What if??

It is so easy for us to write the first thing that comes into our heads but what happens if we take a bit of time and change what happens to our characters. Think of Harvie Krumpet and how he was releasing the chickens. What if - he was caught? What if - he started a new revolution and all the neighbours were doing it too? When he became magnitised. What if - his knife and fork stuck to his head everytime he tried to eat? What if - he could not climb down the fire escape when the house was on fire because he could kept sticking to the metal?

Reread your story from last week and choose three situations you wrote about. For each of the situations come up with two new situations that change the outcome of the story. Try to make the situations as interesting as possible to enhance your story.

When you have completed the What If, find the classmate that has the same number as you. You need to swap URLs and read your partner's story. Write a comment on their story and tell them the good things that they have done. You also need to feed forward, telling them what to work on next time. After that read their What If situations and comment on them.

When you have completed all of that you have free time :)

Inspiration

They say 'a picture paints a thousand words'. This is a wonderful inspiration if you have a picture in front of you but what happens if you do not have a picture? Create one in your head of something that you have learnt or know about. Things that we have learnt in other subjects can help us write. If you are able to then imagine a picture in your mind and recreate the imagine in words.

Others lives can give us inspiration too. It can be those that are close to us or others that we have learnt about. What about taken someone else's life and recreating it as your own? Have you thought of recreating their life in another situation or time in history? Is there someone out there that you would like to share with others?

Which ever way you decide to help stimulate your writing, remember we need 'to think outside the box'. Make your writing interesting and original but it must be believable. That does not mean that we must not write about sci-fi or fantasy. Look for a new way to present your ideas and let your imagination run wild.

Today you must complete a piece of writing with the title 'Freedom'. You need to write about 250 words and please remember to edit your work. Do not forget to plan first, Have fun!

Princess proved as premier

By Charles Henshaw

The kingdom of Keriville, tonight is rejoicing as they at last have a premier princess for their prince. Many other princesses had tried to win the hand of the prince but all proved to be fake until now.

Queen Jemima, who very protective of her son, only wanted him to marry someone of blue blood therefore a true princess. She devised a plan to test each girl to make sure she was real. When Prince Aragor met a new princess the queen would invite the princess to stay the night at the palace.

The princess was to sleep in a special room prepared by the queen herself. Each morning the queen would enquire after the health of the princess. Each morning the princesses replied that they had a wonderful sleep. Each morning the queen bid them farewell. That is until this morning.

When Princess Emmy was asked how her night had been, She was silent for a while and all of the court wondered what was wrong. Then to the surprise off all she announced she had a night’s sleep from hell. All the court was aghast that the princess had dared to complain about the bed but not the queen. She smiled and welcomed the girl into her family and said she would be a fine princess for the prince.

The court official on behalf of the queen announced to the press that the queen had made a bed for each princess which had 15 mattresses on top of one another. Between the very bottom and the next mattress she placed a pea. A true princess is so sensitive and soft that she would feel a pea through a stack of mattresses.

The queen immediately organised a big party to celebrate the upcoming wedding and the pea was given a place of honour planted in a flower pot for future generations to feed from it.



This may be a very old fairy tale but today it is big news in the local paper in Keriville. Today you are to choose a story that you know well which is a fairytale, legend or myth and present it as a newspaper report.
1. Keep your language formal
2. Give it a title
3, Write about 200 words
4. Make sure you proofread so that it has no errors in it

Martin Luther King Jnr.

Martin Luther King Jnr (MLK), like Rosa Parks, was a man of peace. He wanted to see change but he was only interested in doing it in a peaceful manner. Even though the police did not always use the same methods, and this meant loss of life, MLK continued to lead the people in non-violent demostrations.

On August 28, 1963 more than 200 000 people, mainly black, gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC to listen to MLK speak. The people were civil rights protesters who wanted to see change for the way the black people of America where being treated.

MLK's speech has become very famous and is known by 'I Have a Dream'. MLK is an important speaker of not only his time but also of our time and probably times to come. He shows clearly the the power of words can make a difference.

Today you will be studying MLK's speech.

The full written speech with a short video clip is at:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Youtube has a bigger section of the speech at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

You may either listen to the speech, read it or both. When you have done that copy the following questions into your blog post and answer them. Each question will need a statement answering the question, an explanation of the statement and an example if possible.

1. What was the dream that MLK had for the people?
2. Why was it significant that the speech was at the feet of Abraham Lincoln?
(Clue: What did Lincoln do for the black people?)
3. Complete the following line with somewhere you think freedom should ring
Let freedom ring from........
4. If you had a dream to change something in the world that was not right, what
would it be and why?

