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Our challenge to you is to look at the photographs we post and see where they may take you, and your pen.
Let your imagination wander freely! And, please feel free to share comments you have, or stories, poems, musings that were spurred on by this week's photo.
Happy writing!
Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructor, Lauran Weinmann at Crocker Highlands Elementary in the East Bay:
From “What Are You Made Of?” self-recipe exercise
By Grace
“Friday Spectacular”
Ingredients:
4 ½ pounds soccer
3 pounds Jamaican
15 tablespoons pizza lover
50 pounds awesome
1 pound second child
a pinch of singing
a handful of acting
Directions:
Take a handful of acting and put in a big mixing bowl. Grind it with a pinch of singing. Set aside for 57 minutes. Next take 4 ½ pounds of soccer and put it into a frying pan to get fried for 5 minutes and pour in other mixture. Next put in 1 pound second child, 3 pounds Jamaican background and 50 pounds of awesomeness. Pour both mixtures into heavy duty oven for 1 hour and 53 minutes. Serve with caramel sauce and milk.
From food writing – alliteration
By Noah
Crisp chips crunched, crackled, and condensed.
Chocolate chip cookies crumble quietly.
Vegan vinegar going vsh, vsh.
From food writing – love letter to a food
By Lauren
Dear Salmon,
You can be cooked so many ways: grilled, smoked, barbecued, teriakyed. I could go on for days!
From free write prompt: write a scene in a restaurant
By Gayatri
One day at a Thai restaurant an acrobat and an artist were sitting together. Their names were Big Bob Billy and Curly Kidd.
By Max
Artist Fratti was taking a walk when he saw Bok Choi and Lapchang having lunch as friends together, and he wasn’t invited.
By Ben
He asked one of the men sitting there, “May I please borrow some salt,” in a strong British accent. He got no reply. Joey decided to just take the salt and leave. As he did so, a firm hand blocked his path.
From free write prompt: write from the perspective of a stack of paper sitting next to a shredder
By Claire
Oh great. At times like this I REALLY wish I had legs. Hi, I’m Carl -- page number one on this stack of bills sitting right next to the shredder.
By Shay
Death. That’s what I tasted in my mouth. The bloody, mushy, dry feeling.
Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructor, Lauran Weinmann at Redwood Heights Elementary in the East Bay:
From “What Are You Made Of?” self-recipe exercise:
Recipe for Josie
½ cup pure awesomeness
2 tons of coolness
2 blue-ish eyes
2 cups brown hair
1 pinch anger
1 pinch powdered Unicorn hair
1 quart of strangeness
Step 1: Preheat oven to 360
Step 2: Stir the awesomeness and coolness together (unless you are in bed in the hospital because you threw out your back lifting 2 tons of coolness)
Step 3: Pour the cool-awesome mixture on to the blue-ish eyes, making sure they are thoroughly soaked
Step 4: Sprinkle brown hair and anger into the quart of strangeness
Step 5: Sprinkle powdered unicorn hair onto strange-angry-brown hair.
Step 6: Mix it all together.
Step 7: Put in oven for 45 minutes.
Step 8: EAT.
Recipe for Maddie
20 pounds of chocolate
Half cup of fun
Drop of sarcasm
Quart of awesomeness
5 ounces of pure talent
Recipe for Reilly
Recipe for Alex L.
5 tons legos
1/1000 pinch of dog walker
1 gallon robotics
½ cup noisy
1 ½ cups stubborn
1 cup of awesomeness (pure if possible)
Preheat oven to 3,000 degrees. Stir ½ cup noisy with ½ cup stubborn for 2 hours. Put in oven for one day.
More food writing exercises...
By Magda
Personification: Broccoli
Hello, my name’s Barak oh Broccoli, and yes, I am broccoli. I’m the president of the field. I’m 29 broccoli years old, and my favorite hobby is eating broccoli soup. AAAAAA I’m a cannibal! I just ate my cousin Nina!
By Sydney:
(If I were a food, I’d be...)
I would be a lime because usually people don’t like limes. And if they do like limes, it’s to make limeade so they would juice me and that would probably feel good.
