This week, each student has been given the following sentence. Each student will use this sentence asthe opening line in their stories. Let's see how each student develops dif ferent tales from the same beginning. Ready, Set, Write!
"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness." - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Inspired by Photographs
More than Wealth
By Adriana
The Future Sucks!
By Mihai
Skateboarding
By Robby
Skateboarding is my favorite sport because is an extreme sport and
By Adriana
Monday 7:00pm
It is a rainy day and all around is dark. Now, the Sun-Ville City is full of umbrellas and everyone is sad and bored.
It is a rainy day and all around is dark. Now, the Sun-Ville City is full of umbrellas and everyone is sad and bored.
Yet, someone, inside of her shelter, stays calm and happy. She is Miranda Darkness, a wonderful woman who can charm any man with her beauty and charisma.
But, behind these things, there hides another personality, a dark one.
The real Miranda is a bad woman. She steals money from people or from banks. She kills people rarely and now lives the life of a rich and comfortable woman. That is the reason for her happiness.
"Ha, ha, ha! I am the richest person in the world! Nobody has more money then me!"
When you take a look at Miranda, you don't even think she could have any reason to be bad... but you are wrong.
"Hmmm, let's see the my next plan: Tomorrow I'll go to the National Bank and steal their money. Ha, ha, ha!"
Now, you are thinking that she will go their with her normal clothes, but she has a special thief suit: a black slim outfit which she wears to robberies.
Tuesday 2:00pm
"It is time to go now!" Miranda said as she left her room. On her way she met a cute guy whom which she fell in love with. This was the first time Miranda ever felt this way.
"Wow, that was a cite guy...."
She gave up her plan and went home thinking about the charming man. "Oh, he was so cute! Ah! Now I didn't steal anything, but someone stole something from me: that boy stole my heart."
Everything that Miranda thought about was of him as she searched for him, but with no result.
Finally, one day, she met her prince charming at the entrance of Miranda's favorite supermarket. Unfortunately, she fell on the stairs, but the boy comes to help her standup. "Oh, ok, that's fine. Would you like to....marry me?" she blurted out.
"Of course I would like to!" he said honestly.
Miranda began, "David, I have to tell you something: before meeting you I was a bad woman... I mean... I was robbing banks and hurting people."
David replied, "I don't care, Miranda! I don't care if you have stopped doing these things."
"I really did. I'll never do that again, and the good news is that we are sooooo rich!" she said as she opened the door to the wardrobe. Inside, there were almost twenty bags of money!
"Wow, we have to give it away! They are stolen!"
"But we can be happy with them."
"We can take two or three bags, but no more. Let's donate the rest to poor children."
"All right! I love you!" And they lived happily ever after!
"Ha, ha, ha! I am the richest person in the world! Nobody has more money then me!"
When you take a look at Miranda, you don't even think she could have any reason to be bad... but you are wrong.
"Hmmm, let's see the my next plan: Tomorrow I'll go to the National Bank and steal their money. Ha, ha, ha!"
Now, you are thinking that she will go their with her normal clothes, but she has a special thief suit: a black slim outfit which she wears to robberies.
Tuesday 2:00pm
"It is time to go now!" Miranda said as she left her room. On her way she met a cute guy whom which she fell in love with. This was the first time Miranda ever felt this way.
"Wow, that was a cite guy...."
She gave up her plan and went home thinking about the charming man. "Oh, he was so cute! Ah! Now I didn't steal anything, but someone stole something from me: that boy stole my heart."
Everything that Miranda thought about was of him as she searched for him, but with no result.
Finally, one day, she met her prince charming at the entrance of Miranda's favorite supermarket. Unfortunately, she fell on the stairs, but the boy comes to help her standup. "Oh, ok, that's fine. Would you like to....marry me?" she blurted out.
"Of course I would like to!" he said honestly.
Miranda began, "David, I have to tell you something: before meeting you I was a bad woman... I mean... I was robbing banks and hurting people."
David replied, "I don't care, Miranda! I don't care if you have stopped doing these things."
"I really did. I'll never do that again, and the good news is that we are sooooo rich!" she said as she opened the door to the wardrobe. Inside, there were almost twenty bags of money!
"Wow, we have to give it away! They are stolen!"
"But we can be happy with them."
"We can take two or three bags, but no more. Let's donate the rest to poor children."
"All right! I love you!" And they lived happily ever after!
The Future Sucks!
By Mihai
All "clever" scientists think that we will survive forever and others believe that the final date is 2012. Shockingly, a video recording has been discovered from the future date 2512:
New York 12.02.2512
18:30 Sunday
Rev TV Channel
"Good morning people. Here we are in the 4th step of our freezing global system. The few survivors from Rio de Janero were taken by helis to "Roshtata Camp" for their continued survival. Only Russia has started the final war with France over oil.
