Words from Our 4th & 5th Graders at Thornhill Elementary

The 4th and 5th grade group at Thornhill has been writing all types of amazing poems (with a little Halloween prose thrown in for fun) this Fall. From list poems to riddle poems, we’ve been having a blast and here’s the proof!

Ode to Leaves by Sidney

The long roads to freedom lead the way out the town. The leaves have freedom to fall on the ground. To explore new places. Those who are shy for they never leave home. They stay stuck to the branches and never roam. They get punished by the deep winter freeze. The breeze carries the free ones over the villages eaves. They are our messengers. The red ones bring us fall. The brown ones bring us winter. The green ones bring us spring.

List Poem by Gabby

Milk low-fat, preferably white A nectarine with a soft bite Chocolate chip cookie dough, oh how I want to eat it Absolutely no asparagus, oh how I must defeat it. Lettuce and tomato for a healthy salad So in the future when I’m strong and tall, I sure will be glad. Also I shall get some mighty noodles. Then I’ll get some soft snickerdoodles I can’t wait to gobble up all my food But I’m keeping it all to myself, so shoo!

Repeating Line Poem by Michela

I saw you sing so loud so sad. So unhappy. So un glad. Why so sad? Extinction can’t be glad!

O tiger in a trap eat the hunters with some sap.

I hear you howl and sneak like a snake. So close to me I thought you were fake! O tiger in a trap eat the hunters with some sap.

Ode to Rain by Selah

Rain cries day and night On sunny days it might stop Rain will cry of its fright the ice melting from the night of heat.

Riddle Poem by Jamie

I will turn and begin. I will end when you’re done with me. You can rip me if I don’t have enough protection. I have pictures and words. What am I? (a book)

Free Verse in homage to Billy Collins by Mitch

On turning 9, it was almost scary. I got all these new responsibilities. I got blamed for everything.

It was like a fly being asked to eat a frog.

I used to think I was a famous singer, all over those magazines Like I was a dog, a puppy. Or a strong knight guarding a castle. But that was the past and today is today.

So now nine has kicked eight away.

Repeating Line Poem by Sophie

You think I’m so scary, but seriously I can be nice. I am black and white, just like dice. You think I’m a tuffy, but I’m mostly fluffy! I squeal when I’m excited. It’s real, don’t just recite it. You think I’m a tuffy, but I’m mostly fluffy!

Halloween Scary Story Excerpt

by Parsa

(We picked 12 things we thought were important for a Halloween story and then tried to fit them all in one story!)

Zombie and Vampire stepped into the darkness of the haunted house. The house was a cellar made of blood. There was a huge bloody river in the middle of the haunted house. When the vampire was about to speak a crumpled up love letter appeared in front of his face! When he opened it, they heard dramatic opera music....(to be continued)

Ode to Letter E by Maxwell

You the letter the letter E You’re a sparkle Your personality brings meaning meaning of justice, hope, beyond more you’re the moon shining your glory to our globe your voice sheds glory to the word more than power your own E ways the letter E thank you!

You Don’t Scare Me at All Poem by Elise

Dogs barking Monsters walking Clowns honking You don’t scare me at all

Spies spying Robbers robbing Thunderbolts flashing You sure don’t scare me at all

School bell screaming Cats meowing Teacher yelling You don’t scare me at all

Police say stop Ghosts say boo-ooo You don’t scare me at all

I say hi, they go bye I don’t scream, they fling I don’t cry, they die

You don’t scare me at all

Repeating Line Poem by Reemi

Clouds Why do you cry? How do you fly? Are you old? Are you young? Tell me about the world and its nature. I feel your baby water balls. Your misty coolness all around. When you get mad you’re gray. When you are happy you’re white and bright. Tell me about the world and its nature.

Ode to Shoes by Hannah

Click Thump Clack Smack Tap On the street On the floor Walking out the door Leather Plastic whatever color you ask it Rough Isn’t allowed You walk Oh, so proud You are the bounce The jump The hop In my step The ground Such a killer You are the police Not Allowed In Most houses For style For girls Mostly Lady Gaga Is your client Sometimes you just support us You keep our feet clean So many of you Congrats The thing in your capsule is not rose scented But you held up Through wind Rain The snowy terrain So I slip My foot Into your soft touch And Lace up Yank, Yank Tie a bow Velcro Scratch scratch Or just slip on So simple So easy So many days I owe to you My P.E. sessions And Protection

Words from Our Young Authors at Joaquin Miller!

Want to see some of the star-studded writing coming from our young writers at Joaquin Miller Elementary? Check out some of our favorite poems below!

Exercise: Writing Odes – students created their own odes using descriptive language, rhyming, and repetition.

Shadow by Marley

You dance across the ground With exquisite delicacy. You walk across the ground Without a sound. Oh shadow, the harmless but dangerous hunter.

