Realistic Fiction and Character Development

WILD TURKEY

The three musketeers Sophie, Kyle and Natalie rode off with their imaginary horses, into the woods looking for frogs. They finally got to a great enormous pond. Suddenly they heard "gobble, gobble, gobble!" Sophie and Natalie were talking about and looking for frogs. Kyle turned around and saw a big wild turkey charging toward them. Kyle kept on tapping Sophie on the shoulder. But Sophie and Natalie did not pay attention because they were watching a bullfrog hop onto a lily pad. So Kyle tarted shaking Sophie and yelling her name. Sophie turned around and said "Oh, yes!" because the turkey was right about to get Kyle. Natalie and Sophie jumped right on their horses and galloped off leaving Kyle behind. Sophie and Natalie were laughing so hard even their horses were laughing, but mostly Sophia and Natalie were laughing the most. "Ha!" Sophia yelled.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

rrrr.. "Oh man Cole, get my remote control car!" Ashton yelled. flippp... rrrr.....aww. "Hey want to race?" Ashton asked Cole. hummmmmm "I win" said Ashton. His car had just climbed a snow drift. "cool" Ashton said and jumped off the drift. Cole man car's flipped into the snow. Cole had just saved my car in the luck of time. Ashton was jumping when it happened.

We just drove really far in the snow. Cole hit a footprint and he flipped it and landed on his wheels.

REalistic Fiction and Character Development

Megan went to school one day. In fact it was a snowy day. Megan wore a red dress and red ruby shoes. She also had on a big T-shirt leggings and a skirt.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

One evening a little girl named Emma was on her way to riding lessons becasue she loved horses. When she got there her riding instruction Bailey said "Hi Emma, which horse do you want to ride today?" "Can I ride Slick" Emma asked. "Well of course you can " was Bailey's response. Emma went to Slicks stable and got him. They put him on a cross tie, and then groomed his powdery ginger coat. Next they picked his hooves up and picked them out. They combed his mane and tail and got tacked up. When Emma got on she felt a sign of relief and started to ride around the indoor ring at a walk. Bailey told her to warm Slick up by trotting around the ring. Slick was eager to go and wanted to canter, but Emma didn't let him. Once both rider and instructor were on their horses they started with trotting and then trotted as they weaved through cones.

They went outside to the outside ring and began to canter. The horses were doing fine so Bailey and Emma decided to go on a trail ride. As they rode, the trail led them to a farm. The spotted a corral with a broken gate. Emma caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. It was a farmer trying to lasso a horse that had broken out of the corral. Emma searched the corral and found a sign with the name Runner on it. Emma gasped in disbelief. All of a sudden Emma felt her hands slip from the reins. SLick had reared and she fell off.

REalistic Fiction and Character Development

My name is Izzie. When I was three years old, I was in a horse show. My cousin Mia also was in the horse show with me when she was 9 years old. It was at the Topsham Fair Mall. It was so cool for my grandmother to make a book about the horse show for my Mom for her birthday. I got a red ribbon when I won. I don't have it anymore, I don't think, anyway. Our horses names are Max and Julie. Max passed away a few years ago. It was sad. I didn't have a nice time that day because he was my horse. I won first place and Mia got second place. “Good for you,” Mia said. “I am sorry to be the winner,” said Izzie. “It's okay, I have to deal with it because of my brother. He won once,” said Mia.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

Me and my sister, Cate, fight a lot and I pushed her down the stairs and broke her arm. My sister broke both my arms too. But I hit her with my Nerf gun. Ha. Ha. And then she started running at me. Then, she got sent to her room. Score! But I shouldn't be talking because I go to my room a lot. Sometimes we are nice to each other but not all the time. Sometimes I like her. Me and Catlyn have Nerf wars a lot. She is so fast I can't hit her so I take a short cut and hit her and then she starts to cry. When I hit her with my Nerf gun I have had to go to my room. Me and Cate fight a lot so I get grounded a lot.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

