The Giving Tree

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Here is a post about The Giving Tree!

  1. What is the title of your story? The Giving Tree
  2. Who is the author? Shel Silverstein 
  3. Who are the main characters? The tree and the boy.
  4. What is the plot or storyline of the story? (a short summary is fine here) A tree just wants her (human) boy to be happy, but as he grows up, he seems to stray away from the tree… and the tree just keeps giving.
  5. What role do trees play in the story? The tree is the main character!
  6. What is the central conflict of the story? The boy is getting older…
  7. What is the outcome or solution to the conflict? The tree and the boy sit together and are friends forever.
  8. How are trees used in the story? (main character, prop for action, metaphor or symbol?) Main character
  9. What is the overall message that is conveyed in the story? Even as you get older, friends will always be there for you.
  10. What should readers learn from reading this story? Don’t be too greedy, just be a good friend.
  11. Take a picture of the cover or a page of your book- add it to your blog.

Trees!

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Once there was a great big forest, with lush green grass and a crystal clear stream. In it lived deer, cougars, bears, rabbits, trout, and more. One day, there was a spark. Suddenly, the spark became a flame! Someone spotted it, and soon 24 firefighters came, but the fire was already growing into a great forest fire! Eventually, the firefighters had to lay flat on a rockslide and wait for the fire to pass. When the fire was gone, the only living being in the forest was a small baby bear cub. The fighters quickly picked up the cub, and left his burned up home behind. Unfortunately, the cub was burned badly, and orphaned. But slowly, under care, the baby bear cub recovered! He was soon named Smokey. After years and years, Smokey influenced hundreds of people to stop forest fires from forming. And even today, Smokey still guides people the right way!

 

Trees are an important part of Earth. Without trees, everything would be lost. People need to learn more about trees so that they can realize how amazing trees are, and how to save them. So many people conserve the world’s forests! People dedicate their lives to conservation. I want to help. I am planning to dig a tree up, to save it from being cut down. I think that all trees deserve to live. You can help, too! Talk to your friends and your family, and tell them about forest conservation. Find some good resources online. Spread awareness, and share the Smokey story. Let’s save the TREES!

Kousa!

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In LA class, we have adopted trees on our school campus. My tree, a large Cornus Kousa Dogwood, is a beautiful tree. The last time I visited them, they were a spiky, branch covered, bare tree. Now, they have lots of beautiful pure green leaves and a few medium sized white flowers. Comment on this post if you like my tree- it is going to be cut down!!! That’s why my teacher and I are going to try to successfully dig them up and transport them to my yard- I’ve grown attached to them.

 

I’ve named them, too! My name is Anna, which derives from Hebrew and German origins. My parents named me this because they liked the name and it is also in the Bible. I love my name. It means gracious and merciful, and I really like that. So I decided my tree would have a beautiful name as well. My tree is named Kousa, after its type, a Cornus Kousa Dogwood. It is pronounced (KOO-sa), and I also gave Kousa a nickname. The beginning of Kousa is pronounced koo, which sounds like coo. The nickname that I decided on is Dove, because doves coo. I really think that both Kousa and Dove are pretty names. 

 

I also have a photograph of a crow I found. I named them Midnight, for their deep black feathers. I loved how the crow took flight, because they just seemed so energetic yet graceful.

 

In the book that I am reading, Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate, there is a best friend duo, Red the tree and Bongo the crow. Red says that she/he is an optimist. Red says that Bongo is a pessimist. An optimist is someone who is always optimistic, looking on the bright side of things and always having a positive attitude. However, a pessimist is quite the opposite. A pessimistic person is looking on the dark side, and always in a negative light. I think that I am a mix of both. I’m never too cheery, but never too dark, though unfortunately I am a tiny bit more pessimistic. But I do have fun!

 

Thank you for reading this post! Remember, if you care about Kousa, please comment, and maybe put some tips on how to dig up a large Cornus Kousa Dogwood in your comment! Thanks!

 

Fingerprints!

