Setting (where/when)
Characters (major/minor)
Problem/Goal
Solution/Ending
Mood
We focused on character development and a story that truly showed how something came to be the way it is today. We brainstormed on everything in nature, from animals to natural disasters. I wish I could publish them all here, as they were so very creative. Here are just two for your enjoyment:
Did you ever want to know how animals became the way they are today? Did you know that a bear used to be a meek and mild animal? Read on to learn more!
The Rattler by Sophia (6th grade)
A long
time ago in ancient Greece, Annametrious, the animal goddess, started her new
creation. She said she wanted to make something nice to befriend all animals.
But she needed to hurry, as it was already mid summer. Annametrious was supposed
to start making the creature in early summer. She stretched the creature long,
then added four legs. She gave him a “sssss” sound. Then she quickly placed a smile
on it, not knowing it was a grin a mischief.
Annametrious sat the creature down
on Earth. Snake has awakened. Annametrious said to befriend other animals then
went back into a deep sleep. Snake walked off into a forest, looking for a
place to rest, but instead he found Coyote. He was much bigger and stronger than he,
so he tried to prove that he could be his friend. Snake went deeper into the forest
while Coyote spied on him.
The first animal he spotted was
Spider, an easy victim. Four small legs couldn’t get him anywhere fast. Snake
went up into a tree with Spider’s web in it. Spider started climbing up the
tree while Snake knotted up his web and threw it down on him. Coyote started
laughing. His bellow awakened Annametrious. She saw Spider and Snake and what
had happened. She went down to Earth and said,
“Snake, I’m very ashamed of you. I
am giving you two more chances. If you are not nice two more times you will
suffer the consequences.” And with that she flew off into a deep slumber.
Snake ran off
looking for another friend. A few minutes later he stumbled upon Bobcat. He
wanted to impress him, so he found Bear. Bear was a small helpless creature. Snake dug a
hole several feet away from his trick. Bear was scampering along the forest
path, when suddenly Snake jumped out of the tree and scared Bear. Bear backed
up and fell into the hole. He shrieked so loudly that Annametrious woke
up again and saw what Snake did.
She came back
to Earth and said,
“I am very disappointed in you
Snake. I’m giving you one more chance. If you do something unacceptable one
more time you will be punished!”
She helped Bear out of the hole
then went into a doze. Bear scurried off, and Snake walked away, not looking
for mischief.
Instead of not finding mischief, he
found the opposite: Lion. He didn’t want to get in trouble with Lion or
Annametrious, but Lion was so scary he couldn’t say no when Lion asked him to
play a trick on Crow.
Snake planned his attack, then leaped
in front of crow and put sap around Crow’s beak. Crow couldn’t open it! Lion
roared in laughter, but this time Annametrious saw what was going on before
Lion’s roar. She came down to Earth,
“Snake, I will have to punish you.
You have brought great shame to you and your ancestors. From now on all snakes
will slither on the ground, not being able to climb, run, walk, and jump.
Snakes will also have a rattler, so prey will know you are coming. And now, all
crows will have the ability to fly. All bears will be as big as lions, and all
spiders will have eight legs to run quickly.”
With a satisfied nod she left to
her slumber.
Enjoy this myth about a creation gone horribly wrong!
How Cats Were Created
by Nils (5th grade)
In winter, a long, long time ago, a problem emerged in North America. Linke was a god that lived in the sky, directly above North America. He was a demigod. He didn’t know how powerful he really was. His dad didn’t let him use his powers. “It isn’t safe for a demigod to do a full god’s job,” he would say.
“But DAD!” Linke argued. “I’ll just create a bug!” Linke’s dad never gave in. One day, Linke was so mad at his did that he would create a creature no matter what.
Linke waited until all of the gods were asleep. Then, he snuck into the dad’s lab. “What shall I make?” he wondered out loud. He thought at little bit, and finally decided. “I’ll make a mini horse!” he claimed. “It will have paws, not hooves. It will have a short nose, not a long one. It shall have whiskers like a lion, and fur like a bunny. This.... “cat” will have a tail like a squirrel. The cat will be small like a hamster. It will be forgiving! Helpful! Nice! Considerate!
As Linke madly molded and inserted characteristics in his new creation--the cat--the thing rumbled. It burst out of its coating and ran out the door. Something was weird as it burst out the door. It shed all its fur and grew to the size of an elephant! It broke the clouds! The cat jumped down to earth, crushing a house! The “cat” was the opposite of what Linke wanted. It was a “tac”.
***************
The tac ran through the village, ears as pointy as ever. A poor farmer took a bow and arrow and shot the tac. The tac turned around and roared at the poor villager. The tac chased him through the town. The tac easily caught the villager and ate him.
A small baby kangaroo, a witness, jumped from cloud to could, up to the gods. He needed to tell the gods what was happening.
“Hark!”
“Who goes there?” said the guard coyote.
The kangaroo spoke fast. “It is me the baby kangaroo. I’m here to see Linke’s dad!”
“Hmm,” puzzled the coyote.
“Well.....” the guards were being too slow for the kangaroo. The baby kangaroo snuck away. He ran to Linke’s dad’s cloud bed. The kangaroo jumped on top of him.
“RRRRRRRRRRRR!” Linke’s dad was not in a good mood.
“Someone,” said the nervous kangaroo, “unleashed a monster! It’s terrorizing the town!”
“LINKE!” yelled Linke’s dad. He ran to Linke’s cloud. Linke’s dad picked up the cloud that Linke slept on. He picked it up and under that Linke hid.