You sleep in a soft blanket of moonlight On the hard ground. You walk in the sun’s warmth On the cold, frosty ground. Oh shadow, the harmless but dangerous hunter.

You walk quickly, Without fear or pause. You can’t be hurt, Unless it’d dark out. Oh shadow, the harmless but dangerous hunter.

You leap across the floor With gracefulness. You skid along with someone else, Who is not alone.

Oh shadow, the harmless but dangerous hunter.

You’re very smart But you can’t learn. You love eating blackberries, But you can’t taste them. Oh shadow, the harmless but dangerous hunter.

When you die, You stay alive until you are buried. You’re loud and annoying, But you can’t bother anyone. Oh shadow, the harmless but dangerous hunter

A Bee by Luke

I saw you make the flowers droop. I saw you fly in a loopty-loop. You are super fast, I can’t see you pass. Oh bee, why do you buzz? Oh bee, why do you have fuzz?

You fly away, You sting your prey. In sight, You are a fright. Oh bee, why do you buzz? Oh bee, why do you have fuzz?

I sit and watch you in the air, And I wonder if you have hair. You fly by my eye, I see you say hi, You fly away – bye bye. Oh bee, why do you buzz? Oh bee, why do you have fuzz?

Owl by Julia

Owl oh Owl, where do you roam?

The owl danced across the night sky, Oh my, Oh my. Owl oh Owl, where do you roam?

The owl spoke Hello, Hello. Owl oh Owl, where do you roam?

The owl sprouted feet and a nose. Owl oh Owl, where do you roam?

And what do you know, What do you know, Some toes. Who knows, who knows. Owl oh Owl, where do you roam?

Turtle by Pearce

Oh turtle, why are you so slow?

The turtle walks through the room. It is soooo slowwww. Oh turtle, why are you so slow?

The turtle wears a slow reddish-green coat. Why is it so slow? Oh turtle, why are you so slow?

Turtle, you walk so slow you can’t stub your toe. With no name, you won’t get to the Hall of Fame. Oh turtle, why are you so slow?

Mr. Monkey by DJ

Why Mr. Monkey, you don’t have to do what you do. I watch you from the Grand Canyon to the polar ice caps. But why do you terrorize the world? From the Space Needle to the Statue of Liberty, You destroy with your TNT breath.

I saw you on vacation at the Eiffel Tower and the Rome Coliseum. Why won’t you go away? I don’t understand why you won’t just go. But why do you terrorize the world? From the Taj Mahal to Tokyo, You destroy with your TNT breath.

In the end, the world was chaos and fire and destruction. People survived by digging below the surface for iron as money. But on the summit of Mount Everest was you, Mr. Monkey, In a mansion – the wealthiest of them all. And still from Mount Everest to the end

You destroy with your TNT breath.

Exercise: Life Doesn’t Frighten Me At All – after reading Maya Angelou’s poem of the same name, students wrote poems about the things that frighten them while experimenting with using repetition lines.

Life doesn’t frighten me at all by Morgan

Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Unicorns mocking me, Clowns taunting me, Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Mermaids flying in the air, Scissors snipping here and there, Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Darkness everywhere, Robbers creeping down my stairs, Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Frightened by Louka

I am not afraid of microscopic atoms that go in my brain. I am not afraid of chickens who cackle, Or clowns who pass by. They think they know what scares me, But they don’t know it’s just a story. I am not afraid of monkeys that cry. There is one thing I am afraid of. I’ll only name a clue. It’s a thing that’s dead and rotten. I am not afraid.

Exercise: On Turning Ten – after reading Billy Collins’ poem about turning ten years old, students created descriptive lists of the defining traits of turning a certain age, then wrote poems using those lists.

On Turning Four

by Marco Four is when you realize that things aren’t what they seem. Candy is less sweet, Steak is just plain meat, School turns out important, Field trips are educational. Four is the year you start forgetting things, Wait… what did I just say?

Exercise: List Poems – students read a selection of poems that use listing as a technique, then created their own list poem using the five senses and concrete details.

My Junk Drawer by Hunter

3D glasses make the movies amazing. Baseball cards are fun to collect. Sticky stars are great weapons. Football cards are not as fun. Mario Cards are the worst. Legos are so… so awesome. Rocks rock, And more stuff that I can’t name.

More Words from Our Young Authors at Sonoma Mountain Elementary!

Check out what our talented kids at Sonoma Mountain Elementary have been up to this Fall!

Outdoor Listening Activity:

Wind that sounds like a waterfall.

Leaves rattling like a rattlesnake.

Flapping wings of a bird.

Swing, swinging in the wind, sounds like a bell ringing.

Wheels of a garbage can rolling.

-Alan

I Am From

I am from my two crying sisters and loud barks of my blind dog barking at people outside.