O.k, here is our guest, John Raynor. So what will he say today?
"This is a disaster! The biggest nations are destroying themselves for just a teardrop of oil. New York is a rebel camp that can be destroyed by the Chinese with a neutron nuke bomb...
Tzzzzzzzzz...."
Now we are left with only one queston, will we be like them?
Skateboarding
By Robby
Skateboarding is my favorite sport because is an extreme sport and
it makes you feel proud when you land a very hard trick!
It is a sport full of adrenaline that makes you feel like you are alive.
After the first flip you're a skater that will never fail to score 10.
When you are a beginner you must start with freestyle tricks like: pogo, dog out, casper. After, you will start with “old-school” tricks : no comply, boneless, semi-impossible, semi-casper, etc… .
These are tricks that make you be skater of a grade of 5.
After this you must do an “ollie”. Underlying skateboard trick.
After that is: shove-it, pop shove-it, kickflip, heelflip, and impossible.
It is a sport full of adrenaline that makes you feel like you are alive.
After the first flip you're a skater that will never fail to score 10.
When you are a beginner you must start with freestyle tricks like: pogo, dog out, casper. After, you will start with “old-school” tricks : no comply, boneless, semi-impossible, semi-casper, etc… .
These are tricks that make you be skater of a grade of 5.
After this you must do an “ollie”. Underlying skateboard trick.
After that is: shove-it, pop shove-it, kickflip, heelflip, and impossible.
Me and my story…
By Georgiana
Hi! If you can see…I am a dog…a very happy dog…why am I happy…well this is my story about…you want to hear it? Of cores you want…sooo…let’s begin the story…start listening…
I was a little and pour dog from Dog Ville, witch was a very small city. Since I was little, the big dogs were laughing at me, because I didn’t know to swim. It was horrible, my childhood was ruined of this little thing that I hate…I hate water…this stupid “liquid” stole my happiness far far away from me and it is still ruining my life…
Finally a lovely little girl found me and adopt me…this was the best thing that happened to me…I loved her and she loved me, until that moment…the moment that changed my life…the step to the courage that I make it…the test that I past it…do you know it?...of cores you didn’t…listen how it happened…
One day…a strange day…I didn’t found my owner…my little girl !!
When I was looking for her…I heard a short screamed and I knew that that was she…and I followed the scream…I saw her!!!...but unfortunately she was in the WATER!!!
She was screaming for help…and I said to myself”I must help her…I love her”…and I got into the WATER… and I tried to swim... I looked at her and started swimming faster and faster…when I got near her…I said “I’m here, don’t be scared…we’ll gonna be free and alive…come with me” and she hold me tight and swim with me.
We finally felt the ground under our feats…it was very good…the little girl kissed me, but I was still confused “I swam?…I can swim?...but how is this possible…?” and the little girl said to me “I can NOT believe that YOU came and saved me…in the WATER…SWIMMING!!! This is a miracle!” I was still confused, but happy, in the same time …”I can NOT believe that I am A BIG DOG NOW!”
And you know now my story…oh, and if you want to know when I took that photo…well it’s easy…the little girl took it that day, after I saved her. Am I pretty in that photo? Sure I am! But am I happy in that photo? Sure I am!
A New Hope
By Denisa
Hello! My name is Doctor Watson. I am a psychologist and today,
I am presenting some special people.
Firstly, I want to say they are different people, not just like us. Nobody can understand them. They are locked forever between four walls in a little room. Their own lives are locked in this room. When they are together, they understand each other. The majority are sick and have old and untreated illnesses.
I am creating a club where everybody is welcome. The purpose of this club is to introduce these people into society, to be just like us, and to make them feel like they are welcomed in our world. We must do something and this is the solution. They shouldn’t be discriminated against. They should be treated just like normal humans.
In fact , these people are just like us but with some small behavior problems, as they have been locked up for other illnesses for a long time and have not been around healthy for some time.
Yesterday, I was at the location where they have been locked up and I talked to all of them. It was interesting to learn about their lives while I sat with them. I realised how to understand what they wanted to say and. I appreciated it. That was when I decided to help them.
This is what a good psychologist should be like: to know how to understand the people who need your help.
The Adventures of Willy: The Amazing Puffin
By Cosmin
My name is Willy and I’m a puffin from the east coast of Antarctica. I live in Wutaku, a village made by my adoptive parents, Henry and Johanna. They are Royal Penguins. They were very nice with me from the beginning. Lately, I have been very sad because our village is disappearing due to the Global Warming. So I made a basket of fish, and with my best friend, Cherokee, who is an Albatross, we left on a journey he named “The Travel to Nowhere”.
