Our Great Inventions!

To celebrate great inventor Thomas Edison's birthday on February 11th, we came up with our own inventions that could change the world (or at least our own lives!) for the better.   Before we could write about them, we organized our thoughts:

1. Name of our invention and brief description
2. Greater detail of how our invention would work
3. Whom it would help
4. Any interesting facts about our invention, including cost, color selection, sizes, etc.
5. A great conclusion!

The younger students wrote a sentence or two on the above outline ideas.  The older students wrote a five paragraph persuasive essay.  Enjoy these samples from across the grades!

The Magic Bear, by Alex (1st grade)

     My invention is a Magic Bear.  My stuffed magic bear would help me with my homework.  To work the Magic Bear, twist the left arm.  It would walk to your homework, then would do your homework.  This invention would help children who don't want to do homework.  It costs $2.00, and is brown.  My Magic Bear would be cuddly and amazing!


The Hungry Me! by Danika (2nd grade)

     My invention would be the Magic Food Folder.  It would help hungry students doing homework.  Here is how it would work.  When you are hungry, turn it on by flipping the switch up.  Next, press a code for the food you want.  Then, your food will appear in ten seconds.  This invention will keep students happy and full!  The food dispenser comes in three sizes.  It blends into the color of your wall. It costs $20, and it is an amazing invention!


Magic Claw Dust, by Nicole (3rd grade)

     I've invented the "Magic Claw Dust."  Kids get the toy they want out of any claw machines!

     To make it work, put in your quarter and pour the claw dust on the control stick.  Next, say what toy you want.  Now watch as the claw instantly grabs what you want, and never drops it.

     The Magic Claw Dust can help anyone who can't win something on a claw game.  

     You must do the steps in order, or it won't work.

     It never drops your toy, even if it's super heavy.  Sometimes it will even grab the toy you want PLUS another toy, and it never drops either of them!

     My Magic Claw Dust is amazing!  It is sure to have your eyes bugging out of your head!  Never drop a prize again!


The Sibling Botherer!  By Sarah (4th grade)

     Do you have the desire to bother your sibling, but do not know how?  Then the Sibling Botherer is the machine for you!  It has a screen for you to type information about your sibling, and has a button to press to start annoying!

     This is how it works.  First, you find a sibling to bother.  Then, you type information about your sibling on the keyboard.  Next, press the blue button that says, "Annoy!"  Finally, you just sit, relax, and laugh your heart out!

     This machine promises to help you unless your sibling finds it.  If your sibling finds it, then the table has turned!

     The Sibling Botherer is shaped as a yellow smiley face about the size of your head.  It is found in a secret room in every house with a child in it.  The mouth of the face is the screen, and the keyboard for it is on the chin.  The ON/OFF button is on the right eye.  It only runs on laughs!  It is so secretive, it is invisible to adults!

      The Sibling Botherer will you have you laughing at your sibling's misery!

Lunchbox for Laborers, by Mira (5th grade)

  Imagine how many people go to a job every day. They’re always tired and grumpy after their work. But a solution has been found! An invention has been created--the Lunchbox for Laborers! This astounding device would provide free food for workers between job assignments.

  Designed as a large red lunchbox, it would have many buttons on the inside lid. When you press a dial, a small screen would appear. Typing in the snack you want, you would close the top and secure it firmly with latches. Wait for three seconds, open the box, and…. voila! Free food!

  This original creation would help firefighters, policemen, social workers, employees, army soldiers, owners of businesses, conservationists, construction workers, and scientists.

Picture this: a fireman walks into a Jamba Juice after putting a blazing fire out, wanting a fresh smoothie. Suddenly, an alarm sounds, a companion calls him back to work, and he exits the shop without a nurturing snack!   If only he had the Lunchbox for Laborers!  Without one, the lack of energy could cause the laborers to perform their jobs poorly, risk somebody’s life because of tired limbs, and appear fatigued at work the next day.

  This stout square lunchbox would cost $14. If you want your box to come in every color and shade, an extra $6 would have to be paid, raising the price to $20.  Brass latches hold down the red cover.

