Original Student Myths:

How Tornados Came to Be
Rachel C.
One day, Windius, the goddess of wind got very bored. She heard about taking a dance class from a friend. So she signed up and attended her class. During the class, they started to work on turns. Excited, Windius began to practice. Whenever Windius moved, the wind blew. So, while she was spinning, the wind began to pick up speed. Since Windius was so excited and hyper, she started to spin a lot and loose control. The wind started to form into a funnel as Windius was spinning. The wind gained speed as Windius kept on spinning. Suddenly, with a big gust of wind, a tornado was formed. It destroyed almost everything in its path. When Windius gained control of herself and stopped, the tornado vanished. Zeus found out what she had done and banned her from dancing. But Windius loved to dance. So she decided that she would secretly dance while Zeus was dealing with the other problems. Every couple weeks, maybe months, Windius would practice her super cool dance moves. And whenever she tried the turns, she would get out of control and cause another tornado.

Great Student Persuasive Essays:

Karyna R.
Extra Curricular Activities

Do you often find yourself sitting in front of the TV doing nothing after school? Would you like something fun and interesting to do instead? If so, then an extra curricular activity is the perfect thing for you! Lakeview Jr. High has a wide variety of clubs, committees, and sports for a wide variety of personalities. Therefore, everyone should partake in an extra curricular activity.
Joining extra curricular activities can help students meet different people and form new relationships. It is important for teens to have a wide range of friends in order to become well-rounded individuals. Through extra curriculars, students can be introduced to many diverse groups of people. This could open the doors to interests and talents that many students never knew they had. Furthermore, participating in extra curricular activities may enhance students’ people skills by teaching them how to get along with and work with different people. Good people skills are essential in the future. For example, at a job, you are required to work with co-workers of various personalities, and with these skills, you will be able to better get along with everyone.
Not only can extra curricular activities help students meet new people, but they are also an excellent way for them to have more fun. After a six or seven hour school day, students are often stressed out. By being in an extra curricular activity, students can have more fun, which may relieve that stress. Last year, I was in the drama club. We did funny skits and exercises that were extremely fun. I know that by laughing and joking with my friends, I definitely relieved stress and had more fun than I would have at home. In addition to this, a typical student might spend most of their time hanging out with friends, watching TV, playing video games, or going on the computer. These same activities day after day may get boring after a while. Students can break this cycle by signing up for an extra curricular activity. Instead of playing a one-on-one basketball game with your friend, you could play on the school team and improve your skills. You could substitute watching Hannah Montana sing on TV with singing in the choir, or replace playing EA Sports on X-Box with the real thing. You could even type up an article for the school newspaper instead of typing an instant message to your friend. Joining these extra curriculars, or others, will give students something new to do after school, resulting in a more fun and happier student.
As well as having more fun, extra curricular activities are useful distractions from the many bad influences that teens face. More and more of today’s teens are abusing drugs and alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and having sex, which can result in teen pregnancies and STD’s. Extra curriculars help keep students away from the bad peer pressures that influence these harmful behaviors. There they can associate with kids with positive goals, which could inspire them to set goals of their own and encourage them to choose positive behaviors in order to reach them. Also, a great number of extra curriculars, such as sports, punish their members for participating in drugs and/or alcohol. Hopefully, many students will be motivated not to take part in these activities so that they can stay in their club, committee, or team.
Everyone should participate in an extra curricular activity. There are many rewards that come along with them, including meeting new people and having fun. Extra curriculars can also keep teens away from harmful peer pressure, drugs, and alcohol. No matter who you are, there is something out there for you, so join an extra curricular activity today!

Amelia G.
Demolishing Gang Violence
Almost everyday someone is shot or killed by gangs in Chicago, some of those people are gang members themselves, but some are just innocent people. Gangs are increasing everyday and so is the number of lives being taken away by the violence on the street. These are the reasons why the Chicago area should do their best to lessen gang violence.
Policemen across the state need to make gang violence a priority. Instead of worrying about the little things such as parking tickets, they should worry about the most important thing, people’s lives. They can make gang violence a priority by having gang specialists come in and teach new cops about so that way cops can arrest gang members faster since they know more about them. If these policemen captured gang members earlier, then that would decrease the number people being shot or killed. The state can also prevent shootings by making guns illegal. Many unlicensed teens are now in possession of guns leading to lives being killed. If guns were illegal, only good results would come from it.
Along with police making gang violence a priority, they should also worry about the drugs coming from these gangs. More and more teenagers are starting and getting addicted to drugs. Some of these drugs are reaching the suburbs, causing our supposedly “safe” neighborhoods to change into a not so safe area for kids and young adults. Gang member smuggling drugs into the U.S. is changing our world in so many ways. The amount of people going to rehab has increased rapidly through out the years. Also, many more people are doing drugs because it is easier to get yet they do not know the consequences. They may think they are just going to try it ounce, but after that one time, they start craving it making them become addicted. People lose their friends and family and sometimes even their own lives form being addicted to drugs that were supplied to them by gang members.
In addition to stopping drugs from going around, cracking down on gangs will prevent teenagers from turning into hardcore criminals. What will happen to these teenagers in the future if they’re already committing illegal actions? When teenagers/young adults graduate college, they already have there whole life planned out. Most teenagers in gangs don’t even graduate high school and they end up living in a life with little education and a no good future. When gang members first start out they think it’s a good business to be apart of, you get lots or money and get to be with your friends, but it’s also a business you can never get out of and a business that just keeps getting worse and more dangerous the longer you’re involved.
Chicago should try harder to lessen gang violence. Many people don’t get how much gangs influence and change the world we live in today. If policemen made gang violence a priority, then they could prevent many things from happening such as drug use increasing and gang members becoming hardcore criminals in the future. It’s our duty to keep Chicago’s streets safe. Aren’t you tired of turning on the news and hearing about another death in our city? I know I am.
Karyna R.
Extra Curricular Activities

