept going this way and that, and the tires were not going where I wanted them. I was sweating profusely and knew that the cold weather would have no effect on me working so hard.

         I crossed the bridge at the end of the town and could see the entrance to the trails. One trail was a few feet wide and the other was about 6 feet. The lady from the rent shop had said to stay on the smaller path because the other was made for cross-country skiers.

         How did they expect a fat bike tire to stay on a few feet of trail? I just hoped that no one would come from the other direction!

         I had to stop many times to rest my legs and bottom. Even though I had the padding of the snow pants, it was still a bike seat and very uncomfortable!

         The trail led a few miles behind the town and looped around. The snow sparkled off of everything like diamonds. The blue sky and sunshine made everywhere I looked picturesque. 

         Fat Biking was an experience I’ll never forget. I enjoyed that it was something I had never done before and that I was able to do it all on my own. I felt accomplished and I had fun!

I wrote this while my students were working on a persuasive unit. I wanted to have an example of a persuasive paper that my second and third grade students could relate to. I feel like they are at the age where they are tired of having to practice reading, but it is still critical that they do because they are teetering on proficient. I am excited to share it with future students to show them the importance of reading, but also as a writing sample for my persuasive unit. I also enjoyed coming up with the title to this and tried to relate to what my students are interested in.

You’re Gonna Wanna Read This

         Has anyone ever told you that you need to practice reading? Maybe… Everyday… My parents are always pestering me about reading! Well I’m going to do something that nobody has probably cared to do. I’m going to tell you the real reason why you need to learn how to read and do it well.

         When you’re able to read well, you will never have to hear, “We’ll tell you when you’re older!” Whenever you have a question, you will be able to answer it by reading about it. Things that you could get in trouble for, like calling your sister a “stupid head” for instance, is just fine when you read it. Reading has the ability to answer anything you wonder about. As long as it stays in your head, you can’t get in trouble for it.

         If you know how to read you can become an expert on absolutely anything you want! Are you interested in Minecraft? You could read up on it and know how to build everything! Not to mention find cheat codes on the Internet for that level you just cannot pass! Are you interested in the wars throughout history? There are thousands of books about each and every war. Do you like animals? You could read about how fast they are, what they eat, and where you can find them. With all the knowledge you gain from reading you can impress your friends and family with how much you know.

         Reading has the magical power you take you anywhere you want to go and have friends you never thought could be real. I never was interested in magic until I learned of all the cool things you could do with it from Harry Potter. They could create a flashlight, transform into a friend, be invisible, or kill a gross spider that keeps crawling across your floor. Just like in Harry Potter, it can take you to places that you never thought possible, like Platform 9 ¾, which is a secret train station that takes you to the wizard school.

         Reading can actually help you with pretty much anything. Do you remember that toy you got last Christmas that you had to ask your parents to put together for you? Or the cookies that you really want, but your mom doesn’t have time to make? This all can be solved by learning how to read. The next time your dreading having to practice your reading homework, just think of all these benefits it can have on your life.

You’re Gonna Wanna Read This

            Has anyone ever told you that you need to practice reading? Maybe… Everyday… My parents are always pestering me about reading! Well I’m going to do something that nobody has probably cared to do. I’m going to tell you the real reason why you need to learn how to read and learn it well.

            When you’re able to read well, you will never have to hear, “We’ll tell you when your older” again. Whenever you have a question you will be able to answer it by reading about it. Things that you could get in trouble for, like calling your sister a “stupid head” for instance, is just fine when you read it. Reading things that people won’t tell you about is one of the best reasons to learn to read. No one can ever take that away from you either.

            If you know how to read you can become an expert on absolutely anything you want! Are you interested in Minecraft? You could read up on it and know how to build everything! Are you interested in the wars throughout history? There are thousands of books about each and every war. Do you like animals? You could read about how fast they are, what they eat, and where you can find them. Reading can impress your friends and family with how much you know.

            Reading has the magical power you take you anywhere you want to go and learn about people that you ever thought were real. I never was interested in magic until I learned of all the cool things you could do with it from Harry Potter. They could create a flashlight, disarm a friend, or kill a gross spider that keeps crawling across your floor. Just like in Harry Potter, it can take you to places that you never thought possible, like Platform 9 ¾ which is a secret train station that takes you to the wizard school. None of this would even be possible without the enchanted worlds that books can create. Nothing is off limits. 

            Reading can actually help you with everything. Do you remember that toy you got last Christmas that you had to ask your parents to put together for you? Or the cookies that you really wanted, but your mom wouldn’t make for you? If you know how to read well, you’ll be able to make both of those things by following the directions. Not to mention find cheat codes on the internet for that level you just cannot pass!

            Being able to read will make you better at school. We all know things get more fun when you become better at them. So above all else: learning about things your not supposed to, becoming an expert, going to impossible places, and learning to do anything, the benefits of reading are incredible. read, Read, READ!

Life Turned Fiction

Poetry Try

My Own Snowmobile

Day of Hearts