Amazed!!!

Jan. 19, 2009

Writer's Circle, 2nd week Jan 16, 2009

Posted in Children's Work
Our writer's circle was great fun once again.

A.'s assignment was to write a news article.  She was to choose an incident from any one of her readers or from the Bible.  She chose the fight between David and Goliath:

The Fight

David, Goliath and the two armies were there.  David was brave and took his sling and five pebbles and killed Goliath.  David fought Goliath because he said, "if you kill us we will become your slaves and if we kill you you will become our slaves."  When Goliath was dead, David took Goliath's sword and cut off his head. 

Not bad for a newly turned 8 year old doing an assignment designed for 9 and 10 year olds. 

Here is my news article:

Noah flooded with encouragement as animals board ark

The people and animals continued to climb aboard a gigantic wooden “houseboat” built by Noah today, amidst shouts of ridicule and outrage.  A pair of every animal on the earth clamored into the humongous structure, built 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high—God’s specifications, according to Noah.  Noah insisted months ago, when he began building the structure, that God was displeased with the earth and all the people in it, so He was going to flood the earth.  Noah claims that God instructed him to build this ark and put all his family, plus a pair of every creature on earth in the ark.  Noah faithfully began building his ark, even as all his neighbors and some friends began shouting at him and insisting he stop.

“He’s gone crazy,” said one neighbor, who refused to give his name.  “He thinks we’re all sinners and that we’ll be drowned in some enormous flood.  What a crackpot!”

None of this discourages Noah, who cheerily packed his family, himself, and a pair of animals into the houseboat that will become his new home, at least for a while.

Is he right? Will the earth be covered with water?  Well—according to Noah, only God knows.


K's assignment was to write a book review.  We learned about the difference between a book summary and a book review.  The review was to include comments and opinions and try to persuade the reader to read (or not read) the book.

Here is K's review:

The Great Turkey Walk is a funny book about turkeys.  The Great Turkey Walk was writte by Kathleen Karr.  The book took place in 1860, somewhere between Missouri and Denver.  At the beginning of the sotry, Simon Green's teacher tells him not to do third grade for a fifth time and instead make himself a living.  Simon is not book smart but he is good with birds and decides to take 1000 turkeys 100 miles to Denver where they sell for 5 dollars a turkey.  But 2 robbers make it hard. 

Simon is very big and he doesnt' give up on people just because they are drunk or just because they are Black.  Ane he is very good with turkeys. 

It happened to be that his father is very greedy.  Many times he and his friend try to steal his turkeys.  But Simon always gets them back.

Mister Peece was once drunk, but Simon made him quit that.  After he wasn't drunk he was very kind.  Jabeth was a Black runaway slave.  Simon let him help out.  Lizzie's family all died and she became the woman of the drive. 

I really liked this book, it was funny and nice.  The whole book was good.

And this is my book review:

George Washington Carver:  Man's Slave becomes God's scientist

A kidnapped slave baby, a grungy peanut and an old dirty suit—what do these things have in common?  They are all a part of the make-up of the man that we know as George Washington Carver.  GWC was an incredible man, a man who followed God from early in his life until his death, a man who truly leaned on God to guide him through all his life and his work.  Born to a slave woman and kidnapped as a baby, GWC was adopted by his mother’s former owners and raised on a farm until he was 10.  He was then sent to school and graduated from high school.  He went on to college, where he studied art and also began working with plants in a laboratory.  He later went on to teach at Iowa State College.  It was during his time there, that he was recruited by Booker T. Washington to teach at Tuskegee Institute. 

GWC did much of the work that was to later bring him fame at Tuskegee.  Starting with a modest makeshift laboratory and using old cans and jars that his students collected from the trash, he first demonstrated that the AL soil needed a break from cotton growing year after year.  He taught his students and later, the local farmers, that if they alternated their crops—that is, grew different things every other year, they could replenish the soil with the nutrients that their cotton crops drank up.  He also told them to plant peanuts when the boll weevil threatened their cotton.  GWC met with hostile resistance when he first introduced his ideas, but he persisted and when the farmers’ crops were destroyed by the boll weevil, they finally listened to him and grew peanuts which then thrived.  However, he faced another issue, probably the hardest problem he had faced.  Once the farmers took his advice and grew peanuts, there were peanuts everywhere, but no one to buy them.  Back into the lab went GWC, emerging about a week later with ideas for over a hundred uses for the peanut.  His ideas were accepted and now many factories and companies were buying peanuts to make oil, cheese, butter, cream, soaps and lotions to name a few. 

GWC:  Man’s Slave Becomes God’s Scientist really brought GWC alive to readers.  Author David Collins portrays GWC as brilliant but modest, loving but at times firm, and always persevering.  GWC’s faith in God is unshakeable, as he accepts God into his life daily and truly gives up his life to do God’s work.  The book not only captures the sense of prejudice that GWC encounted in his life, but also how GWC overcame that prejudice not with hate but with gentleness, as he constantly leaned on God to help him.  I really enjoyed GWC:  Man’s Slave Becomes God’s Scientist because it inspired me to truly lean on God on a daily basis and to put all my troubles into His capable hands.

That was it for this week.  We are really enjoying this.  It makes a big difference when you know you'll have an audience for your writing!

A.H.
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HELLO!!! This blog is a place for us to publish some of our children's work and just to journal our amazing educational journey.

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