Time to look critically

Dear 28

Over the past three terms you have grown so much in your writing. I am so pleased to see how much you are now able to write. The quality of what you have been writing is so much better and you are able to state your points successfully. Now it is time to move on to the next step in your witing.

It is time for you to start looking at your writing with a critical eye. This is not about criricising your work but about looking for errors and correcting them. You need to ask yourself:

Have I used capital letters in the correct places?
Have I used puncuation such as full stops and commas?
Is the tense correct throughout the piece of writing?
Does my writing make sense?

Today we are going to practise looking critically by reading a partner's piece of writing. It is important that when you peer assess that you are honest but positive about the way you present your ideas. Make sure that you write something in each category. Remember we want to help each other improve so your comments are important.

Today's work
1. Read your partner's blog from last week on making a change. (If they were away last Monday then choose another blog they have written)

2. In the comment box of your partner's blog, use the following headings and write a comment under each.

Has the writer used capitals and full stops in the correct place?

Does the writer justify why the person has made a change?

Feedback - What has the writer done well?

Feed forward - What does the writer need to work on for next time?

3. Read the comments that your partner wrote about your blog.

4. For your blog today you may choose any topic that you which to write on. Remember to make sure that you follow the comments that your partner has written. Try to write 150 to 200 words.

Happy writing!

Making a Change

If we look back through history there are many people who have made a difference in the lives of others. They did this by standing up for what they believe in, in some cases by just what they did or who they are.

People like Elvis, Michael Jackson and Madonna used their music as a way to make change. Each was idolised and people soon began to follow the new trend they started with their music. Music lovers around the world started to dress like their idols. Not only a new music trend was born but also a fashion trend as well. Other musicans like Bob Dylan have used their music to protest about things like the Vietnam War.

David Beckham came from a country that is totally into their football. Most people would have a team that they followed at a national level. On his move to the USA, he found a culture that were not so obsessed with football but he managed to still make a change. He is so well known for his football that the amount of kids playing football in the States increased.

Others who made change in a subtle way, are people like Rosa Parks. Rosa lived in time when black and whites were treated differently. They had drinking fountains that said 'whites only' and 'coloureds'. On the bus the people were seperated by the colour of their skin. Rosa refused to be treated badly when the bus driver moved the 'coloureds only' sign further back so she had to stand up. She was thrown off the bus and this began a very famous bus bycott by the Negroes of Montegomery. The bus company's funds were down so badly with no Negroes travelling on the buses they had to start to treat the Negroes better.

Many films have been made about how a single everyday person or a football team have helped change the attitude of people especially realted to the black and white issues in the USA. Films like 'Blindside', 'We are Marshall' and 'Remember the Titans' are based on true stories that have made changes to the lives of others. 'Pay it Forward', though it is not true, is a great way the a small boy at school managed to change the lives of many. If we all tried to help others in some way, we could certainly make a big difference in this world.

Today you have a choice of assignments:

1. Write about someone famous who has made a postive change in the world. It could be through their music, deeds or another way. There are things like BandAid, LiveAid, stars who give and telethons. Write what they did, how they did it and what the outcome of what they did was.

2. Write about if you could make a change in the world what would you do, why would you do it and what change are you hoping to make.

For both assignments you must write at least 150 - 200 words. You are welcome to use the internet for research but your write up must be in your own words. Please remember to edit your work.

Happy writing!

This is your life

Each of us is unique and has many talents to share with others. Today we are going to celebrate your life.

This is your life: Angela Tutty

Born in a small town in New Zealand called Timaru. Your parents, Beverley and Colin, were excited to have a new member in their home. Not so long after that a new addition was added to the family, your brother Simon. The family now complete, life in this small town was just like many others.

Your teenage life was like many others, school, friends, socilising and fun. After school life for you took a more serious turn with you getting a job. The job was at the council and it was to become a very important beginning for you. A special someone was to enter your life but you did not know the importance of this person.

With itchy feet you left the council for the larger pastures of Australia. The life in Oz was good with lots of new friends,things to do and places to go. This part of your life was not to last forever and after a year you returned to NZ.

That special person came back into to your life and the importance of the earlier meeting became more obvious. This special person was Chris who was to become your husband. Marriage and children were the next section of your life.

After the children went to school it was time to think about what was next in your life. You were to study to be a teacher. Your first job was at Mountainview High School. This job was to offer you many exciting opportunities and challenges that ended in successess.

The successes in NZ lead to you travelling again and this time to Singapore. Singapore for you had many wonderful opportunties for your career and personally.

This is all the past but what is the future for you?

Today's blog:
Write a recount of your life as it has been up till now.

You must:
* write in third person (this means as if someone else is telling the story of your life)
* add in your inspirations/dreams for the future
* write at least 150 words

You may include:
* your family details
* funny stories
* any other interesting facts about you