Do you often find yourself sitting in front of the TV doing nothing after school? Would you like something fun and interesting to do instead? If so, then an extra curricular activity is the perfect thing for you! Lakeview Jr. High has a wide variety of clubs, committees, and sports for a wide variety of personalities. Therefore, everyone should partake in an extra curricular activity.
Joining extra curricular activities can help students meet different people and form new relationships. It is important for teens to have a wide range of friends in order to become well-rounded individuals. Through extra curriculars, students can be introduced to many diverse groups of people. This could open the doors to interests and talents that many students never knew they had. Furthermore, participating in extra curricular activities may enhance students’ people skills by teaching them how to get along with and work with different people. Good people skills are essential in the future. For example, at a job, you are required to work with co-workers of various personalities, and with these skills, you will be able to better get along with everyone.
Not only can extra curricular activities help students meet new people, but they are also an excellent way for them to have more fun. After a six or seven hour school day, students are often stressed out. By being in an extra curricular activity, students can have more fun, which may relieve that stress. Last year, I was in the drama club. We did funny skits and exercises that were extremely fun. I know that by laughing and joking with my friends, I definitely relieved stress and had more fun than I would have at home. In addition to this, a typical student might spend most of their time hanging out with friends, watching TV, playing video games, or going on the computer. These same activities day after day may get boring after a while. Students can break this cycle by signing up for an extra curricular activity. Instead of playing a one-on-one basketball game with your friend, you could play on the school team and improve your skills. You could substitute watching Hannah Montana sing on TV with singing in the choir, or replace playing EA Sports on X-Box with the real thing. You could even type up an article for the school newspaper instead of typing an instant message to your friend. Joining these extra curriculars, or others, will give students something new to do after school, resulting in a more fun and happier student.
As well as having more fun, extra curricular activities are useful distractions from the many bad influences that teens face. More and more of today’s teens are abusing drugs and alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and having sex, which can result in teen pregnancies and STD’s. Extra curriculars help keep students away from the bad peer pressures that influence these harmful behaviors. There they can associate with kids with positive goals, which could inspire them to set goals of their own and encourage them to choose positive behaviors in order to reach them. Also, a great number of extra curriculars, such as sports, punish their members for participating in drugs and/or alcohol. Hopefully, many students will be motivated not to take part in these activities so that they can stay in their club, committee, or team.
Everyone should participate in an extra curricular activity. There are many rewards that come along with them, including meeting new people and having fun. Extra curriculars can also keep teens away from harmful peer pressure, drugs, and alcohol. No matter who you are, there is something out there for you, so join an extra curricular activity today!

Alisa Z.
Materialism
Chanel, Abercrombie, Coach, and Hollister are not even a quarter of the expensive brands Americans buy today. People are getting addicted to shopping and can’t stop the urge to buy more things. Americans are too materialistic.
Americans spend too much time competing over materials. There are people who only wear on outfit once. For example, the character Massie from the book series, The Clique, only wears one outfit once and when people read these books, they want to be like her. When they think of ways to be more like Massie, they automatically think, “I need more clothes”. There are people constantly comparing what they have and how much money they have with the people they want to be. For example, if you are a fashion magazine reader, you would constantly see spotlights in these magazines about celebrities being acknowledged about the designer things they have or are wearing. If you constantly think about how you look, then you would definitely try to have what these celebrities have.
Not only are Americans spending too much time competing over materials, they are also spending too much money on materials. Many people are in deep debt and on the edge of bankruptcy. One of my mom’s friends is like that. She lives in a condo that is covered with clothes from the floor to the ceiling. She can’t control how she spends her money and she owes a lot of money to credit card companies. There are many people who head straight to the mall right after they get their paycheck. These people need to learn how to spend money wisely because there are people who are becoming homeless because they can’t pay for their rent.
In addition to spending too much money on materials, Americans also pay too much attention to materials. Many people who are materialistic don't have a good relationship with their family because their attention is too focused on having the next big thing. I have a friend whose mom is too materialistic. Her mom shows love through buying her daughter materials. Even though she gets whatever she wants, she is still not happy because she is missing the things she needs most, love and attention. Also, Americans pay too much attention on materials by obsessing with fashion magazines. Having lots of stuff doesn’t make you a better person, caring and just being a nice, respectful person is what really makes you a good person.
Americans are too materialistic. Being able to buy whatever you want is fine, but don’t abuse it. Americans spend too much time competing over materials, too much money on materials and, too much attention on materials. Buying whatever you want doesn’t make you a better person, in fact it will harm you in the long run if you don’t know how to control yourself. When parents are too materialistic and spoil their children, their child becomes materialistic too. Then the children influence other people. It’s like a bad disease spreading fast and damaging our generation.