One day when I was walking to the bus I met a kid named Caleb. He had black hair and a white shirt, black pants and colorful shoes. I saw him when I got on the bus. He was 8 years old, and I watched him laughing and being nice to the other kids on the bus.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

My name is Maddie. I have a friend named Lindsey. We play together most of the time. Sometimes Lindsey plays with Rebecca. When I play with Lindsey we play far out in the woods. We pretend we are horses. Then we found a wild horse. Me and Lindsey got on the horse and the horse started to go. There was a big wall. Me and Lindsey thought we were going to crash but the horse jumped over the wall. The horse landed. We got off the horse and it galloped away. Me and Lindsey played some more. We galloped back to the playground. I tripped and hurt my knee but I was okay. Lindsey brought me to the nurse anyway and got an icepack. Lindsey needed her inhaler anyway. I asked Lindsey if she wanted to come over to my house. She said, “yes.” So, after school she came with me. When Lindsey got to my house, we played horses in the woods and guess what we found... another wild horse.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

Me, four grown-ups, and four little boys decided to go sledding one day. Hi, my name is Macala, my favorite color is purple. Now back to my story about sledding. It was one winter day when we went sledding. I got there by car and I went in Waterville by a small school. When we got there I grabbed a snow board and ran to the hill and went down. While I was going, I went over a bump, did a flip in the air, and broke my arm and also the snowboard. After that, I waited at the bottom for a grown-up. Finally one came down and helped me up. He carried my snowboard for me. I walked very slowly like a turtle up the hill. When I got to the top, it was time to go so I said, “good-bye” and waved to everybody. Then, like a bunny, I jumped into the car. My Mom talked for a minute and then came into the car. I sat next to my dog Jax for the ride home. When we got home I had to brush my teeth and put on my jammies. It was cold in the house. I snuggled up in the blankets with my Mom and fell asleep.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

On the day Willy and Kathy got married, Matt dropped Willy's ring through the crack of the deck. Matt felt sorry. Amy was the flower girl. She was great at being the flower girl. She spread petals all over people. They tickled. Amy was very funny. She made really good jokes. When Amy's uncle cut the cake, he broke the knife that had a groom on top of it. Amy got to sit at the long table with the bride and groom. Lucky!! She got to sit next to Nick Cloutier. Amy is kind and happy and loving. She wears shirts with hearts on them and she wears jeans too. Willy and Kathy were happy to get married. Amy wanted to call her aunt her aunt before the wedding but she couldn't. Her aunt and uncle met each other through school and then they separated. Her uncle is a carpenter and he has an update on line and that is how they met. And that is her story of her aunt and uncle's wedding.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

"This is my first day at school and I am really nervous." I thought to myself. I don't know why, but I was thinking that I might get in trouble. When I got on the bus I sat next to a boy. "What's your name?" I asked him. "Dom" he answered, "What's your?" "Jimmy" I said. I stared thinking about school and who my teacher might be. When the bus got to school Dom and I walked into the building together. We found our classroom and sat next to each other at our new desks. Then our teacher walked in , her name was Ms. Amy. She had white skin and red hair.She was wearing Uggs and a scarf. Ms. Amy told us that she had lots of fun games to play like Count to One Hundred and Addition. "Here's our schedule" Ms. Amy said, we had morning meeting first, then math and spelling. After that we had reading and then lunch and recess. In the afternoon we had writing workshop and our specials and then it was time to go home.

Once we knew the schedule it was time for morning meeting. Dom and I walked to the rug and sat down next to each other. At morning meeting I shared my hockey cards. I looked over at Ms. Amy and her face was getting red which was starting to match her hair! Ms. Amy said "I don't like hockey because of the fights." She had tried to play hockey when she was younger but she got a penalty and had to sit in the box for 2 minutes. That is why she did not like hockey. Ms. Amy was so annoyed with me that I had shared my hockey cards that she sent me to the teacher in the classroom next door. In a mean voice she said "GO!" Dom looked at me with a weird look on his face. As I walked to the other classroom I was thinking "I might get sent to the Principals office." I walked into the other classroom and sat at the back table.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