By Justine
(Food metaphors/similes)
Cantaloupe: Smells like a rose blooming in late summer. Tastes like late spring and early summer.
Gummy bunny: Smells like an edible rose where the petals are made out of fruit. Tastes like an explosion of gooey fruit in my mouth.
By Alex H.
(Food metaphors/similes)
Gummy bunny: Smooth as plastic; squishy as mud; cold as the refrigerator; stretchy as gum.
Cantaloupe: Orange as my hair; juicy as water; sweet as candy; yummy as apricots.
Graham cracker: Crunchy as tree bark; rough as sandpaper; smells like nothing; brown like my shirt with trees on it.
Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructor, Emily Phillips at Beach Elementary in Piedmont:
By Mikey:
Limerick
There once was a man named Rezon.
His will was to free a bad con.
He set out by car
And traveled very far
But got distracted and watched Tron.
By Azul:
Limerick
There once was a girl named Lu
Who swam in the ocean blue.
A shark came up
So she beat him up
And threw him to Timbuktu
By David:
Limerick
There once was an old man named Rob,
who had a friend named Screaming Bob.
They went to a park
and had so much fun.
When they left, they began to sob.
By Gabby:
The Opposite World
Long ago people did things differently. They would start off the day with a bowl of TV while watching cereal. Then they would get groceries so they could buy money. They would go to the park to swing on the slide and slide down the swing. Then they would play fetch with the cat and give dog-nip to the dog. Then they would go to the bathroom in the bed and go to sleep in the toilet.
By Griffen:
I don’t know what happens underground, but I suspect that they have a tri-species party (unicorn, leprechaun, troll) and they do the hustle till they pass out drunk, but if there is an earthquake everyone retreats to the bunkers and they resume the party on twitter.
By Jack:
Brussels Sprouts
The first time I tried it I ate it really, really fast. So fast I thought it didn’t have a taste, but then came the kickback. The second time I tried it, it was a kind of paste like thing on a cracker. When I heard it was Brussels sprouts, I immediately started rubbing my tongue on my sweatshirt.
By TH:
There once was a dragon named Joe.
He had always been filled with woe.
He went to Zion
And ate a lion,
Said, “Tasty, I’ll have a HO-HO!”
Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructor, Dominique Renda at El Carmelo in Palo Alto:
By Ava:
I am from water that glistened in the sun.
I am from fire that ferocity took.
I am from one that turned into a thousand.
I am from April, crisp as the air.
I am from the ones who went before me.
I am from all who turned into one.
***
I listen to the drum beat out the rhythm
and then be accompanied by the hollow
sound, mysterious and challenging,
brave but graceful,
musical poetry.
The sky darkens with a cloud
and the storm breaks,
weighing down on us,
yet letting us be free.
Sad yet beautiful, harmony
crying in the echoes
of time and space.
***
1 day to live, 1 day to thrive.
It’s the longest you can stay alive.
Do as much as you can in one
very short day.
Be happy and joyful,
just gleefully play.
Every single time you do
1 thing wrong,
if you regret it, apologize
quickly;
1 day is not long.
***
By Maya:
The fire blazes as the drummer hit his drum over and over again. Other instruments make a wonderful, almost eerie harmony, but the drum continues its rhythm, always steady under the starry night sky. My eyes begin to droop as it gets later, and the sounds echo in my head. I focus on the drumming, almost drowning out the melodies of the ceremony. It is only the steady beat of the drums as I watch the drummers move to the music. Slowly, steadily, my eyes close and I fall asleep.
***
Once there was a wizard who was apprentice to a wizard who was very good at magic, but very bad at teaching. From him the wizard learned only one spell. This spell allowed him to grant wishes, but only one a person, and none for the wizard. Soon he began to wander around the globe. He came across a village that had a girl who wanted to be freed from her parents who beat her when she made one mistake. Every night she wished she could run away. One day while on an errand in town, she spotted…
***
Benjamin Franklin was on his way to the Constitutional Convention in his sedan chair when he spotted a cupcake store. He bought a box of cupcakes for the convention. When he got there he opened the box and saw that one of the cupcakes was moving. It jumped out of the box and ran around the room. Not even George Washington could catch it. To this day no one knows where it went.
