I glanced out my window and a polar bear was in my yard...

Blog worthy author #28 wrote a great story about the polar bear in his backyard. It goes like this:


I glanced out my window and a polar bear was in my yard. I called my sisters. I told them not to tell anyone. So every day we would watch it from my window. We fed him cereal out of my window.


One day I decided to go out and see if it was friendly. It seemed like it was at first, but then it came charging at me. I ran inside and slammed the door. It was over; I had to tell my mom, but then I thought how it didn't have a name. So I got my sisters. I told them it needs a name. We decided on the name Frank. Frank was a good name.


Then my sisters and I decided it was time to tell mom. So we told her that we had a polar bear living in our backyard. The animal home came and picked Frank up.



Extra Credit Questions:

1. What would you do if you had a polar bear in your backyard? Would you go see if it was friendly?



2. What would you name your polar bear?



3. What would you feed the polar bear?



4. How do you think your parents would react if there was a polar bear in your yard?

I glanced out my window and a polar bear was in my yard...

Here is another blog worthy post from author #7. The students were supposed to finish the story about a polar bear in their yard. #7's story goes like this:

I was in my room upstairs, and I glanced out my window and saw a polar bear. At first I was scared to go out again, but once I realized it was friendly I wasn't scared anymore. I got to ride on his back and played fun, cool games.

If I started to get cold he would warm me up by giving me a warm hug. I would also take him on walks when he had a lot of energy. When my mom said, "Time to take him to the zoo", I was sad. I told him I would always come and visit him whenever I could.



Extra Credit Questions:



1. What level of the house was I in?



2. When I got cold what would the polar bear do?



3. How do you think I could tell it was a friendly bear?



4. When I took him to the zoo what do you think I would do to see him again?

I am a tree! This is my life:

Blog worthy! Author #18 wrote about his life as a tree.



My life as a tree is good because I can take people with a swing on me. The rope moves on my arm. In the summer, people climb me and it tickles me when people touch my branches. The most horrible part is the thunder, lightening, and rain. It makes me feel like I have fallen down.

In the fall, October and November, my hair comes out. The worst part is in the winter. It starts snowing and sometimes my branches fall down like lightening. My wood parts start to get cold. Spring is my favorite season because the sun rises, there are birds on my branches, and I start growing again. The worst about spring are the april showers because it rains like crazy. So my life as a tree is good.

Extra Credit Questions:
1. Why are april showers my least favorite part of the spring season?

2. Why don't I like October and November?

3. Why do I like the spring?

4. Why do I like the summer?

Mechanical vs. Standard Pencils

Here's another Blog Worthy journal entry from one of our students in Room 205. This time students were asked to pick a side in the debate "Which type of pencil is better? Mechanical or Standard?

Number 6 did a terrific job making her point in this debate:

Mechanical pencils! They are much better for the environment! Why? What are regular pencils made out of? Wood! Mechanical pencils come with extra lead. But why is it important? First, wood comes from trees so you have to cut down trees to make them. Second, mechanical pencils are made from plastic and can be recycled! And if mechanical pencils come with lead, you don't have to hear that annoying pencil sharpener sound. It'll distract people in school! And if you run out of lead in a mechanical pencil, you can just stick some more lead right in! It also doesn't make you waste money on pencil grips and stuff because mechanical pencils can already come in cool designs! So everyone, vote for mechanical pencils!



Extra Credit Questions:



1. Do you agree now that mechanical pencils are better?



2. Will you stop buying regular pencils and start using mechanical ones?



3. Do you think that if more people used mechanical pencils the environment would be better?



4. Do you think that you will still buy accessories for your pencil?

I am a Tree

A Blog Worthy Piece by Author # 14



I'm a vast tree towering in the sky.

When harsh winds blow, I sway all around.

In the intense winter I close all openings in my branches.

I am bare.

When time changes to Spring, I grow.

In the blazing summer, I shade people.

When there is a storm you hear "crack".

I have fallen.

My life is over.



