Writing+in+English

Grade 4: These stories were written during the Beliefs around the World unit after a study of folktales.
= =  How the Richest Princess in the World Became the Poorest Peasant Once upon a time in a kingdom there lived the richest princess in the world. One day her father, King Ben II said, “You must get married in one week or we will fall out of power because a prince takes my place once you are 16.” Then he whined, “And we won’t be rich.” So the next day they had a ball and the princess was to find a prince whom she loved. After 3 hours she had danced with every one except the last prince, who was the richest. So she started to dance with him. Once the ball was over she realized that she did not like any of the princes but this princess was in love with money, as she had grown up spoiled. So, she chose the richest prince. The princess did not notice that he was very wise because she was too busy thinking about all the riches she would have. The next day the rich and wise prince wanted to test her love so he took her on a horse ride and told her, “I need you to fetch my bags full of my valuables from the back of the carriage.” The princess snatched the bags and darted into the woods, thinking of all the riches she’d have. Little did she know the bags were full of family photos and soon she’d become the poorest of the poor. The prince drove off happily, for he had outsmarted the princess. Emily 2/12/09

__ The Apple Tree __ Long, long ago in a land far, far away there lived a farmer with his wife. The farmer had just bought a tree that grew oranges. He’d always wanted a tree that grew oranges. When the farmer finally had that tree he could not stop talking to it. One night he was so exhausted, he didn’t talk to it for the whole night. What he didn’t know was that the tree refused to grow oranges, and started to grow apples. When the farmer looked at the tree in the morning he screamed, “WIIIFFFEEE! What did you do to my tree?” “I did nothing.” “Then why is it growing apples?” “It’s what?” asked the wife. “It’s growing apples. But why is it growing APPLES, not oranges?” asked the farmer. “How should I know?” asked the wife. “I am going to bring it back to the tree seller,” said the farmer. So the farmer drove to the shop and explained to him that the tree grew apples instead of oranges. The tree seller said, “You can’t stop talking to the tree, or else it will grow apples.” “Well how can it grow oranges again?” asked the farmer. “Go to grocery store where the oranges are, and get orange powder,” said the tree seller. So the farmer went to the grocery store where the oranges are. Then he got the powder and bought it. He powdered it over the tree and talked to it all night long. The next day the tree grew oranges again. Then the farmer screamed, “WOW, COOL, AWESOME!” The wife was also very excited. Then they ate oranges all day long and they never got tired of them. The tree was very happy too and it never wanted to stop growing oranges again. Julika

__Losing Water__ Once upon a time, in a land close to the mountains, there was a great settlement of people. The settlement invited people from all over the world for a huge party. After the party the whole settlement was out of water and the burning sun grew hotter and hotter. After one day passed the settlement needed water to drink. So a group of people went in search of an oasis to find clean water. They walked for days until they came to a bunch of palm trees. They thought if there were palm trees there must be water. But then a demon appeared!!! He said, “If you want the fresh water you need to beat me in a battle. So a brave volunteer fought the demon with great effort and won. Then they came to the spring of fresh clean water and brought it in buckets to the settlement. The settlement survived and the people who found the water were made the leaders of the village. Patrick