***
I looked into my pocket and found a pebble. I took it out to examine, but as soon as I took it out something felt wrong. My entire body was itchy under my clothes, everything looked bigger, my face felt different, and my limbs were shifting beneath me. When I looked at myself in a puddle, I was a cat! I ran home, slipping and sliding over my new limbs. But when I got to my house I realized I couldn’t get in, and no one would let me in. So I sat on the porch and waited. I didn’t know what I was waiting for, but I knew it was important. Soon a white cat with blue eyes appeared. I sat up straighter and paid attention. I didn’t know who she was, but she looked and seemed incredibly important.
***
Screams filled the air ass the boat went down. People screamed for the lifeboats. Those in boats went toward the nearest island, what seems a paradise with beautiful beaches, and lush forests, but in reality was an awful place, on which shells stabbed feet, and people were lost forever to the overgrown trees. When the people reached the island they carefully avoided the shells, and searched for a good place to sleep. They found a clearing and laid down to rest.
***
By Clara:
I am from a small country far away.
I am from a very cold winter.
I am from the sun which lights me up.
I am from a family that is very kind.
I am from love and peace but war.
I am from around the world with different faces.
I am from a comet that emotions with both good and bad.
I am from my family which teaches me love.
I am from stars of all colors who give me spirits.
I am from a county with good and evil.
I am from both winter and fall which teaches me fairness.
I am from a small country far away.
***
My teeth were chattering like a wolf’s breath. Everyone was staring at me in my pink ballerina suit (which was way too small for me). I looked into the pink pocket. I found a small, round me phone and started singing, “You Belong with Me,” by Taylor Swift. Everyone was startled by my creaky voice which sounded like a door that hasn’t been oiled for years. Suddenly my voice trailed off into thin air. The audience looked at me expectantly. Then everyone vomited up green slimy snails and changed into green/purple princess dresses. Then everything went dim and I fainted.
When I woke up I was in a jungle with a cobra in a ring above me and I fainted again. And when I woke up I was back in the show with Serena Star standing next to me making googly eyes and batting her eyelashes at my boyfriend. I was so mad… But I didn’t get too it because I fainted AGAIN.
***
My ponytail was waving like crazy while I was eating cherry pie in front of Starbucks. This really cute dog came up to me and started wagging its tail. I checked for a collar. “No collar here,” I said to myself. When I opened my eyes I saw the puppy brought me flowers. “Puppylicious,” I squealed. Then I saw a green, slimy, slippery slug on the flowers the puppy brought me. “Euw,” I screamed. The puppy ran away. Maybe dogs aren’t that good for me. Right now I am just waiting for something new to happen.
***
By Mike:
Buzz walked into the kitchen. It was after dark. He had a small desire for food. He glanced out the window. He noticed the moon was out. He opened the fridge for something to eat. All there was was some moldy string cheese and an apple. He checked the freezer and he found a pint of his favorite ice cream.
***
I looked into my pocket and found Spore Galactica adventure, regular Spore, creepy and cute, and Spore creature creator. Then I found the same things 80 dozen more times. Then I found the same things except they were out of order 1000 more times. Then I finally found what I was looking for. My hat and my cloner umbrella. Then I found everything one last time. Then I found my real pocket with everything else that I found….
***
By Andy:
I am from playing video games all day.
I am from reading the best books there are.
I am from going to places to learn about their amazing history.
I am from playing with my friends all day.
I am from the rainy spring seasons.
I am from the Chinese figure, the dragon.
***
By Sophia:
Buzz went into the kitchen. He looked at the clock and saw it was 12 o’clock. He opened the fridge hoping for pie from his party. None. There was a moldy and old apple and a smelly moldy piece of string cheese. In the freezer he thought , there is his favorite ice cream, rocky road. Taking the jar out and opening it, he scooped spoons and spoons of ice cream. He ate it all. Ugh. He had a stomachache.
***
I am from a country small and far away.
I am from the cool breeze and crispy golden leaves of autumn.
I am from the snowy city of Allentown, Pennsylvania.