I am from the great smell of my mom cooking giant meatballs for dinner.

I am from the feel of my ripped-up hands from gymnastics.

I am from making a cartwheel to making a back flip.

I am from hot pink socks and bright blue leotards.

I am from a bar that I swing on constantly.

-Audrey

Describe It (observation activity):

As smooth as a worm

Clattery as a metal

Too cold, just like the Arctic

As round as a wheel to a head

The great spiral stair as to the object.

(What is it? Metal film holder!)

-Cody

Free Write

If I Could Go Anywhere in the Universe…

… I would go to a light pink oval-like circle. In the pink circle there are little fairies and when they dance they start to float in the air. Then when they are as high as they want they land on clouds that are made of marshmallows. When the fairies want to, they can nibble on the clouds.

-Emma

Story from newspaper headline: Return of the Martians

In October 2012, a jumping man fell from the space line and broke the speed of sound. People thought he was a Martian. He was wearing a white suit with a black mask and a giant oxygen tank. He looked like a giant marshmallow falling from space. He spun, twirled, flipped, and went headfirst. People cried with fear. Was he really a jumping man or… a Martian?!?

-Sophia

Words from our Young Authors at Park Day!

Here are a variety of excerpts from our fall writing session. It was called, "Take Flight!" and explored all different aspects of flight, including flights of fancy, Amelia Earhart's flight and the flight of the bumblebee. We also used free write prompts to jump into stories. In the "My Name Is.." poems, we personified our names. From a free write

The fan whirs and gushes of air woosh toward me. I’m sitting next to Starr, and on the other side of me, staring at the whiteboard, is my best bud, Redhead.

“Just stay quiet, I think it’s blind,” somebody says, reading the whiteboard.

“Is he talking about Jewel?” Starr asks. We burst into giggles and get a murderous look from Spock.

-Ciel

My Name Is…

My name is high and low,

My name is made from pureness,

I found my name in a restaurant’s kitchen,

My name can fly wherever it wants.

If I lost my name, I could 

never replace it,

My name is Cate.

-Cate

Writing Prompt: I used to believe…

I used to believe in flying forever, away from here when times get rough below, and back when people find peace in themselves and others. I used to believe that I could just soar above, never coming to a stop and never interfering with the complex world on the ground. I used to believe that I would never land, that my wings would flap forever, that the wind would never stop. I would never get lower, never higher.

And now I realize that there is no going away, no running from death, from fear. You must face your troubles, you must come down to the ground to solve your problems. Then you can take flight again, to stay tethered to the chain that is your breathing. Because when that stops, the world will too.

-Ruby H

From a freewrite

I am walking in a dark tunnel, under a house, a house that has been sitting abandoned and dark for longer than anyone in this funny little town can remember. At night, the surrounding neighbors have seen a light drifting down the hall. Now, as I walk through the secret tunnel, I wonder what I will find or if I will survive to tell the story of how I came to be here.

-Paola

My Name Is…

It is made of fiery green and California blue.My name is jumping for joy for no particular reason,

I found my name wrapped in deep folds of fog,

My name can be something it’s not.

If my name ran away, I’d put up posters everywhere, and be on every corner,

looking far and wide

-Olivia

From her “Flight of Fancy”

My name is Jen, well, Jennifer Hughson really. I’m named after my great aunt, Jennifer Bailey. But that’s on my mom’s side, well, my first mom that is. I have four parents: my first mom and dad and my second mom and mom. You see, my first set of parents got divorced when I was six and they both started dating other people, and my dad, he got married again to a woman named Stacey. My mom got remarried to a woman, which I think is great. In ways I have what I call a double-decker life!

-Clara

From her “Flight of Fancy” 

My silk gown flutters in the wind as I escape down the narrow alley. My dark blue heels are getting splattered with mud and I stumble as my arm scrapes the brick wall beside me. I shake of the chalk that dusted my torn sleeve.

As I round the sharp turn, I skid in a puddle of mud, and in the process, one of my belted shoes goes flying. I have no time to retrieve it, so I unlatch my other Gucci high heel and I shiver as my feet slap the wet gravel below me.

I reach the next corner and as soon as I am sure that I am out of sight of all people, I start to climb. The metal wires of the tall chain link fence dig into the balls of my thumbs.

-Mattie

From her “Flight of Fancy”

The color raced across the Ivory Hill, creating color in its wake. It made sparkling rivers that gave life to flowers and the flowers’ seeds drifted lazily through the air in a living dream, creating beauty and life in whichever path they chose, and from that little seed came light, racing like a wild stallion through the darkness, an explosive amount of light, rippling through the fields and illuminating a dark corner where a pale moth sat, spreading its wings and soaking up the light. It flew for endless time until it reached the ground where it fluttered gently onto a baby’s serene sleeping face, and that baby grew up to be an artist and when his finger (dipped in the sparkling colors of the world) touched his canvas (a blank Ivory Hill), the color raced and the cycle began again.