One summer day, Frank Dudman and his dad were going somewhere. But Frank didn't exactly know where they were going. When they got there, Frank recognized the place. It was the Coastal Maine Humane Society. They were going to buy a dog! "You're really buying a dog?" Frank asked his father. As they were stepping inside, they noticed it was dark. They didn't see them , but there were giant lizards scurrying on the walls and ceilings. They could hear them. The dogs couldn't smell the lizards because they were sleeping. Suddenly a lizard on the wall stepped on the light switch and flicked it on. Franks' dad said "Finally, the lights are on." A lizard screeched and scurried away.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

My cats Fred and Ted fight a lot. I don't know why, but they just..well... do! For example, Ted wants......wait a minute I'm getting ahead of myself.

My mom and I were watching a show about cats on Animal Planet and mom fell asleep halfway through it. I started drawing on a piece of paper while I was watching the show. Suddenly I heard a hiss, and I stopped drawing. I looked up and I saw Fred clawing at the T. V. screen. Fred is black with two little areas of black on his head. His tail is all black except for an inch of white around the tip of his tail.He is mishevous and can sometimes knock things over. Sometimes when my mom is reading a magazine, Fred will push it over because he wants to let my mom know that he is hungry.

"Hah ha ha", I thought as Fred clawed at the screen. I had to wake up mom who was asleep on the couch. Slowly I crept toward mom to wake her up, but Fred flew by my face and the second he landed on mom he fell asleep. "That was weird" I whispered. Ted my other cat was eating like a pig at his food bowl in the kitchen, but of course Ted was a pig for Halloween last year. I got back to drawing, I was working on a picture of Iron Man, and then I got bored and I went to bug Ted. He was sitting next to his food bowl. Mom woke up .. "aw man, " I said in a low voice. I went back to my picture. Mom looked at the clock and saw that it was 5:15. "Mom " I said," Can I eat now?" Mom noticed that we should have eaten fifteen minutes earlier. We had pizza, and cake for dessert.

Next... THE FIGHT!

The Moon and its Phases

DID YOU KNOW?.....................

· The moon is the closest object to Earth and is ¼ times the size of the Earth.

· The moon is covered with craters made by rocks in space that smash into the moon.

· There is not any wind on the moon so astronaut's footsteps, like Neil Armstrong's, are there forever.

· The moon controls the Earths tides.

The phases of the Moon are: new moon, first quarter or crescent, full moon, and gibbous moon. When the moon is moving from small to large it's called waxing, and when it moves from large to small it is called waning.

Hibernation

Did you know that moles spend most of their lives underground hidden from enemies like the sharp-toothed weasel? They also stay hidden underground during hibernation. They need to be under the ground to stay safe from predators, and protected from wind and snowy weather.

Hibernation is when animals go into a sleepy state , and their breathing gets very light, they almost seem dead. The hibernating animals eat lots and lots of food, to build up fat for their long hibernation.

Scientists believe that the length of the daylight tells animals when to hibernate. As the days get shorter animals know that it is time to eat up and go to sleep.

TRUE HIBERNATORS

True hibernators like the ground squirrel hibernate all winter and don't wake up at all. Their body temperature drops down to just above freezing.

LIGHT SLEEPERS

Racoons, skunks and bears are not true hibernators, they are light sleepers. They sleep for awhile and wake up often. They look for predators and to eat a light snack. They do not hibernate underground, they sleep inside hollow trees or caves.

GLOSSARY:

Hibernation; to spend the winter in sleep

Predators: animals that hunt other animals

Snowflakes

Snowflakes are formed by water vapor and dust particles in clouds. The temperature of the air is what helps form the snowflake. Their arms are like branches, if the air is warm the branches get thin, and if the air is cold the branches get wider. Each snowflake is never exactly like another, they are all different. Some snowflakes look like stars, but they are all six-sided. It can take hundreds of snow crystals to make one snowflake. The largest snowflake ever recorded was 15 inches. The larger the flakes are, the faster they fall. Large flakes form when the temperature is warmer, and when the temperature is very cold the flakes are small and dry.