I am from a black raven.
I am from a peaceful breeze gently blowing.
I am from books and bookworm alike.
I am from the spirals and loops from colorful and creative art.
I am from the blazing sun rising and setting.
I am from nature.
I am from a caring family that slowly carries me through life.
I am from a world so bright to live on.
***
I looked into my pocket… and found a ring. It looked familiar. Then I realized it was the ring from Lord of The Rings. I thought wasn’t it destroyed? A few days later lots of people were visiting that we didn’t know. They told me they were The Fellowship of The Ring. I asked didn’t you destroy the ring? Yes in the book, but not in life. In life this is only the beginning. But how come I have the ring? It is fate and destiny’s work so we don’t know! Let go to reverdel then we can discuss it all. How are we going to go without my parents knowing? I will make them fall asleep. We will ride horses. O, by the way, here are some bows and arrows to defend yourself. Well let’s get going. You are now a part of The Fellowship of The Ring but you are now in great danger since Sauron wants the ring. A few hours later there was a council which I was not invited. How is she supposed to keep it safe if it is a human and humans are the people who want power. But she can resist the power unlike Frodo did in the book.
***
By Sohini:
I looked into my pocket and found a picture on a necklace of a brown dog. I think it is a chocolate lab and it is very furry. Dogs are one of my favorite animals. The picture then burst into many rainbow colors and out came stars and glittery marble. The dog queen stood in the middle and asked me to join her on a stroll through the garden. The garden flowers (in the palace) were shaped as dog faces, dog bones, and even dog paw prints. They were lovely. Queen Dogina wore a yellow gown with purple diamonds and frilly lace borders. The sleeves were puffy and cream color. She told me to jump into the garden gazebo and sing “Mary had a Little Dog” 4 times and then I should be in Selezum Grun where the evil queen lives. She kills anyone whose head is bigger than a toadstool so Queen Dogina gave me a pink biscuit that said “eat me” so I could get my head shrunk. Wow…
***
By Moeka:
I looked into my pocket and found a shiny tissue paper so I ended up using that one. It turned out so beautiful that Mrs. Wilson, my teacher, even said that it looked pretty amazing. Right now next to my backpack I have the masterpiece I made. It has 4 of the papers taped on a long piece of string. I can’t wait to bring it home and show my mom. I bet she will be proud! I would like to hang it in my room and make the whole room look bright! I will hope that my sister, whose name is Satura, will not rip it into pieces. I will totally get mad or should I say furious? …
***
The Conversation
Hi Let’s talk about cotton candy
OK
it is cool
overkill
nice
crunchy
junk food
yucky
no sense
moose
geese
change clothes
not funny
***
By Kristina:
My one wish was to have a dog,
but mom said I must have a frog!
I said I would rather eat a log!
So she said I’ll get a hog.
No I said, I want a dog!
On Christmas Day I went into
my room and saw a dog!
***
Benjamin Franklin and cupcake were best friends. They loved dogs, both were 18 years old, and they were both wise. Their favorite meat was road kill, especially chicken, trying to get to the other side of the road. One day 5 years later cupcake was gone! Benjamin Franklin acted clueless but the truth is Benji ate his best friend. Boo Hoo!
***
Once I saw a tabby looking cool and awesome. It was a caramelish color. He looked like a pineapple. He was wearing dark shades and making the peace sign with his fingers. His fur was pokey like a pineapple’s outside. I almost mistakened him for a big piece of caramel and almost reached out to eat him, but then I thought caramel isn’t spiky? To add to his coolness he was also drinking Gatorade. How cool is that? (Not cool at all!)
