Which Three Objects Would You First Save if Your House Caught Fire?

"My wii u because we need to be entertained. A blanket to keep me warm. 3ds and tv so I can play by myself."

"My cats, my family, and my Blake Shelton poster."

Do You Plan on Going to College Someday?

"Nope! I do not plan on going to college. College in my opinion is weird and bad. I'd rather go to kindergarten then college."

"Yes, because I can get a job at Petsmart because I love animals. Like birds, cats, dogs and reptiles."

"No, because I don't like to go to school. I don't like all the writing. I don't like to wake up so early. I don't like the reading."

Where Would You Go If You Were Going to Run Away From Home?

"I would go to Washington D.C. then I'll become the president's son then he will have someone to leave his billions to."

"Let me tell you something. When I once tried to run away from home I only made it to the stop sign then went back home."

Would You Rather be a Girl or a Boy?

"I would rather be a boy because girls get great pain when giving birth, usually boys get the job, and boys get boy scouts."

Written by a girl: "I would rather be a boy. I would be stronger and that means that I wouldn't get beat up by my brother and sister. I lose a lot to my sister."

"I would rather be a girl because girls get lots of privileges. They get to go first. They get to choose what to do with their hair. They have longer hair and are prettier."

Flow

Getting a story to "flow" is the hardest thing for young writers. Let me show you what I mean:

"Mr. Vines said no mustard. Mrs. Vines said she didn't put any mustard on his sandwich. He was going to tell the police that a strange thing has happened today that his daughter is missing and a ghost put mustard on his sandwich."

How do you get from mustard on your sandwich to talking to the police about your missing daughter in one sentence???

"Then he set off to go and find his parents. Party because he was hungry and couldn't find anything good to eat and also because he loved them so much he couldn't bear to live without them."

Parents! You are important! Your kids would not be able to find anything to eat if you were kidnapped.

"They found out that were using the caterpillars to try and kidnap her! So he got taken to jail and was never seen again! Later that year she found out that she had cancer!"

Man, that is some bad luck! You find some cute caterpillars that turn out to be trying to kidnap you, then you find out you have cancer? All in two sentences!

Invented Spelling

One of the joys of teaching.... invented spelling....

Remember that these are from fourth grade students (ages 9-10)

"ene"--- any

"hithe"--- height

"ysuly"--- usually

"ossem"--- awesome

"toulk"--- took

What makes a good loser, and are you one?

"No I am not a loser"

I don't think they understood the question! More than one student wrote responses like this!