After a couple of hours we were very tired. When the Sun set, we landed on an iceberg. We ate the remaining fish, and when the Sun came up, we continued our journey.
When we were flying over the coast of Africa, we saw desert, only desert. I thought that we were flying in the wrong direction, but with Cherokee’s instincts we continued our way to Greenland, the home of ETERNAL HAPPINESS.
Cherokee was very excited that we were very close to our goal, but when we were flying over Norway, I broke my wing. I fell into a tree. Then … a miracle! A child picked me up and helped me to recover from my injury.
After a month, I was very fit. I said “Good Bye” to my pal, Johnny, and went back to my journey.
At last, we arrived in Greenland. It was as fabulous as we expected. It was a paradise made of ice! We established a city with the other natives that were, surprisingly, Puffins. The city was named Royal Puffland, named after its community of royals (Royal Penguins) and Puffins.
After our families arrived, Cherokee and I lived happily in the magic of Royal Puffland.
Comments:
Cosmin, this is a wonderful story! You have taken a simple picture of a puffin and turned it into a story that includes enviromental issues, animal care and best of all, friendship! I am very impressed by the clear improvement you have made in your english skills and in your voice as an author. Well done!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
January 11th & January 12th
The Writing Process: Step One, Brainstorming
For the second half of the year I have decided on focusing on different parts of the writing process. Being the first week, we will be attempting different styles of brainstorming.
Free-Writing. Mind Mapping, Cubing
Check out the linked article below: http://www.articlesbase.com/fiction-articles/how-to-brainstorm-four-effective-methods-3692444.html
This weeks writing topic: Pictures from Magazines
Pick from one of the pictures that have been cut out of different magazines. Use this as the main source of inspiration for this weeks assignment.
Good Luck!
For the second half of the year I have decided on focusing on different parts of the writing process. Being the first week, we will be attempting different styles of brainstorming.
Free-Writing. Mind Mapping, Cubing
Check out the linked article below: http://www.articlesbase.com/fiction-articles/how-to-brainstorm-four-effective-methods-3692444.html
This weeks writing topic: Pictures from Magazines
Pick from one of the pictures that have been cut out of different magazines. Use this as the main source of inspiration for this weeks assignment.
Good Luck!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Happy New Year!
We ended 2010 with by watching the film "The Goonies" which seemed to be greatly enjoyed by those who attended. Anyone who would like a copy of the film, please let me know!
Looking ahead to the second half of the school year, we will begin meet again this week on:
Wednesday January 12th from 11-12pm in the English Lab
I hope to see all of you there and ready to start writing. I have a lot of great ideas for the next few months, but feel free to share your ideas on future themes too!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Stories From a Romanian Adventure
Weekend far from home
By Georgiana
Our train voyage begins at the train station. Everybody wants to go somewhere, but we’re waiting for train to come. To wait is very boring… I want to do something interesting… I know, I wanted to make friends, so I went to each person and said:
- Hi, I’m Georgiana! What’s your name? You want to be my new friend? Where are you going?
Suddenly, the train arrived and I screamed:
- Hey, my new friends, the train is here, let’s go!
I was too stressed to help my friends to get in the train and when I was looking in other place the train started to leave.
- Hey you, stooooooop! I said, running after the train.
Then the train stopped and the doors opened. I entered and say “hello” to my friends and take a seat. After that a nice man came and asked me about my train ticket. I looked in my bag, in my wallet, in my pocket, everywhere…
- I don’t find my ticket, but I remember that I bought it!
- Sorry little girl, but you must get down at the next station.
- But…but…but I’m sure that that ticket is somewhere, I know I bought it, believe me, please!
- Don’t please me, little girl, if you have no ticket you will get down at the next ticket.
- Everybody let’s help her find that ticket! Said a little girl, one of my new friends.
- Thank you. I said to her.
But nobody moved a finger, they stayed and watched us. Me and the little girl, we were searching for that ticket.
- Hey isn’t this your ticket? Said the girl.
- Yes, where did you find it? I asked.
- In your pocket…
- So interesting, but I don’t care, give me that ticket and go to your place. Said that angry man.
- Thank you very much…
- Calina… my name is Calina. Said the girl.
- Thanks, you saved my life, thank you soooo much!
- You’re welcome.
- So where are you going, Calina?
- I’m going to Bran, in Transylvania. You?
- I don’t know, I wanted to leave Giurgiu and go somewhere far from home. To relax, I want to spend my weekend far from here.
- If you want, you can come with me, at Bran, and maybe, if we can, we will sleep there or at a hotel near it. What do you say? You are ok with this?
