Scary Story

Today we will be writing a scary story. When I told students this last week, they thought I had lost my mind. "It's not Halloween," they said. "Why would we do it in May?" they asked.

Well, funny you should ask that. The things we will cover include:

1. The plot and developing problems;

2. Descriptive writing and adding supporting details;

3. Punctuating dialogue;

4. Character development;

5. Building a narrative to a climax;

6. Cooperation and writing with a partner;

7. Edditing-git that speling write;

8. Writing with an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The assignment is to write a scary/horror story. BUT, shooting or guns, and stabbing or knives, or killing in any way is NOT allowed! All injuries must be incidental or accidental. The focus is on scaring the reading in only the most imaginative ways!

I can't wait to read them.

Haiku

Haiku poetry originated in Japan. It has a strict format that includes:

1. Three lines with 17 syllables in the pattern of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
2. Only one topic
3. Traditionally about nature and/or seasons
4. Does not rhyme
5. Written in present tense
6. Stirs the imagination


Sunshine by J. McGuire

Breaking through treetops
filtering golden beauty
bringing in the day

Spring By Alina S.

Spring is here today
Daffodils and crocuses
Blooming everywhere

When it Rains by Josh P.

Clouds roaring with fierce
Lightening attacks with anger
Peaceful when rain stops

Spring Flowers by Connor H.

They are violet blue
they are purple and yellow
they are spring flowers

Mushrooms by Sean C.

walking through the woods
see those mushrooms, see them.
go and pick them please

Wildfire by Shelby C.

Bright like a wild fire
suddenly stepping forward,
out of plane nothing.

Jumping Flowers by Justin H.

Flowers jumping up
out of the rich dark brown soil
their bright pedals glow

Hot, Nice Day by Dimitri H.

Walking outside, oooh
look at the big sunflower
what a hot nice day

Morels by Mrs. Bower

Hunting for mushrooms
Delicacies hiding low
cool, damp, sunny day.

Carpenter Bees by Mrs. Bower

Angry, droning pests
Aggressively drilling holes
wood chewing insect.

An Arch of Color by Jennie B.

Rainbows have colors
Pot O' Gold at the bottom
An arch of color

Walking in the Woods by Brittany M.

Walking in the woods
alone looking for a waterfall
it's close when it's cool.

Dancing Rain by Haley E.

Rain dancing outside
Around and around it goes
Going on forever

Wolves by Kari W.

Mistaken creatures
Wandering through the forest
Gentle animals.

Grass by Amanda K.

long, soft cut, pokey
green, soft, rough, up in the air
falling all over

Clouds by Dillon Y.

Clouds, drifting like ghost
in the sky so high above
Fly by day and night.

Birds by Brianna G.

birds fly in the air
cardinals and red tailed hawks
what beautiful birds.

Trees of the Forest by Jacob T.

The trees of the damp
forest move swiftly by my
eyes with great beauty.

Letters are Finished

Students finished their letters today on the topic, "Reasons Why I Liked the Book." The following is a letter by Dillon Y. that is a good example of what I was looking for with this project.

September 12, 2007

Dear Mr. McGuire,

I just started reading it but I love my SSR book. My book is The Revenge of the Shadow King by Derek Benz and J. S. Lewis. It Is a really good book and I would recommend it to others.

I like my book because it keeps you guessing, like when the Shadow King attacked Max you thought he was in trouble but it was just a dream. Also, it's kind of like a mystery; Max and his friends, Ernie and Natalie, have to solve why the Shadow Goblin is attacking Max, which keeps me in suspense. They also have to solve why the Codex (magical book) was in Max's grandma's attic. The last mystery they have to solve is why Sprig wanted Max to release an evil shadow.

There are also several evil monsters, like the Shadow King, and all his Faeries, which are Goblins and other things which is cool because I really like reading stuff like that. The evil monsters are all ruled by the Shadow King and Oberon who are also evil monsters. It also keeps me wondering what will happen next. Like one time Max was falling off a water fall towards rocks and you thought he was dead but Sprig the the magical Spriggan swooped down out of the air and saved Max.

A Spriggan is a magical bird/monkey that came out of the Codex when Max opened it to Sprig's page. Sprig helps me like the book because he is funny and always does something you don't want him to do unless you tell him in detail. Like when Max told him he wanted to go somewhere else he took Max to a place where he could not breath.

The final reason why I like this book is because it's a series, so it will be fun to read the remaining books and see how the story develops. All of these are reasons why I love my SSR book and would recommend it to others.

Sincerely,

Dillon Y.

Many of the letters were interesting with good supporting details based on facts from the books students are reading. Great job, sixth grade!

Don't forget, Reading Logs are due on Friday. Students must read at least 4 times a day for at least 15 minutes each day to get a C. To get an A, students must read at least 180 minutes for the week.