__The Unicorn of Happiness__ Once upon a time, in a plentiful land, there lived a jolly king and queen. The king and queen had three sons named Aliga, who was the oldest, Daglon, the second oldest, and Kalion, the youngest. Aliga and Daglon were both very greedy. Kalion was very kind. The whole family was happy where they lived, except for one thing. Aliga and Daglon longed for the Unicorn of Happiness. “It is said to give you everything you need and want!” cried Daglon. “But don’t we have everything here?” wondered Kalion. His two older brothers scowled at him in reply. “We don’t have enough!” said Aliga in an annoying tone. “We want more!” “To get it, we must go to the Forest of Danger and find the Unicorn of Happiness.” He proclaimed. The king did not like his sons going on long journeys, for he loved them very much. However, he also wanted them to be satisfied. So one day he announced, “Very well, I shall allow you to go to the Forest of Danger. But I warn you. They don’t call it the Forest of Danger for nothing.” “Also, I am afraid that the two of you alone will not get along because you are both so greedy.” “Therefore, I want you to take Kalion with you.” The next day the three brothers started towards the deep dark woods thinking only of the unicorn. After walking all day and into the night, they started to get sleepy. They set up a little campsite and soon fell asleep. Around midnight, when the wolves howled with all their might, when the moon was high and the sky was full of twinkling stars, a creeping thought awoke both Aliga and Daglon: who would get the unicorn’s happiness? They glared at each other. They both got their knives they had packed. Then, glaring with hate-filled eyes, they stabbed at one another. Then, covered with blood both of the brothers died. The next day, Kalion awoke to a horrific sight. He knew they were greedy, but he had never before realized how much. Kalion thought that if he could only find the unicorn, perhaps his brothers would come back to life. So, hopes high, he continued the journey. After a while, he came upon some sparkling blue mist. He struggled to see through it, but soon he reached a beautiful sight. Standing on a rock, was a white unicorn with a sparkling mane flowing in the summer breeze. On top of the unicorn sat a beautiful young maiden with wavy blond hair. Kalion was in love. After speaking with the maiden, they decided to get married. They rode back to the castle with the tragic story of his brothers, but a wonderful story of their marriage. And they lived happily ever after. Sarah __ Zackwatic Quest __  As the sole of my shoe creased the edge of the world, I, Lucie Higginbottom discovered the unknown land of Zackya, which means the “Seven Seas of Stars.”  As I stepped through the pearly gates of the unknown kingdom, I found Marky, an old and poor woman with her daughter, Linia. Marky wished to marry Linia off to the prince. Marky said her daughter was madly in love with him, for he had flowing cocoa brown hair as fine as threaded gold, and a heart more pure. He had clothing of silk, and gems that had not a single mark, as if they had never been touched by human hands. “//This is my chance!”// I thought, and with that I ran off in search of the Copper Palace. After hours of searching the maze-like hills, I finally found the palace. When I opened the door, I found a sad old king sitting there, dying, with no one to help him. He held a bottle in his hands. The moment he saw me, a faint gleam started to grow in his eyes, lighting up his wrinkly face. I told him of Marky and her daughter, while he listened patiently, fiddling with a lock of his curly hair. He grew interested when I came to the part about Linia being in love with the prince, and then an idea formed in his head. “If you bring me a youth potion, Linia can have my son’s hand in marriage!” “Okey Dokey,” I said, and the king began to tell me how to make the potion. “You will need dragon’s breath, lilcome berries, and finally, a lock of golden hair.” I wanted to ask him where to get these things, but he only chanted madly, saying things like “oogamiloco.” I began to get scared, and started backing towards the door, but then dashed back and grabbed the bottle from his hands, for I felt like I would need it. Outside, a villager told me that the dragon Delatora had the finest breath in the entire kingdom, and pointed toward a hill where the dragon lived. I bounded up the hill, and stepped into Delatora’s cave. To my relief, the dragon was napping. I put my bottle in front of the snoring dragon’s nose to capture his breath. Next, I took a sword from the dragon’s stash of items, and cut off a lock of my beautiful, golden hair, and stepped out of the stinky cave. My nose was relieved to smell fresh air, but I wasn’t kept from my quest for long. I peered down the hill and scanned the valley until I captured sight of an orchard of lincome berries. I dashed down the hill, being careful not to lose my footing, and gathered ten berries. Then I put my strands of hair and the berries into the bottle with the dragon’s breathe, and mashed it all together, just like he told me. I added some cold water, and voila! I’ve created mush! I ran back to the palace, going faster than the speed of light and gave it to the king. He took a gulp and made a disgusted face. “It’s horrible! But on the bright side, I feel twenty again!” I was relieved that the potion had worked. The wedding was held that night, but before they even kissed, I was walking toward the sunset, in search of adventure. Jayne =In 5K the students wrote invitations to the year end celebration to their parents:=