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In LA class, we took our fingerprints with pencil, paper, and tape. Here are some fun facts about fingerprints!

  1. Fingerprints can be used for crime scenes
  2. Wearing gloves can hide fingerprints
  3. There are NO identical fingerprints, like snowflakes
  4. You can take fingerprints with only paper, tape, and pencil
  5. People can detect fingerprints with special tools
  6. The rarest type of fingerprint is the accidental
  7. The types of fingerprints are plain arch, tented arch, plain loop, whorl, central pocket loops, double loop, and accidental
  8. Toes have prints too!
  9. The scientific name for fingerprint identification is dactyloscopy
  10. The study of fingerprints is called dermatoglyphics

Here is some science on fingerprints-

Almost everyone is born with fingerprints. Fingerprints are here so that people can grasp items and do activities. A partial fingerprint lifted from a surface, is called a latent fringerprint. Exemplar prints, or known prints, is the name of fingerprints collected from a person, whether for reasons of enrollment in a system or when under arrest for a suspected criminal offense.

 

Thanks! Bye!

 

 

My Tree Book!!!

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In LA class, we made tree books. Here’s how we made them!

  1. First, we used silk screens and paint to make some pretty paper/cardboard with words on them.
  2. Second, we used Akua inks, plants, and Gelli plates to make beautiful collage paper.
  3. Third, we took blue paper, folded it, and glued it into some painted cardboard that we cut into tree shapes. 
  4. Fourth, we collaged our Akua ink paper onto our blue paper. We also made some envelopes.
  5. Finally, after writing some beautiful essays and poems, and gluing them in, we were finished!

The whole time, Ms. Gignoux was helping us make these. Here is the link to her website! https://gignouxart.com/

Overall, I think that this project was really fun! I loved using the inks, and the collaging was super fun. I would love to do this again!!!

Here is mine:

Here are the writing pieces that we wrote:

 

Branches, Reaching Toward the Sky My Wish Tree

By: Anna Claire 

I hope that I can become a good teacher because I want to see lots of kids and get a job. A good writer, because I am great at writing and writing is fun. A good mother, because it would be fun to raise a child and kids are smart and amazing. A good wife, because love sounds nice and it must be amazing to meet a soulmate. I hope that I can open a bakery with my sister, because we both love to bake and we have been planning the bakery. Get some pets, because animals are amazing and it feels so good to have someone to love and lean on. Make good friends, because friends are always there and friendships can last forever. I want to get good grades because I feel accomplished and happy, go to college for a good job and life, and study hard with discipline because I want to accomplish great things and do well in college.

I dream of the world being a better place. I want to speak up with others and help climate change. I wish that the world would have everlasting peace, less poverty, less homeless animals. I want all countries to have fair democracies, monarchies, and all types of government. No dictatorships! I wish for every orphan to have a home, and I wish that the world would fix itself and make a happy Earth.

This sums up my essay! I have so many dreams to share with the world.

Here is the other one 🙂

 

SALUTE TO MY ROOTS!

By Anna Claire      

   I would like to thank my Mama Bear for always being there. She was the one who helped my broken wrist. She was the one that brought me to help when I cut my knee. She is the one that is always waiting for me at the end of the day, arms outstretched. We love having lunch together, and we love reading at nighttime. I can’t even imagine my life without her. Even when we’re angry at each other, we still love each other. So thank you, Mama.

      My dad is always there for me as well. He reads books with me, he walks with me, he plays with me, he laughs with me. Whether it’s just sitting with me, or it’s interaction, I cherish every moment. We have so much fun with our bad jokes, and the wacky books we read together. He always finds a way to be with me in the day. No matter what happens, I will always love my dad. Thank you, Daddy.

       Emily is also a very important part of my life. I don’t know what my life would be without a sister. Emily is always forgiving when I’m upset with her, and she is upset at me a lot as well. But even when we’re upset, we always make up and have fun together. It’s amazing to always have a friend, even when I’m at home. And one of the best parts is the fact that I don’t need a mask around her. Thank you so much, EJ.