Questions/Comments:

1. Who is the "I" in this poem?

2. Which descriptive words help you feel how the tree feels?

3. How do you feel at the beginning of the poem? Do you feel the same at the end?

4. What is your favorite part?

...now you know why there are so many stars in the sky

Here's another Blog Worthy journal entry...enjoy!

Author: Number 2

In the beginning there was one tiny star that was as microscopic as an ant. He was very mournful because he was the only one in existence. When he got angry, he got bigger, and one day he got so ginormous he could not fit in his house any more. He got so enraged that he exploded into one-million little stars that were as shiny as a new quarter. Now he is joyful, and now you know why there are so many stars in the sky.

Questions:

1. What do you think a good name for the star would be? Why?

2. How many stars do you think there actually are in the sky?

3. Use clues from the story to find the meaning of ginormous, mournful, and enraged.

4. What do you think the main idea of this story is?

5. Contrast the way the star feels at the beginning to how it feels at the end.

...Now you know why there are so many stars in the sky.

Author # 4 wrote a Blog Worthy response to the following prompt: Write a story that ends with the line... Now you know why there are so many stars in the sky. We hope you enjoy her take on it!

It all started when a shining amulet cristal was found in the earth by a group of hard working builders. They gave it to the scientific scholars, Dr. Lecond and Dr. Shorts. The doctors were mixing the cristals with random, flammable potions, and a beaming light was shining. They rushed outside, and it started to float. It went higher and higher and higher up to the sky.

Dr. Shorts went to go get his camera and took a picture. Two days later, it was on the front cover of the newspaper, and people talked about it for months!

Dr. Shorts and Dr. Lecond decided to make more potions because they wanted to make the nighttime sky even more beautiful. It took them about a year to make the four-billions stars that glow up in the sky, and now you know why there are so many stars in the sky.

Why did Dr. Shorts take a picture?

Why did they want to fill the sky with stars?

What descriptive words did you like in the story?

What was your favorite part of the story?

Number 18 and the Giant Peach...

After attending South Elgin High School's performance of James and the Giant Peach, students in Room 205 had an opportunity to write their own fantasy! Here's Number 18's take on it!

A young boy named Number 18 was lonely because he had no friends, and people made fun of him. They picked on him because they thought he was a nerd. A kid named Zack made fun of him too.
Number 18 was growing peaches for a peach pie. One grew into a one-hundred pound peach! Number 18 said, "I want some bigger crust to make a pie!"
One day Zack smelled something good so he tried to find the mystery smell. He found Number 18's peach pie, and he said, "Can I have a piece of pie?" Number 18 said, "No!" because of the mean things Zack said.

Questions:

What was your favorite part of the story?
What was the saddest part of the story?
How big was the peach Number 18 used to make his pie?
If you were Number 18, would you let Zack have pie? Why or why not?

...from now on, I'll keep the door locked!

Students were recently given the journal prompt "write a story that ends with...from now on I'll keep the door locked". Here's Number 16's frightening rendition...

My basement door was never open, and I always wondered why. My sister told me there's a story that says our basement is cursed. I never believed her until I looked inside.
It was a regular Saturday afternoon. I was playing with my best friend Ashley. I came in earlier than I normally did because I wanted to know what was behind that door.
Ashely was with me when I heard a little noise coming from the basement. It was heavy breathing. At first, I thought that it was my dog. That was when I remembered no one has gone there since we moved in here.
We timidly walked to the door. When we opened it...nothing. So we went deeper.
Then we saw a giant purple monster. Ashley and I screamed and ran up the stairs. It chased us, but luckily I got the lock for the door so the monster could not get upstairs. From now on, I will keep the door locked.

Introducing Blog Worthy...

Everyday students in Room 205 write in their Fifth Grade Journal. Reading their work is such a pleasure for me that I want to share it with you. The students are filled with creativity, thoughtfulness, and hilarity, and it needs to be shared! Therefore, I have coined the phrase "Blog Worthy". Any time a student writes a piece that needs to be shared with the world, we will post it on our blog. Check back often to hear thoughts from your favorite authors in Room 205!