[[image:scan0009.jpg width="579" height="894"]]Grade 5
The Farm Eli The sun, so big, so glorious, so grand came to greet the old rusty red farm again. Giving the rooster his daily cue to announce that the morning had arrived. His feathers of colors such as brown, red and white glowed brilliantly in the light of dawn. His haughty behavior earned him no friends, but what did that matter, he thought rather boldly while he cocked his head. He knew he was superior and the best, or was he? His doubt lasted for but a split second because he realized that that was clearly impossible. And then, just as fast as his doubt had passed, he let out a screech that shook the whole world. The animals dreamily aroused from their slumber and the obese cows, as usual, went straight to grazing on the dry tawny grass. The calves watched their mothers for they one day would have to do the same. Their eyes, big and blue, glittered like diamonds, and their fur, as soft as velvet, was randomly spotted with blotches of brown. Sitting next to them, the piglets without warning let out a squeal, and no sooner had they done this than their mother rushed out to their comfort. Then there was a storm of piglets desiring a sacred place at their mothers’ stomach to nurse on the holy milk. Next the trio of horses neighed with mighty force shaking and waving their shaggy hair. And finally after all of the noise and the racket the head honcho the farmer with reluctance woke from his sleep. He slowly moved forward, the floor creaking under his weight. The door moaned as it opened and the farmer crossed, then sat in the old dirty green tractor. It started up spitting and jumping and jerking then it lurched, and everything was fine. That was morning at the old rusty red farm that day.

=Grade 3 For their unit "Where we are in place and time" students read and wrote legends:= How I Got My Native American Name Celine ** When the rain had stopped and the sky got bright, a woman gave birth to a baby girl. The girl was always playing in the woods. One day a little chipmunk came to the girl and licked her hand. They became best friends. They drew a little blue line with blueberries on their hands as a sign for friendship. One day the father went out to look for food. But there was nothing there. Other men had already taken all the food. At night time the father had an idea to move. They were going to leave in about three days. The next day the little girl decided to see the chipmunk again. She saw the chipmunk and told him that she had to move. The chipmunk did not want her to move, so he showed her where lots of animals had lived and where lots of fruits grew. The little girl took a load of fruits with her. When she came home she told her family about this valley with food. The next day the dad went to look for this valley. He saw it but the only animal he saw was a chipmunk. He took his bow and arrow and shot right in the middle of the chipmunk. When he came home he said he found food to eat. The little girl came. But as she saw the hand of the chipmunk she froze. Then she started to cry. She told them that was her best friend. Her father asked how she could be 100% sure it was her friend. She showed him her hand and the chipmunk’s hand. There was the same friendship sign. At dinner her mother decided in memory of the chipmunk to name her daughter Chipmunk Girl.

Why the Skunk Stinks Elizabeth A long time ago when animals helped each other, skunks were messengers. They ran through water and land. It was hard. One day little Bushy Tail a skunk had to deliver a message to a duck. The duck lived across the deep lake. There was another way around the lake. So the skunk went. On the way he saw lots of his friends talking and playing but he didn’t talk or say a word to them. Later the skunk was running so fast, that after five meters he tripped over a stone and slid into a stinky, icky, mud puddle. He thought for a moment to go back, but just went on. His legs ached but he just followed the path. Soon he arrived to the ducks house. He was tired and, he stunk and, his legs ached. But the duck was so happy to get his message. The spirit noticed how the skunk didn’t give up. So he let the skunk use the stink only when there was harm or when he was being bothered. Skunk was caring to the duck, showing perseverance by not giving up and, also keeping his word to, give the message to the duck! From then on being stinky helped the Skunk give messages without being bothered.

Grade 1 Fantasy:

Time trouble, lost days Reagan It all started on an early Saturday morning, the first morning in Hawaii. Snappy Cat Jack had booked a flight on Delta Airlines to get there. But there was one big problem. He had forgotten to turn the clock back! He thought it was eight o’clock but it was one in the morning! He looked outside. It was still dark but still Snappy Cat Jack brought his four dogs to the park. Soon, he bumped into a large group of wolfs. His dogs went wild! The got loose! Snappy Cat Jack tried to find them. It was no use. Snappy Cat Jack walked sadly through the park. Suddenly he bumped into something, It opened. He went through. Then he bumped into something else. He looked up. In the deep fog he could see……his house! Dag nabbit!, he said. That must have been the park exit. So he went back to the park. There he was again, walking sadly though the park. He sat on something that looked like a bench. but it was really a chocolate fountain. Then all of a sudden his dogs came racing towards him. They came and licked him clean. He went home, had a bath and tuned the clock forward.

Viktor is just beginning to learn English. This is how he retold the story in his own words ( not edited):