  The Lunchbox for Laborers would make many important differences, such as changing society, encouraging workers to do their job, and causing smiles to beam on everyone’s faces! 

LOVE poems!

The "Budding Authors and Artists" Class (grades 1-2) got to think about Valentine's Day very poetically.  In an introduction to descriptive and figurative language, we filled in the blanks in this sweet "Love Is…" poem, focusing on our five senses in particular.  Enjoy!

by Averi (1st grade)

by Mila (2nd grade)

by Alex (1st grade)

The Snowman Draw Game!

ADJECTIVES, ADJECTIVES, ADJECTIVES!!  Without them, our readers are left with an incomplete picture in their minds.  With that theme, the 3rd-5th graders participated in the Snowman Draw Game.  Here is how it is played:

Step 1: Draw a snowman with a background.

Step 2: Describe your snowman in paragraph form, from head to bottom, with adjectives that tell SIZE, SHAPE, COLOR, and NUMBER.

Step 3: Trade descriptions with a partner, and try and draw theirs while your partner draws yours!

The winners were judged by the class, and the contests were close.  Congratulations to our winners!

      My paper is vertical.  My snowman sits on a low, snowy, white hill.  Everything is outlined in black.

     My snowman's body is large, its middle is a little bit smaller than the bottom, and the head is the smallest.

     My snowman wears a black, short top hate that has a brown strap with a buckle in the middle.  He has two big black coal eyes.  He has NO nose!  He has a smile made of five small, round, black pieces of coal.

     He has three big yellow buttons on his body.  He also wears a red vest.  It has two brown stick horizontal arms with three twigs for fingers.

     He doesn't have anything on his bottom.

     On the hill on YOUR left there is a big green bush.  On the side of each arm, there is a small white round snowball.  On YOUR left in the corner of the paper, there is a part of the yellow sun emerging out of the corner.  There is a white cloud right next to the sun.  On the left side of the cloud, there is another white, round, small snowball.  On top of the snowman there is a snowball, and in the right corner there is an M shaped black bird.

~Anjalia, 3rd grade

     Anjalia was so descriptive and clear that her partner Sammie (3rd grade) drew this!

My snowman has a medium head, big middle, and big bottom.

     His head has a black top hat with a green 12 in the middle.  He has two gray eyes and a black spectacle on the left one.  The nose is slanted to the right of the page and it is orange.  The mouth is a smiley face with a red tongue on the left.

     His middle has a black bow tie and a black vest.  The vest has no design.  The arms are wide V's and have small lines on the elbow.  He has three fingers and the arm and fingers are all black.

     His bottom is all orange with two small green shoes.  The body is outlined in black.

     He is standing on a white hill that has another hill to the side.  On the side hill stands three snowmen with top hats and nothing else.  It is all outlined in black.  There are also six snowflakes in a triangle above him.

- Tyler, 4th grade

Tyler described his scene so well that Lucy (4th grade) was able to draw this!

     My snowman is large and cute.  He has three colorful balls: the top one is pink, the middle ball is orange, and the bottom ball is yellow.  He sits on a hill.

     He wears a pair of earmuffs with white puff balls and a black connecting line.  He has two small black dot eyes and an orange pointy noise with three dark orange lines, and a small smile.  

     He has two brown twig arms with three fingers.  His left arm is holding a striped pink and green medium-sized balloon on a black string.  In the middle of this ball, are four small vertical black buttons.

     His bottom ball is just a big yellow circle.

     As I said earlier, he is standing on a white hill.  On either side of him is a green sprout with three leaves: one on top, one to the left, and one to the right.  There are fourteen small round circular snowflakes, seven on each side.  On the same side of the balloon, there is a crescent moon that is dark blue.  The sky is hazy silver-blue.

~ Julia, 5th grade

Julia is an old pro at this game, having taken quite a few workshops by now!  Here is how her partner Ella (5th grade) drew her beautifully-described snowman!

This exercise in art, descriptive writing, and thinking and writing quickly and neatly is always a favorite with my students.  Look for "Monster Draw" around Halloween time next fall!