-JoJo

Flying, a bumblebee's point of view...

Just a soft flutter at first, a soft rock, a twitch of the wing. Then it was more, a blast of strength, a burst of hope. Now it was time, up off the cracked ground and into the innocent air. I can fly, she thought, but instead I’m going to soar. The feeling of flying was the feeling of power. I am your ruler and you’re of air, she thought, you’re of silk, of nothing, because I am free.

-Jake

More Words from our 2nd and 3rd grade authors at Grattan!

The following excerpts of the kids' work came from some of this session's writing activities. Some were in response to prompts, and a few are  in response to learning about Amelia Earhart's flight. In the "My Name Is..." poems, students  personified their names. "My name is... " poem

My name is Niall.

My name is made from water,

I found my name in Egypt.

My name can flow around rocks,

If I lost my name Mother Nature would stress out!

-Niall

Excerpt from "What I hate about being a kid"

What I hate about being a kid is that I can't sing when I want to. I can't cut with a really sharp knife. I can't tackle my brave cats who battle each other and both get really hurt...

-Josie

Excerpt from "If I was a pet..."

If I was a pet bat I would wake up at night. I would be a brown bat. I would sleep in the morning. I would fly all night. I would sleep upside down. I would squeak. I would eat bugs. I could see in the dark to catch bugs...

-Samantha

Dear Amelia Earhart,

My name is Zoe and I am the author of this note. I'm writing to you because I want to ask you some questions about your journey: Were you the only one on the island? How did you survive? Were there harmful sea creatures surrounding the island? Were you scared? Do you miss your family?

-Zoe

Excerpt from "If I were a pet bird..."

If I were a pet bird I would not eat, and then I would shrink and then I could fit through the bars of my cage and make a paper bird so my owner would feed the paper bird and get tricked...

-Lucie

Dear Amelia Earhart,

What did you do when you were stuck on the island? I would kill fish and eat them. Were you putting on that freckle cream that they found when they went looking for you? I'm sorry that you died.

Love, 

Roxy

-Roxie

Excerpt from "If I were a pet bird..."

If I were a bird I would sing all day long. I would love my humans and sit on branches. I would have babies and keep them warm by sitting on them. I would eat and feed my babies, and before I died I'd make sure my babies were OK.

-Anonymous

Excerpt from "If I were stuck on an island..."

If I was stuck on an island I would stay there for 100 years and no one would come to rescue me. If they did find me I would be happy, but I would have some animal friends so I would not leave them behind. I would take them with me, maybe a monkey, a panda, and even a bird. We would play animal games like animal hide-and-seek...

-Anonymous

Word from our Young Authors at Park Day! (2nd and 3rd Grade)

These are some excerpts from our Fall session of writing with 2nd and 3rd graders. Our theme was "Take Flight" and we explored all different aspects of flight including Amelia Earhart's journey, flights of fancy and flight of the bumblebee. Enjoy!

 Zoe

(L to R) Raquel, Dolci, Jasper, Shayna

 Joni

From her “Flight of Fancy”

A bird soars over trees in its path to meet blinding sunbeams, which stretch down to meet the beautiful colors and light up the world. It touches a hillside where a butterfly stretches its wings and flies to shine new light and color on other animals and fill the earth.

-Joni

From her “Flight of Fancy” 

She soars above valleys and rivers, mountains and oceans, as graceful as a swan. When she lands, she lands on a twig.

-Jasper

A letter from Amelia Earhart – written during her final flight

 I am happy that I am doing this. I need to take a risk. I am very proud of myself. It is getting cold. I am kind of scared. To all girls: follow your dreams. Mine was to fly.

-Dolci

From a freewrite prompt: "Just stay quiet, I think it's blind."

“Just stay quiet, I think it’s blind,” said Janie.

“I think it’s an evil devil zombie monster,” said Bill.

 “What’s an evil devil zombie monster?” said Janie.

 “I don’t know...”

-Shayna

The flight of the bumblebee 

 It feels fun. It is fun to go to different places and to protect the queen from predators. It sounds like buzzzz! buzzzz! buzzzz! It feels like I have heavy feathers on my wings and it feels cold up in the sky and it tickles my wings. I hear birds chirping all around me and it’s fun to fly all the way to another place, to many places, and to travel to Asia and Africa and many other places around the world.

-Raquel

The Flight of Words

They are flying, around and into my ears, and they’re exit is my mouth. They twiddle around my body like music that you can’t dance to. And if there is a good one, well that’s just nice, because it stitches the wounds in my heart. And if there are no wounds, then lucky me! That makes my heart stronger inside me. But if there is a bad one, well that’s pretty scary, because it rips the seams that have just been mended. 

-Zoe