And to my best friend, who is always ready to chat, and who is very agreeable. She is always so fun to hang out with, and we enjoy playing games. I would be lost without her, and even in COVID times, she has been there, and she always is excited when we get to be together. Thanks.

My grandparents, all three. They always enjoy flying across the country to me, and we always do fun things when they get here. We read, we chat, we do so many fun activities. They FaceTime me a lot, and when my grandpa died I was devastated. My grandparents are kind and comfortable, and I am so happy to have them in my life. So thank you, Nana, Grammy, and Poppa. 

And finally, of course, my teacher. She is so kind, and she is always helpful when something has happened. She is comforting and reassuring, and she knows when I’m feeling down. There are always positive and happy vibes around her. When I eat lunch, she is great company and I always enjoy my time with her. I’m lucky to have two class periods with her PLUS advisory. She is a great teacher, and a great person to be around. Thank you.

My family doesn’t have many traditions, but the ones we do have are pretty fun. For example, on Christmas Eve, my dad always reads us the Night Before Christmas, and we usually get new pajamas. We take turns putting the star on the tree. And on Easter, we have Easter egg hunts in the backyard, and we get big Easter baskets. We also always hike on Sundays. For birthdays, we have a special birthday hat and an early present in the morning, and the birthday person gets to pick breakfast. Our traditions are small, but they mean a lot to us. They are lighthearted, fun, and something to look forward to

Those are my pieces. Thank you for reading this post! See you later! Bye!!!

 

Our Stock Market

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Our Logo, by me, Anna W. Photo by Amani.

 

Hello friends, today we are going to be talking about the Stock Market. For those of you who don’t know, the stock market is basically a place where you put money in companies for them to grow and you get a piece of their company. How we got started on the stock market was by reading “The Westing Game”. It is a really great book with a mystery to check it out when you finish reading our story.

 

What you can do is spend no money in a simulator and see if your stocks go up or down. We started by going straight to Google Finance. Google Finance is a website that changes very frequently and it gives stats and news for the stocks. Pick companies that are either really cheap, and you think they have great potential, or pick companies that are thriving (but they are probably going to be a little more pricey). Put them in Google Sheets and wait two weeks to see if they change. You’re done! Leave in the comments what companies you picked and what you want the next post to be.

 

– The_shows and #annaclaire

Lady or the Tiger

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Hi! My LA class read the story “The Lady or the Tiger”, by Frwnk Stockton, and we made endings for it, because Stockton didn’t finish it for us readers. Read the story, which is in this link, and then read my ending! Happy reading! http://www.english-literature.uni-bayreuth.de/en/teaching/documents/courses/Stockton1.pdf

Here’s mine- there at made up words, but the context should give you an idea of what they mean.:

As the princess’s lover squindeld across the room, he pondered about which door he would choose. The princess had told him to to choose the door on the left, and he trusted her with all of his heart… right? He decided he trusted her… and opened the door. To his surprise, the lady walked out of the door and kissed his cheek. The princess was infuriated. As she crinzeld with anger, a small fire lit in her eyes. She drew a knife, and slowly walked down the stairs to the arena. And she murdered the lady. Her enemy.

*****

As the princess walked across the arena, she shot an angry glance at her father. She knew that he had switched the lady and the tiger around before her boyfriend’s trial, and she couldn’t be more drintest. She seethed with loathing, and opened the door of her choice. The tiger lept out and killed her. *I would be more detailed but I’m not in the mood to get in trouble because I was too violent.* As the the last breath of the princess was released, the tiger slowly brinderd up the stairs to the man whom the princess loved, and heesed him to death.

