Author: elizabeth12011

Letter to Denis – Elizabeth

elizabeth12011 0 - In The Footsteps of Marco Polo, 6th Grade Writers

Dear Denis Belliveau,

I am a sixth grader named Elizabeth and my class and I are studying the medieval time period. We just recently watched your movie, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo. Your movie taught us a lot about the medieval times and we really enjoyed watching it. We have been thinking about this question, “Do you believe Marco Polo really made the journey?” Many people have said that his journey was not made and we all have our own opinions. What is yours?

It would be really wonderful if you could come to the school I go to, Poughkeepsie Day School. Last year, you came to Vassar College and shared a presentation with the audience. The sixth grade class came and really loved the experience. It would be awesome to talk to you and hear how you feel about this journey, and Marco Polo. If you come to visit our school it might be nice to talk about medieval architecture. As my class’s end of year project, in partnerships, we will all be making different medieval structures. Some examples are, European castles, Chinese palaces, Chinese temples, the Dome of the Rock and Mosques. If you have seen these things, it would be wonderful if you could show us pictures or help by describing them to us. My partner and I are creating some pieces of the Chinese palace called the Summer Palace in Beijing. We would love to learn more about it. What do you think you are going to do now? Continue taking pictures? Are you going to make another journey?

Hope we can see you soon!
Elizabeth
You can visit my blog page at https://shirleys6th.edublogs.org/category/lizzy2011/

Student Led Conference 2012 by Lizzy

elizabeth12011 0 - Student Led Conferences, 6th Grade Writers

Unlike the majority of schools, for the second conference of the school year, the middle school students lead their own conferences. In most schools and in our lower school, parents and teachers meet and talk about the child. However, in middle school it is different. The student is  able to present as a learner. They talk about their strengths, weaknesses, celebrations (projects done well), opportunities (projects to raise the bar) and goals. The parent/parents sit with the teacher at a table, listen to the student and ask questions and make comments at the end.

To prepare for our conferences we annotated our reports. Every trimester, each student gets a report back. The teachers write about the student, things they can do better on, things they do well etc. We looked through our reports and filled in a chart to help us organize our information. After that was completed, we started working on our presentations. Our teacher sent us a template presentation, explaining what to write about on each slide.

At the conference I shared my presentation with my parent and teacher. I was nervous to present at first. However, once I started the words just came. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and I was very proud of myself. I liked being able to talk about myself and then have the teacher’s and parent’s input. Together we set a goal which I probably wouldn’t have realized to set myself. Overall, I feel that I have learned a lot about myself from this experience.

Blogging Challenge #6 – Elizabeth

elizabeth12011 0 - Blogging Challenge, 6th Grade Writers

Blogging Challenge #6

I would enjoy volunteering at an animal shelter. I love animals and care a lot about them. I love and care about animals because they are adorable, they are living beings and they are mostly friendly and nice to be with. I think that animals that have have been abandoned or turned in still deserve a chance. If I go and volunteer I will be helping out the shelter and making the animals happy. If you have a passion for something there’s bound to be a place to help. It is important to go and volunteer your time because you help so many people out and in my case, animals too!

Here are some good reasons to volunteer: The Humane Society

 

The Outdoors – Observation Poem – Elizabeth

elizabeth12011 0 - Choice Topics, 6th Grade Writers

The Outdoors

Today it’s about 41 degrees,
There’s a slight wind that rustles the trees and leaves.

The sun is shining very bright,
And casts such a glittery light,
On the river that looks so still,
Not to far from my house,
Just a little down the hill.

Whoosh! Goes the wind,
Making me very chilly,
Then, out runs my big dog Bode,
Ears flapping making him look so silly.

I hear the stream water,
Running and then dropping into the pond,
It’s like a mini waterfall,
Wait, here’s my brother out to play basketball!

Dogs are barking over yonder,
As I sit here chewing gum while I ponder,
Why do birds chirp on and off?
Are they talking?
Are they singing?
I am about to get deeper in thought,
When suddenly I start to cough,
And knowing that it’s cold outside,
I decide to go inside.