***
By Lia:
I looked into my pocket and found a little gray cube the size of a horse’s hoof. and so I opened up the box and POOF! I know there was a cloud of green mist, then the world turned black. I woke up to find beautiful girls above me. “What?” I said. But they just started singing, and I feel asleep again. When I woke up again I was on a crude log raft, but made pretty by flowers. The raft was floating in the middle of a small lake. Suddenly there was a small popping sound, and the beautiful girls melted out of the water’s surface. “What? How?” I stammered. “We are the Cereids (se-raids), the guardians of Candio.” …
Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are more writing excerpts and photos of our young authors working with instructor, Marissa Bell Toffili at Walt Disney Elementary in San Ramon:
4th & 5th Grade:
By Alex
It was a dark, heavy wind. I was about to play baseball in the heavy wind. When I got outside, I could smell the heavy earth. So I went inside. I saw the dark clouds coming in. It started to rain. I could see yellow strikes of lightning. When the rain hit the ground, I could hear splats. The sky felt like it was getting mad at something. I could see the huge wind breaking the branches off of huge trees. I was very happy I was inside and not out.
When I wake up during midnight,
I feel tired. I feel cranky,
I feel annoyed. I feel hungry.
Being woken up during midnight
is like being tortured.
Being awake during midnight
is like being in the middle of nowhere.
Being awake during midnight
I am from Halo Reach
I am from baseball
I am from reading books
I am from the Gold Rush
I am from desserts
I am from the smell of Diritos
I am from the sound of splashing water
I am from the world of money
I am from Modern Warfare 2
I am from Call of Duty 4
I am from Xbox 360
I am from a sense of math
I am from the scents of sports
I am from video games
I am from the world of computers
I am from the wild
By Megan
I See the World
I see the lemon yellow sun
cracking from the door
I see the cherry blossoms
growing in the leaves
I see people playing
on the playground
I see groaning people
in the rain
I know the kids in class
are looking at me
I crave the strawberries
growing in the ground
I smell warm cookies
cooking in the night
I love blueberries
growing in the bushes
I know that my cat
In the TV Screen
I look ahead and see my reflection
covered in black. It’s the darkest section.
I see a mirroring image of the room
with scratchy carpet swept with a broom.
My heart pumps, so concentrated.
We feel sort of trapped, like we’re gated.
In the shiny, dark image
I see myself, soft and timid.
Colored posters on the wall,
each are different from them all.
The lights are round on the screen
but rectangular above me.
It’s like a clone of our world
showing every boy and girl.
I see the room, I see me.
I am looking in the TV screen.
When it’s off it’s like a mirror,
but not as simple, not as clear.
Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructor, Marissa Bell Toffili at Walt Disney Elementary in San Ramon:
2nd & 3rd Grade:
By Angela
When I wake up, I am dark, but I have lots of light. I wake up, but I am lonely and quiet, but I imagine thousands of loud people talking. When I wake up, I am cold, but I smell freshly baked cookies and I feel the warm, toasty heat. When I wake up, I am tired, so I go back to sleep.
The sky is blue
the air is fresh.
And I am feeling wonderful
for the sky is a beautiful blue,
and the air is caked with
happiness.
By Bernie
Translation
Long ago, people did things differently. They did war for settling fights. Canada and Greenland did it the most. I was Greenland’s secret weapon. I was no regular man. I had wings. I also had a utility belt with grenades, pop bombs, machine guns, time bombs, pistols, and walkie talkies. I killed Canada with my army brethren and Greenland became big, big country.
Tune in next time for the Adventures of the Flying Wonder.
By Chloe
The night was as dark as a cave. In the deepest darkest part of the night I feel like I am lonely. I feel scared because of all the shadows. I feel tired because of the day before. When I wake up in the morning, I am really, really, really tired. So, I go back to sleep.
It reminds me of taking a field trip to Sunol. It reminds me of stepping in leaves. It reminds me of a baby crying in a movie. It reminds me of my dad snoring in the night and being very hard to sleep. It reminds me of a wild crowd and a time I went to an A’s game. It sounds like a dog howling.
By Emmy
One morning I woke up and heard birds chirping. I saw the morning sky. I could feel my bed covers. It felt warm. When I got up, I could smell muffins baking in the kitchen. When I was in the kitchen my mom let taste the muffins. The muffins smelled so good. Then I looked outside and saw the cool breeze, and when I went outside I could feel it, too. I could tell it was going to be a very great day.
By Freyana
I reached into my pocket and found a tissue that reminds me of when I was wearing this jacket. I was very sick. I kept on walking to school. I found a butterfly. I chase it and then I looked at my watch and said, “I am late for school!!!”
