LaurenR_Homepage_2008

Back to Our Homepages for Writing J  Welcome to My Homepage for Writing!  __Reflection on LA Menus__

For me, I loved this project!!!! I thought it was a lot of fun and I had a great time coming up with a name for my restaurant and creating the menu for it. I thought everyone’s menus were really spectacular and unique in their own way. It made me really hungry to listen to my classmates’ favorite entree, desert, beverage, appetizer, etc.! I could just imagine eating one of the foods people described. Therefore I had an awesome time with this project, but it would have been so cool if we were allowed to bring in a food from our restaurant! I think everyone would enjoy that option. -Lauren R.

__A Found Poem from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by Lauren R__ The quilted sunshine and leaf-shade And the heavy breathing of the sea Onward through life he goes The summer vine in beauty clung And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snow At daybreak on the bleak sea-beach Rush onward with uninterrupted sweep As a cataract from the mountain’s side Of things beyond our reason or control Becalmed upon the sea of thought Blow, breath of inspiration, Blow! The twilight darkens, the curlew calls Art is long and time is fleeting The calm, majestic presence of the night Sends its glimmer across the dark.

Right now I’m looking out over the battle field where millions of men are fighting hard for what they believe is right. But what is right? Maybe the men of the north are correct, who believe slavery should be eliminated. Or the men of the south, who still want the slaves. It is a bloody battle down there, and it makes me cringe to see those people firing at each other with no control. Their determination is strong, and they want to win this battle so badly, they don’t care what it takes. They will take each other down and will fight until the end. But when is the end? It’s been 3 years since these men have been drafted into this horrible nightmare of a time. No one knows who will win, but they intend to find out, and that is what I’m most afraid of. I thought that Starlab was a very unique expirence. I enjoyed learning about the different constellations up in the sky. If I got a chance to do it again I definitely would. I had a fun time and I am happy we had the fantastic opportunity. :) **
 * Cival War Short Story:**
 * __My thoughts on STARLAB:__


 * __Grammar Guide__ **
 * Here is the list of all grammar we have learned so far this year:**

__Proper Nouns:__ A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing. They usually have capital letters. Examples: Mrs. York, Disney World, Washington DC. __Compound Nouns:__ A compound noun is one noun made by joining two or more words. Examples: The __firefighter__ went into the building. In a __heartbeat__, they were there. __Pronouns:__ A pronoun takes the place of a noun. Examples: she, he, they, them, it __Personal Pronouns:__ A personal pronoun refers to: 1. The person speaking or writing, 2. The person listening or reading, or 3. The topic (person, place, or thing) being discussed or written about. Examples: __I__ favor the plan. __You__ will see the picture. __He__ wants to listen to music. __Demonstrative Pronouns:__ A demonstrative pronoun points out a person, place or thing. Examples: __This__ is a new //invention//. __That__ is //silk//. __Verbs:__ A verb expresses the action or condition of a person, place or thing. Examples: He __painted__ the scenery. She __designed__ the costumes.** __Linking Verbs:__ A linking verb joins a noun or pronoun at or near the beginning of a sentence with a word at or near the end. The word at the end identifies or describes the noun or pronoun. Example: Laura __is__ the editor. (Editor identifies Laura.) __Helping Verbs:__ ** ** A helping verb is a verb that comes before the main verb and adds to its meaning. Examples: She __was__ sleeping. He __had been__ sleeping. ('Was' and 'had been' are the helping verbs. 'Sleeping' is the main verb.) ** __ Adjectives: __ An adjective modifies a noun. Examples: The __tall__ tree is in the park. The __round__ apple was bitten. __Adverbs:__ An adverb is a word that modifies an adjective, verb, or another adverb. They will often end in 'ly' and they often stand alone. Examples: He drove __slowly__. He drove a __very__ fast car. Then he drove __quite slowly__ down the road.**
 * __Nouns:__ A noun is a person, place, or thing. It names an object. Examples: dog, Arizona, house, book, cat
 * __Action Verbs:__ An action verb indicates the action of a person or thing. The action can be visible or mental. Examples: Ellen __plays__ soccer. Everyone __believes__ you.
 * __Preposition:__ A preposition is a word that links nouns or pronouns to other words. Examples: The book is __on__ the table. I looked __around__ the room.
 * __Articles:__ An article is either definite (The) or indefinite (a, an). Examples: __An__ apple, __A__ car, __The__ store.**