Did you know that Rochester, New York gets almost 8 feet of snowfall each winter? And that in the mountains of Washington state 95 feet of snow fell in one winter!

Owling

When you go out owling you have to be quiet. The best time to go owling is in the winter during a full moon. You also have to be brave because it is dark in the woods, if you get scared you might make a noise and then scare the owls away.

Sometimes you have to call the owl in. To call a Great Horned Owl you have to make a hooting sound six times. Right after you call you have to be silent to listen for the owl to call back. If the owl hears you it will echo your call. Sometimes the owl will fly towards you, you will see a dark shadow but you won’t hear anything because they fly silently.

MIGRATION

Migration is when animals travel from one place to another. They swim, walk, trot, or fly to move from one place to another. They are looking warm temperatures and available food. Some animals like robins and geese migrate from Maine to Florida and even Mexico. Monarch butterflies can fly from Canada to Mexico and South America to find warmer temperatures and food.

Here are some cool facts about the migrating animal the Whooping Crane:

The Whooping Cranes rare call can be heard two miles away. That’s a loud call!

Some Whooping Cranes do a dance to find a mate.

Whooping Cranes can be very loving too, in fact if one get hurt in the middle of a flight, their mate will stay behind which usually means the end of both birds.

The Whooping Crane is four feet tall with a wing span of seven and a half feet. Big bird huh?

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, December 21^st. The ancient people believed that there were evil spirits during the dark days of winter. They would start a fire, and boil water. Then they would put coals from the fire into the water and wash their hands in it. They believed it would keep evil spirits away.

People also celebrated the Winter Solstice by building huge bonfires! They had big feasts and gave presents to their children. They put coins in chocolate pudding for their children to find. Some people tied apples on their tree, and hung mistletoe on their altars where they prayed. They prayed a lot, they wanted the sun to come back really bad.

At the big feasts men were the only ones to eat at the tables. The girls had to make the food. They ate wild pigs that had fruit in their mouths.

Today people put up trees, turn on the lights and enjoy a cup of warm cocoa. They know that the sun isn’t gone, it’s just not rising as high in the sky, which gives us longer nights and shorter days.

By Connor and Dom

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, December 21^st. The ancient people believed that there were evil spirits during the dark days of winter. They would start a fire, and boil water. Then they would put coals from the fire into the water and wash their hands in it. They believed it would keep evil spirits away.

People also celebrated the Winter Solstice by building huge bonfires! They had big feasts and gave presents to their children. They put coins in chocolate pudding for their children to find. Some people tied apples on their tree, and hung mistletoe on their altars where they prayed. They prayed a lot, they wanted the sun to come back really bad.

At the big feasts men were the only ones to eat at the tables. The girls had to make the food. They ate wild pigs that had fruit in their mouths.

Today people put up trees, turn on the lights and enjoy a cup of warm cocoa. They know that the sun isn’t gone, it’s just not rising as high in the sky, which gives us longer nights and shorter days.

By Connor and Dom

Snowflake Bentley

SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY

Snowflake Bentley is famous because he was the first person to photograph a snowflake. His name was Wilson, and his mother was his teacher until he was 14 years old. He grew up in Vermont on a farm. When he was 15 he bought a camera because he wanted to take pictures of snowflakes. He wasn’t successful at first, but he kept trying and figured out how to get the picture before the snowflake melted. He took hundreds of pictures of snowflakes.

The best snowstorm of his life happened on Valentines Day in 1928. Wilson took over a hundred pictures of snowflakes over the two-day storm. He called the storm “ a gift from King Winter.

Wilson also took pictures in the summer. He took pictures of spider webs and insects. He also hung up a sheet and did a slideshow for his neighbors on summer nights.

He discovered that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. He loved what he did! Many colleges bought his pictures of snowflakes and lots of artists used his photographs to draw pictures of snowflakes.