Blogging Challenge #8- Elizabeth

elizabeth12011 0 - Blogging Challenge, 6th Grade Writers
Me: What’s your favorite activity?
Joe: I love to play sports.
Me: What sports do you like to play?
Joe: I like to play basketball, golf, soccer, football, water-skiing and snow-skiing.
Me: If you could only play one of these sports for a year what would you play?
Joe: Skiing.
Me: What is it about skiing that you love?
Joe: The excitement and the pride of skiing very challenging trails.
Me: Do you ever think of becoming a professional skiier?
Joe: No, because that could never happen.
Me: Why?
Joe: Because I would have to train every day and that’s not something that I can do.My brother is a great athlete. We all enjoy watching him play soccer and we all go on ski trips together. He also plays guitar and is very good at it.

Winter Vacation – Elizabeth

elizabeth12011 0 - Vacation, 6th Grade Writers

Here is a short collection of poems I made over winter break.

 

Fall

Leaves are falling,
Ticks are crawling,
I lie on my side leaning on my elbow,
Looking at a blur of red, orange, yellow.

Apple picking,
Pumpkins too,
Halloween tricking,
Each year something new.

_____________________________________________________________________

Treat!

Sweet! Sweet!
A treat, a treat!
A yummy delicious,
Not very nutritious,
Treat!

The sugar coated treat,
The one I’m meant to eat,
It sits there in the store,
Around it many more,
Treats!

Finally I’m here,
I’m so very very near,
To buying the,
Yummy delicious,
Not very nutritious,
Treat!
_____________________________________________________________________

Egret

It slowly lifts up its leg as if waiting
Bent, ready to straighten.
It stretches out it’s fingers and
carefully places them down,
Majestic and regal,
As if on it’s head lays a crown.

The wind that is blowing,
The white feathers flowing,
The yellow beak that shines in the sun,
The piercing eyes that say, “Get any closer and I’ll start to run.”

_____________________________________________________________________
Creepy Crawly                                

Creepy, crawly, climbing up your arm,
Waiting for the moment to cause you some harm.
Jittery and flittery, always making you flinch,
Sometimes you don’t know I’m there until you feel me pinch!

You think I’m just a little brush,
Of something but not me,
And then in a rush,
Comes a swipe and I jump, onto the next victim I see.

Picture Challenge – Elizabeth

elizabeth12011 6th Grade Writers

Why are they looking at me? I think to myself. Wait, they look just as scared as I feel! Well, I guess if I wanted I could climb up…………. That’s one of the reasons I have tentacles. Just in case, not to scare them, I’ll just start with a friendly hello.
“Hello!” I shout. I see them look at each other and say something I don’t understand. “Hello!” I shout again. Suddenly, they start moving backwards, their eyes widening, their little faces growing with fear.

Up above the well stands Sarah and Tony…………

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
“Did you hear something?” Sarah asks Tony.
“Probably just the wind,” he replies.
As they look down into the well they see a deviant creature staring up at them. As if Sarah wasn’t scared enough by now, she hears the noise again! The same “OO” sound she heard before!
“T-T-T-Tony, we need to leave.”
“I’m with you,” he says. Slowly, they back away. Sarah sees Tony’s eyes widen and fear spread across his face.

Well I guess it’s no use. No one will ever talk to me down here or say hello and I’ll be down here alone forever. Those kids I saw, they looked so nice! I wonder if they’ll ever come back. Boy, I wish they would. I guess looking down a well and seeing a lime green bunny with long eyelashes and pink glittery tentacles can probably scare a lot of people.

Book Talk – Elizabeth

elizabeth12011 0 - Book Corner, 6th Grade Writers , , ,

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech.

Do you sometimes wish you were a prince, princess, queen or king? Did you ever think that famous pop stars wish they were a little less popular? Well, it’s almost exactly the same in The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech. The royal family, King Guido, Queen Gabriella, Prince Gianni, Prince Vito and Princess Fabrizia each wish they were anything but royal.  In contrast, two peasants, Enzio and Pia wish they were royal. There are a lot of interesting characters in this book and the author really develops each character with their unique personalities. This book is really great because it connects the very different lives. Mysteries are unraveled and in the end everything makes sense.

100 Word Challenge – Elizabeth

elizabeth12011 6th Grade Writers

I opened the door, gasped, and started rolling on the floor laughing.

“What’s that supposed to be?” I asked my baby sister Carly.
“RAAAAAAARRR!” was all she replied.

In her hand she held a plastic dinosaur with an angry face drawn on it. Like that was supposed to scare me I thought to myself with a laugh. Anyway, I played along like I always do, making her happy and having fun myself.

My sister and I always try to scare each other but when she does it to me it never works. At least it didn’t until 3 years later………………