My thoughts now that I have witnessed history are that now I know no matter who you are, you can do anything you want. I think this because of our new African American president, Barack Obama, who has officially been sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. He is a different color but that does not matter because he has promised to take our country to new and better heights. I like how he said that greatness has to be earned and that the people who came before us worked very hard to get our country where it is today. Obama has very good ideas and I hope he can get us out of our "economic crisis" and that we will forget the past. He is the future for this country and I believe that he will make a very good president. Hopefully all of the colored children in the world today will look up to President Barack Obama and know someday that, that could be them one day making a speech and being a black president. Hopefully they will follow in his footsteps and believe that they can do anything they want to if they try. These are my thoughts on the history that I witnessed today as President Barrack Obama entered the office .   If I could time travel to a different time period to celebrate Christmas it would be in 2020. I would want to celebrate Christmas then because there would be really cool presents to give and receive. There would also be new and yummy food recipes and fantastic desserts to eat. I can imagine now just running down the stairs on Christmas morning of 2020. A huge tree would stand in the center of the room and underneath, a pile of presents wrapped up in shiny, glowing wrapping paper. I would open each one up carefully, not wanting to waste the moment. When I finally broke through, a new, high-tech present would await me, such as an iPod or a flat screen TV. I would run to hug my parents and thank them for the wonderful gift and they would say, "Why, you're welcome. But after all, it is the newest and latest technology." Toys and gifts under the tree would be new and exciting. They would have you engrossed in them every minute and not let you step away. It's not that the gifts that they have come out with for the holiday season in 2008 aren’t cool. They are, but I think they will do much better with new technology in the future. Buying gifts for another person would not be a problem either because they would have presents for everyone. The only problem people might face when buying a gift would be the price of the item. It might be too expensive. But, no matter what you would buy, it's the thought that counts! I can't wait until 2020, with all of the exciting gifts, who wouldn't?  All of a sudden, the curtain opens, the lights flash on, and about 100 pumpkin eyes are starring at us, expecting an awesome performance. And they’ll get one. The big day finally arrives and I’m really nervous.  It was a cold, windy October day when I decided to open my eyes. (The opening of a pumpkin’s eyes is like when a human is born.) When I did, there was a giant pumpkin standing in front of me. “He’s alive!” the strange pumpkin shouted. “You my friend were born on October 29th at 7:59 in the morning on this dreary, fall 2006 day. Welcome to the world!” This perky pumpkin seemed to be friendly enough, I thought. “Who are you?” I asked. “My name is Bobert W. I suppose I should name you right now. Ok, let’s see.” Bobert said looking me over. “Turn to the side a little bit.” “Um, I would, but I’m stuck on this vine.” “Oh yes, you do seem to be stuck. Let me try this.” All of a sudden, he rolls a couple of feet away. Then, he comes at me like a bowling ball coming down a lane. The next thing I know, I’m flying through the air, no longer attached to my vine. “I’m free!” I shout. Then, I land with a plop next to Bobert. “Good to have you back.” he says. “Now, since you are shaped like an apple, I think I should call you Applie." And Applie it was.   <span style="display: block; color: black; font-family: Calibri; text-align: center; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri;">As I took everybody’s plate out of the sink after dinner I thought, I’m glad I’m doing the dishes for a change tonight. First, I took each dish and rinsed it off with hot water. Taking the blue sponge in my hand, I shook some dish soap on it from my family’s glass soap bottle with grapes on the side. Then I poured water on them and squeezed the sponge until it became nice and sudsy. Next, I wiped every food stain off the delicate ceramic plates with the sponge until they were 110% clean. Carefully, I rinsed off my clean masterpieces and set them off to dry on the hard granite countertops surrounding the sink. Washing my hands, I thought “What a good job I did with the dishes.” I also thought that doing the dishes really was not that hard and I maybe could do them again another time, perhaps tomorrow night. Lauren R. <span style="display: block; color: #ffaf24; text-align: center; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri;"> <span style="display: block; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 12.5pt; color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;">Nature’s Classroom was a blast, and if you ask me, one of the best field trips I’ve ever been on! The cabins were awesome, the choice of classes was spectacular, and the food in the dining hall was to die for. If there was a chance for the sixth grade to come back, I’m sure we’d all do so! <span style="display: block; font-size: 13pt; color: #e61919; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;"> Write About It ** <span style="display: block; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 13pt; color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;">I <span style="display: block; font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;"> love to ski, don’t get me wrong. But when you’re stuck in a snow storm on a blue square, your mom’s at the bottom of the slope, and you can’t see a thing, COUNT ME OUT! You see, that’s what happened to my friend, Erin South and I, when we went skiing at a mountain in New Hampshire called Mount Sunapee. It was just my mom, Erin, and I on a ski trip together, and it was our last run of the day. When we were on the ski lift, my mom decided that we would go on a blue square, the third hardest kind of slope. Erin and I agreed. When we got off the lift and were on the top of the mountain, it was snowing pretty heavily. My mom started down the monstrous hill first, than me, and then Erin. I was at the middle of my way down when I stopped to wipe my goggles. I then realized it wasn’t my goggles that were fogged up, it was the mountain itself. Nothing was visible. I was really cold and wind and snow were blowing in my face. I couldn’t look in front of me. To top it all off, my neck mask was cheap and wasn’t helping one bit. Plus, I was scared because I couldn’t see my mom or Erin. Wait! Here comes Erin! I yell her name but it’s snowing so hard she can’t hear me. Then she sees me. I’m waving my navy blue poles in the air. She carefully skied down to me. Together, we turned our heads in the other direction so we would be able to see and make our way down the mountain, very slowly. A couple of times Erin or I would fall, but we would go up the mountain again and help each other up. When we finally made it down and I spotted my mom, I was so relieved I fell to the ground. I was so tired and hungry and cold. But it was an adventure I’ll never forget!
 * Prompt: Now that you have witnessed history, what are your thoughts? Post your response to this prompt on your homepage. **
 * <span style="color: #188c2c; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Christmas Piece: ** <span style="display: block; font-size: 14.5pt; color: #080808; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;">
 * <span style="color: #ff00bb; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">My Best Descriptive Sentence: ** <span style="display: block; font-size: 14.5pt; color: #ff008b; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;">
 * <span style="font-size: 13pt; color: #29f5f3; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">My Best Topic Sentence: ** <span style="display: block; font-size: 14.5pt; color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;">
 * <span style="color: #2dd231; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">My Favorite Paragraph in My Story: ** <span style="display: block; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;">
 * <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #ffaf24; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Do the dishes. ** <span style="display: block; color: #ffaf24; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;">
 * <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #ffaf24; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Write about it. ** <span style="display: block; color: #ffaf24; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;">
 * <span style="font-size: 13pt; color: #bb49e4; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">My NC Story Intro: ** <span style="display: block; color: #bb49e4; font-family: Calibri; text-align: center; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri;"> <span style="display: block; color: black; text-align: center; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri;">
 * <span style="color: #f41f1f; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Find a Picture