Fantastic Paragraph Writing!

     Both "Budding" and "Awesome" classes had a fantastic lesson in paragraph writing.  To find an interesting subject matter, we brainstormed real animals and spelled them backwards on the board.  Our new and imaginative animals were then the subject of our paragraphs!  The younger classes answered some brainstorm questions about appearance, diet, habitat, and activities.  When they were done brainstorming, they were given goals appropriate to their grade level in regards to how many sentences to write.  Everyone learned how to do a conclusion sentence using strong adjectives.  Check out these awesome samples!  (And see if you can figure out the original animal's names!)

By Nathan, 1st grade:

     My animal's name is the Nihplod.  My animal has a telescope.  My animal eats boxes of toys.  My animal lives in a burrow.

By Tyler, 2nd grade:

     My animal's name is the Rehtnap.  Its colors are black, orange, and blue.  Its eyes are blue.  My animal is furry and has an orange hat.  This ferocious creature eats alligators and crocodiles.  He lives in the jungle.  The Rehtnap looks for people to pet it.  The Rehtnap is black, furry, orange, and nice to people and other animals (besides alligators and crocodiles!)

     The "Awesome" classes were challenged by being given strict guidelines to follow at paragraph writing time.  While it may sound restrictive to be limited to five sentences with specific sentence patterns, this lesson taught the students to vary their sentence starters and patterns to keep their writing interesting.   The key was to be creative within the parameters given.  They did a fantastic job.  Check out these imaginative animals!

By Amelia (3rd grade)

      The Lahwran is fierce and aggressive.  Its tail is sharp and poisonous.  Swimming through the ocean, its horns glow a brilliant gold.  Because its teeth are so sharp, all the sea creatures swim away in fright.  Although it can be scary, it only eats when it is hungry!

By Danika (4th grade)

     The Elahw is a very unique creature.  Its diet is different than any other creature.  It eats only candy corn that's read, white, and blue!  While it's eating candy corn, it stands up on two legs and wags its tail.  What a wild diet this Elahw has!

By Sophia (5th grade)

     The Yttik is the most beautiful animal in the world.  It is swan-shaped, has peacock feathers, scarf-shaped feathers on her neck, and a little foof of hair on its head.  It is so beautiful, that even the scariest predators can't bear to touch it!  While it glides across the clear, blue water, the Yeti's feathers glimmer in the moonlight.  The Yttik is a lovely, unique bird.

By William (6th grade)

     The Elgae lives deep in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle.  Living in the Bermuda Triangle is difficult because there are no fish there, but he finds a way to eat.  It's hard to find food, so sometimes he travels out to other regions to find his meals.  When he hunts, he sometimes finds a pack of fish.... YUMMM!  Then he will travel back to the Bermuda Triangle and rest, awaiting new adventures.