Snowflake Bentley died from pneumonia after he had walked home in a blizzard. But he will always be remembered as the first person to capture a snowflake.

Snowflake Bentely

SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY

Snowflake Bentley is famous because he was the first person to photograph a snowflake. His name was Wilson, and his mother was his teacher until he was 14 years old. He grew up in Vermont on a farm. When he was 15 he bought a camera because he wanted to take pictures of snowflakes. He wasn’t successful at first, but he kept trying and figured out how to get the picture before the snowflake melted. He took hundreds of pictures of snowflakes.

The best snowstorm of his life happened on Valentines Day in 1928. Wilson took over a hundred pictures of snowflakes over the two-day storm. He called the storm “ a gift from King Winter.

Wilson also took pictures in the summer. He took pictures of spider webs and insects. He also hung up a sheet and did a slideshow for his neighbors on summer nights.

He discovered that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. He loved what he did! Many colleges bought his pictures of snowflakes and lots of artists used his photographs to draw pictures of snowflakes.

Snowflake Bentley died from pneumonia after he had walked home in a blizzard. But he will always be remembered as the first person to capture a snowflake.

Snowflake Bentley

SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY

Snowflake Bentley is famous because he was the first person to photograph a snowflake. His name was Wilson, and his mother was his teacher until he was 14 years old. He grew up in Vermont on a farm. When he was 15 he bought a camera because he wanted to take pictures of snowflakes. He wasn’t successful at first, but he kept trying and figured out how to get the picture before the snowflake melted. He took hundreds of pictures of snowflakes.

The best snowstorm of his life happened on Valentines Day in 1928. Wilson took over a hundred pictures of snowflakes over the two-day storm. He called the storm “ a gift from King Winter.

Wilson also took pictures in the summer. He took pictures of spider webs and insects. He also hung up a sheet and did a slideshow for his neighbors on summer nights.

He discovered that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. He loved what he did! Many colleges bought his pictures of snowflakes and lots of artists used his photographs to draw pictures of snowflakes.

Snowflake Bentley died from pneumonia after he had walked home in a blizzard. But he will always be remembered as the first person to capture a snowflake.

Blizzards

BLIZZARDS by Emma

What is a Blizzard?

Blizzards are one of the most deadly storms in the world! In a blizzard two things happen: SNOW and STRONG WINDS! Winds can blow 35 miles an hour or more, and heavy snow falls for hours! In New York City in 1888 a blizzard raged for over 36 hours. There was over 20 inches of snow and up to 40 foot snow drifts!

Hazardous Blizzards

Blizzards can kill hundreds of people in one storm. Over 200 people died in the New York City Blizzard of 1888. Many died from hypothermia. If you get hypothermia you can die from the coldness of a blizzard. You can also get frostbite from blizzards. You’ll know if you get frostbite because you will have red and white blotches on your nose, checks, fingers or toes. Even snow storms that are close to being a blizzard can still be severe.

Where and When do Blizzards happen?

Blizzards happened mostly in Canada, Russia and the Northeastern part of the United States. They usually happen during the winter months of December, January, or February.

GLOSSARY (WORDS YOU SHOUD KNOW)

Hypothermia very low body temperature caused by severe cold

Hazardous dangerous unsafe

Severe harsh or cruel

Snowflakes

By Bella and Maddie

Snowflakes are formed by water vapor and dust particles in clouds. The temperature of the air is what helps form the snowflake. Their arms are like branches, if the air is warm the branches get thin, and if the air is cold the branches get wider. Each snowflake is never exactly like another, they are all different. Some snowflakes look like stars, but they are all six-sided. It can take hundreds of snow crystals to make one snowflake. The largest snowflake ever recorded was 15 inches. The larger the flakes are, the faster they fall. Large flakes form when the temperature is warmer, and when the temperature is very cold the flakes are small and dry.

Did you know that Rochester, New York gets almost 8 feet of snowfall each winter? And that in the mountains of Washington state 95 feet of snow fell in one winter!