This morning I woke up and decided I didn’t want to go to school anymore, so I packed my backpack and hit the open road. Then my dad drove by in the car. Then I went to Breakfast Book Club. After Breakfast Book Club, I went in line for school.
By Jack
I used to believe in vampires, but now I know they’re not real. But, I do believe in ghosts. So I got proof one night. On that night me and my friends Alex, Jimmy, and Nathan went to an abandoned hotel. When we first stepped into the hotel we all got a chill as a cold breeze came out of nowhere. So, as we walked in we heard a shriek and stopped in our tracks. Then we heard a voice out of nowhere and we were pushed down. And, we never went back again. For now…
By Kara
It’s exciting to see a flower, but not as exciting to see peace signs. It’s not that exciting to see a shoe in a tree and a shoe in your toilet. It’s not as good to see an eraser than it is to see a pencil. It’s not as exciting to see an eraser as a TV, and a chair as a pencil. It is exciting to see a shirt do your homework, and it is not that exciting to see a pencil lay there. It is exciting to see a garbage can do your chores and the out the garbage. It sounds loud. It shakes my whole house. Then the pencil finally made my bed. I think it is exciting to see a paper clip be your servant. I think it is exciting to see a $5 bill pay for your toy. It is exciting to see a chair roll you a notebook, but not that exciting to see a TV turn on when you want it to.
By Lauren
The rain came down hard. It splashed upon windows and made clear drips on them. It watered plants and created umbrellas everywhere. The sun was resting above the clouds where it clear and sunny.
But down below, the rain was coming sharp. It traveled through drains to oceans, or to a garden to a plant. Everything had clear drips on it. The ice-cold water made animals shiver. The clouds were as gray as steel. No rainbows or sun, yet.
By Nate
Long ago people did things differently. They had time machines. Cavemen had super rockets and visited Mars. They shook hands with Lady Gaga and saw my G-pa as a baby. One time, I saw a caveman in my room with a time machine and a picture of Mars and aliens. Then he turned invisible and was gone. In the morning, my head had a dent in it and it hurt like crazy. He came to school with me turned invisible and he helped with doing my math quiz and homework.
By Nicholas
The night was as dark as a black hole. I can sleep like a rock and not even a gunshot can awake me. I feel like I’m dead for 9 hours. And I feel like I’m in an atom because of a black hole.
If I were a wizard, I would make spells that would be so awesome everybody will be amazed. Spell one: Say “Bille” and 10 bazooka missiles will come out of your wand. Spell two: Say “Suruke” and a nuke will come out of your wand and only you can survive it.
By Sophia
The night is dark as some monster on fire chasing me. My favorite thing about my room is that it’s huge and safe. Outside my window I see some dog. They are coming in my window. The dogs are puppies. Their color is brown and they are very cute. They are nice and sweet and pretty. They have sparkles all over them. The sparkles are pink. There were many dogs. Then, poof!
By Taylor
I reached into my pocket and found stickers. Then I realized that they were all over me. It took me two hours to take off all of the stickers. Then I read for 30 minutes. Since I read for 30 minutes, I asked if I could play with my Wii. I was playing Super Mario Bros. I was stuck on world 7. I couldn’t complete the level because my brother kept on killing me.
By Zach
I am from a house
that smells like books.
I am from the wild that
smells like sweet sugar.
I am from somewhere in
a place of my great
imagination. I am from vanilla
ice cream. I am from the
fluffy clouds. I am from
a world of toys, imagination, and
greatness. I am from a world
of comfort, where everything is
pillows. I am from a place of
wonder. I am from a scary
place with ghosts. I am from
a great underwater place.
I am from a buffet.
Every week, in "You Read it Here First!" we feature writing from students in "Take My Word For It's!" creative writing classes.
When these young authors become well known writers, you can say you read them here first!
Have you heard of found poetry? It's fun, creative and easy to do at home! Flip through magazines and cut out words/images that you like. Collect as many words and images as you want. When you're ready, glue the cut outs on a piece of paper to create a poem. It's as simple as that. This week Julian from Miraloma Elementary is showing us how it is done! Great job, Julian!
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