“What have you done!?” he screamed. “I’ll tell you what you did! You let out a monster, expected me to save the world, and hid under your cloud. I’m gonna go save the world now!”
Linke’s dad ran out of the room. He dashed to a thin batch of clouds. He smashed it, and it broke. He reached down to earth and picked up the tac. The tac had limbs in it’s mouth. Linke’s dad threw the limbs down earth. Linke’s dad raced to the lab with the tac in his hand. He passed by Linke’s cloud on the way. Linke’s dad dashed in and grabbed Linke by his hair. He carried the two to the lab.
When Linke, his dad, and the tac were in the lab, Linke’s dad ordered Linke to sit down. Linke’s dad threw the tac on a table.
“What were you thinking! I told you not to use your powers for a reason! Now your creation has killed many wonderful people!” screamed Linke’s dad. He realized that Linke was scared, and that he should cool down. Linke’s dad sighed. “What did you want your animal to be like?” he asked reluctantly. Linke told him, and his dad silently recreated the cat. Linke’s dad finally put the last ingredient in. Life.
“As your punishment,” said Linke’s dad,“The ‘cat’ is not helpful or considerate. It is sometimes nice and sometimes forgiving. He is sometimes annoying and mischievous.”
“Okay,” he said trying to look sad while petting the new cat.
“And,” Linke’s dad added ,“You will lose all of your powers.”
Linked loved the cat. He found that the cat made a perfect house pet. As long as Linke had a cat, he didn’t care that he lost his powers. Now we still love cats and keep them as pets.
That is how the best house pet--a cat--came to be.
by Nils (5th grade)
In winter, a long, long time ago, a problem emerged in North America. Linke was a god that lived in the sky, directly above North America. He was a demigod. He didn’t know how powerful he really was. His dad didn’t let him use his powers. “It isn’t safe for a demigod to do a full god’s job,” he would say.
“But DAD!” Linke argued. “I’ll just create a bug!” Linke’s dad never gave in. One day, Linke was so mad at his did that he would create a creature no matter what.
Linke waited until all of the gods were asleep. Then, he snuck into the dad’s lab. “What shall I make?” he wondered out loud. He thought at little bit, and finally decided. “I’ll make a mini horse!” he claimed. “It will have paws, not hooves. It will have a short nose, not a long one. It shall have whiskers like a lion, and fur like a bunny. This.... “cat” will have a tail like a squirrel. The cat will be small like a hamster. It will be forgiving! Helpful! Nice! Considerate!
As Linke madly molded and inserted characteristics in his new creation--the cat--the thing rumbled. It burst out of its coating and ran out the door. Something was weird as it burst out the door. It shed all its fur and grew to the size of an elephant! It broke the clouds! The cat jumped down to earth, crushing a house! The “cat” was the opposite of what Linke wanted. It was a “tac”.
***************
The tac ran through the village, ears as pointy as ever. A poor farmer took a bow and arrow and shot the tac. The tac turned around and roared at the poor villager. The tac chased him through the town. The tac easily caught the villager and ate him.
A small baby kangaroo, a witness, jumped from cloud to could, up to the gods. He needed to tell the gods what was happening.
“Hark!”
“Who goes there?” said the guard coyote.
The kangaroo spoke fast. “It is me the baby kangaroo. I’m here to see Linke’s dad!”
“Hmm,” puzzled the coyote.
“Well.....” the guards were being too slow for the kangaroo. The baby kangaroo snuck away. He ran to Linke’s dad’s cloud bed. The kangaroo jumped on top of him.
“RRRRRRRRRRRR!” Linke’s dad was not in a good mood.
“Someone,” said the nervous kangaroo, “unleashed a monster! It’s terrorizing the town!”
“LINKE!” yelled Linke’s dad. He ran to Linke’s cloud. Linke’s dad picked up the cloud that Linke slept on. He picked it up and under that Linke hid.
“What have you done!?” he screamed. “I’ll tell you what you did! You let out a monster, expected me to save the world, and hid under your cloud. I’m gonna go save the world now!”
Linke’s dad ran out of the room. He dashed to a thin batch of clouds. He smashed it, and it broke. He reached down to earth and picked up the tac. The tac had limbs in it’s mouth. Linke’s dad threw the limbs down earth. Linke’s dad raced to the lab with the tac in his hand. He passed by Linke’s cloud on the way. Linke’s dad dashed in and grabbed Linke by his hair. He carried the two to the lab.
When Linke, his dad, and the tac were in the lab, Linke’s dad ordered Linke to sit down. Linke’s dad threw the tac on a table.
“What were you thinking! I told you not to use your powers for a reason! Now your creation has killed many wonderful people!” screamed Linke’s dad. He realized that Linke was scared, and that he should cool down. Linke’s dad sighed. “What did you want your animal to be like?” he asked reluctantly. Linke told him, and his dad silently recreated the cat. Linke’s dad finally put the last ingredient in. Life.
“As your punishment,” said Linke’s dad,“The ‘cat’ is not helpful or considerate. It is sometimes nice and sometimes forgiving. He is sometimes annoying and mischievous.”
“Okay,” he said trying to look sad while petting the new cat.
“And,” Linke’s dad added ,“You will lose all of your powers.”
Linked loved the cat. He found that the cat made a perfect house pet. As long as Linke had a cat, he didn’t care that he lost his powers. Now we still love cats and keep them as pets.
That is how the best house pet--a cat--came to be.
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