- Yes, are you kidding? I’d love to. I heard and I learned lots of interesting things about Bran, but the real reason that I accepted, is that I want to spend my weekend with you, and maybe we’ll become BFF.
- Yes, but we are BFF now!
- Ohh, then HI, my BFF, I’m sure that we’ll have fun at Bran…!
- And don’t forget an important thing about Bran…
- And don’t forget an important thing about Bran…
- What?
- Is also Dracula’s house!!!
- You’re right!!
- I’m so excited!!
- Me too!!!
And then a voice said: “Here we are…”
- Yuppie, we arrived!!
But the voice continued: “in Bucharest”.
-Ohh, are you kidding, we are in Bucharest, and we have to stay in this train a long, long time. Said Calina.
- You can walk alone to Bran.
- You’re right, but it’s so boring…
- But we can admire the landscape…
- What landscape? The cars and the people that are walking on the street? Come on!
- We can play something…
- I have some magazines. We can read…
- Ok.
It was so boring the way to Bran. We read, we played, we admired the landscapes, and we did lots of things… But suddenly the voice said: “Here we are… in Transylvania”.
-Yuppie, we are in Transylvania!!
We took our bags and get down from the train.
We took our bags and get down from the train.
- Hello Transylvania, hello Bran…
- And hello Dracula!!!
That weekend was very interesting, exciting, amusing, scary, and funny and… we loved it!!!
That weekend was very interesting, exciting, amusing, scary, and funny and… we loved it!!!
A Train Trip Through Romania!!!
By Adriana
I'm waiting... and waiting... but the train is still empty. I must leave to the mountains after an hour.
After thirty minutes: I'm waiting... and waiting... and still waiting.
-Come on, people! It's a train trip! It has to be funny, so come on in!!!
But nobody is coming...
-I'll sit down on the street... I'm just bored... and I know I will be fired...
But... A lot of people start to come to my train.
-Hey, is this the mountains' train?
-Yeah! This is it! Come on in!
But they start to run to get the best seats just near me.
-Hey, take it easy! There are lots of seats in the train.
But they are like don't even listen to me.
-Hey, did you hear me?
But nobody is listening and they start kicking right now.
A group of kids are screaming and playing with the ball on the train's stairs.
-Hey, children, can you stop?! The people want to come in!!!
But they don't understand me! And, guess what! They hit me with the ball in my head...
-Why are you doing that to me??! Can you be good kids and get up the train, please?
-OK, weird man. We'll go up if you want to.
-Yeah! I made it! And now, let's go up and start driving to the mountains!
But, unlucky me, i fall on the stairs and the people start laughing because of me.
-Oh, God! Can you help me once?
Finally, I get up and start driving.
The nature is so wonderful, unexpected! Always happy, always changing!
The trip looks saved!!!
Hooray for me!
A Train Trip
by Ruxandra
-God, I'm going to be late!
Looking for the car keys my little brothers were unpacking my bags and screaming and crying and throwing my clothes all around the room, my phone was ringing and I was supposed to meet my boyfriend twenty minutes later at the train station.
I took the kids away from my bag...
-One, two, three... Where is Mikey, for Christ sake?
I went back in the kitchen and I saw Mikey mixing a bowl of cereals with my car key. Angry, I took him upstairs and locked the four boys in their room until my mom would get home.
I packed back my clothes took the key from the cereal bowl I answered the phone and after I left silently to meet Jeremy.
I got to the train station five minutes earlier so I sat down on a plastic chair, struck a match and then one of my Lucky Strike cigarettes, waiting for my boyfriend.
He arrived exactly five minutes later, reminding me just how "clock-like" he is. He kissed my lips, took the bags and we got on our train.
There, we met a nice couple from Targoviste who shared stories with us about Romania. As we listened more closely, we both new we want to go to the different parts of the country they described. I could almost see the landscapes out of my window. Those never-ending plains, hills full of flowers, stone castles, rivers, the Black Sea, and the massive mountains with their harsh peaks.
Jeremy promised me that in the summer, we would explore my country, Romania.
I packed back my clothes took the key from the cereal bowl I answered the phone and after I left silently to meet Jeremy.
I got to the train station five minutes earlier so I sat down on a plastic chair, struck a match and then one of my Lucky Strike cigarettes, waiting for my boyfriend.
He arrived exactly five minutes later, reminding me just how "clock-like" he is. He kissed my lips, took the bags and we got on our train.
There, we met a nice couple from Targoviste who shared stories with us about Romania. As we listened more closely, we both new we want to go to the different parts of the country they described. I could almost see the landscapes out of my window. Those never-ending plains, hills full of flowers, stone castles, rivers, the Black Sea, and the massive mountains with their harsh peaks.
Jeremy promised me that in the summer, we would explore my country, Romania.
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