*****

The princess trided around the white space surrounding her. There were thousands- millions- trillions of people. They all looked partially berdented, partially transparant. She recognized plenty of people as relatives that had died. She then saw something that made crinzle again- her enemy! The princess thought- no, knew, that she had killed her. Then the princess remembered what had just happened. The last thing she remember was a vicious black and orange face slamming her to the ground, and closing its jaws around her neck. She realized that she was dead. This was the afterlife. There were houses, families, animals, pets, and so much more. Each person held a large window that showed the earth as if they were there. The princess also saw a man. Her love. The man had just arrived, pushed out of an enormous glowing white orb. He had just died. Her drendid walked past her as if she weren’t there, and embraced her enemy. As they kissed, the princess wanted to murder them both, but they were all dead. The lady and her lover walked into the sunset hand in hand, and the princess was left to eternal anger and sadness. If she hadn’t murdered her enemy out of anger, things could have worked out better. Violence is never the key.

Trumpet!!!

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Soooooooooooooooooooo….. I have a trumpet now! Basically, my school has a series of activities that happen each trimester. 1st trimester is Chorus, 2nd trimester Art, 3rd trimester Movement. The next year is 1st trimester band, 2nd trimester Drama, and 3rd trimester your choice of the five fine arts. Because of Covid, I had 1st trimester Movement this year, and now I’m in band! Turns out I have a trumpet. My first choice! Super fun! Now let’s see if I can make some music! Hehe…

My Essay!

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Hello! This is going to be a short essay on stories. Storytelling started with art! People would tell stories with on cave walls with hand drawn pictures. For example, one picture could be of people with spears, hiding in the bushes, with a large mammoth ahead. The next picture could depict the people chasing the mammoth with the spears. The third picture could show the people next to the dead mammoth, lying on the ground. Those pictures could tell the story of how a group of people conquered a mammoth. Later, people started passing down stories with words, and soon hieroglyphics, which is a way of writing, but each character looking sort of like a picture. Eventually people would start writing down stories, making the tales we read today. We take stories for granted. “Little Red Riding Hood” is worthless or a simple piece of paper. But stories are precious, and our ancestors worked hard to write them down, and carry them generation through generation. Next time you read a book, cherish it. Think of it as a piece of diamond. Never throw a book, and be careful. These worth are so much more than what they look like.

 

People started writing down wisdom tales, such as fables, parables, myths, legends, sagas, folktales, folklore, tall tales, fairy tales, and more. The Durham Academy sixth grade language arts classes of 2027 have been reading some wisdom tales. They have read just about every type of tale, and I myself have too, as I am one of the sixth graders. One of my favorite tales is The Lion Makers. In this story, four scholars find a pile of bones on the side of a path. They believe they are the bones of a great lion. The first scholar claims that he can put together the bones of the lion. The second scholar says that he can put flesh back on the lion. The third scholar declares that he can breathe life into the great animal, and the fourth scholar decides that if his friends are going to bring the lion back to life, the scholar will climb a tree. He says that the lion will eat his friends if the lion comes back to life, but he will be safe in the tree. The three scholars decide to bring back the lion, and the fourth climbs a tree like he said he would. The first scholar perfectly puts together the bones. The second puts flesh back on the lion. The third scholar brings the lion back to life, and the lion roars and eats the three scholars, just like the fourth scholar said. The moral to this story is that knowledge is nothing without common sense. Another story called The Boatman has the same moral. A scholar gets on a boat, and sneers at the boatman because the scholar is very smart. The boat suddenly tips over, and the scholar drowns. The boatman survives, because he knows how to swim. A lot of these wisdom tales have the same moral. The sixth graders have taken many notes on these tales, where they state the name of the story, the origin on the story, a summary of the story, and the moral of the story, and that how I remember those tales. Because I took notes too.

 

I believe that the story Feathers relates to the modern day because of the story it tells. In Feathers, a woman spreads a terrible rumor. A rabbi tells her to go to the market, slit his pillow, and let the feathers spread. Then she must collect the feathers. She can’t do this task. The moral is that you cannot take back words. I feel that in modern day, many people accidentally let words slip. This story relates to me, because this happens a lot to kids my age. (I am 11, with about five months until my birthday.) This is hard for me, because many friendships can break with accidental words. It happened to me, and I hope I can fix it. This is why I believe that Feathers relates to the modern day world. Thank you for reading my essay, and I hope you have a great day!