Danielle P.
Later Days
How do you think kids would feel if school didn’t start until later in the day? If schools were to start later in the morning, and end later in the day, kids would greatly benefit the average 8-9 hours of sleep. Schools should consider changing their hours.
Schools should start later in the morning because then students would be able to get the regular 8-9 hours of sleep that they need. There are many advantages to this. First off, kids would be in a better mood in the morning. This would mean that students would get along better with both peers and teachers. Another reason would be that students would have more energy in the morning. This means that students would be able to pay better attention in class and actually stay awake through their classes and lessons. Another reason would be that they would be able to get a better start to the day. This is good because starting the day off on the right foot could put a student in a good mood and possibly keep them that way.
Not only will kids be able to get more sleep at night, but they will also have a chance at getting better grades. There are a few good reasons supporting this idea. One would be that kids would have extra time to do homework before school. This is a huge advantage because if a student had an activity after school the night before or if they didn’t have enough time to finish everything, they could finish it in the morning and still get a good grade for it. A second way that could help their grades would be that with the extra time in the morning, they can study for a quiz or test and then that would give them a much higher chance of doing good on the quiz or test they take. One last way starting school later could help student’s grades would be that the extra sleep would most likely help the brain and then kids would be able to understand the lesson better. This would help the students grades because if you understand something, the homework, quiz, and tests on it would be easier then resulting in good grades on work.
In addition to better grades, students would be able to stay out later doing different activities. One of the advantages to this would be that students wouldn’t have to worry about getting home early enough to study or do homework when they could do it in the morning. This is nice because then both parents and students wouldn’t have to worry so much about the time. Another advantage to this would be that if any activities were to run late, no one would have to worry about rushing home and cramming everything in. This means there might even be less arguments at home. Another way letting kids stay out later is an advantage because they’ll be able to have more fun as a kid. This way instead of remembering all the nights of cramming everything in, they can look back on how much fun they had even when they did have school the next day.
Schools should change their hours. Later school hours could result in kids getting more sleep, better grades, and being able to stay out later. Both students and teachers shouldn’t have to get up so early. I’m sure many people would be with me saying that school shouldn’t have to start until atleast 9:30 a.m.

Go Packers!!
Jacquelyn T
Super Bowl

Don’t look now, but the Green Bay Packers may have an appointment with destiny. The historical franchise has turned around its recent years of misfortune. The Packers are off to a ten and one start in the 2007 season. If the Green Bay Packers keep up their good work, they will make and win the Super Bowl.
One thing that makes the Green Bay Packers so awesome is their amazing defense. The Green Bay Packers are ranked fifth out of thirty two teams. They have two shutdown cornerbacks and they really have a good defensive line. Aaron Kampman is especially good with eleven sacks and Cory Williams with seven sacks to date. Johnny Jolly is a great run stopper too. The Packers linebackers are extremely strong too. Nick Barnet leads the team in tackles. The Green Bay Packers give up an average of 315.4 yards per game. They give up an average of 215.3 yards per passing game. Lastly, the Packers give up an average of 16.8 points per game.
The Green Bay Packers don’t just have a great defense, but they also have a great offense too. This has helped the Packers become a better rounded team. Offensively, they are ranked third out of thirty two teams. The Packers are currently first in their conference, the National Football conference, with a record of ten wins and one loss. The Green Bay Packers keep starting quarterback is Brett Farve. Brett has set many prestigious records and as a result will end up in the Hall-of- Fame upon retirement. Farve’s quarterback rating is 101.5. Although Brett is famous for his passing, the Packers recently have had a strong offensive running game. This helps take the pressure off of Brett and the wide receivers. Another player that makes their offense stronger is the addition of rookie kicker Mason Crosby. Mason Crosby has completed 22 of 28 field goals to date. He also has thirty-two points are extra points. The offensive team has averaged 380.4 yards and 26.9 points per game.
In addition to their outstanding offense, their new coach has worked wonders. Mike McCarthy has the best record of any Green Bay Packer coach in his first twenty-seven games. His record is eighteen wins and nine losses, which is better than Hall-of- Fame coach Vince Lombardi. His success can be attributed to his ability to have his player’s play with confidence and believe in him. The year prior to Mike McCarthy’s arrival, Green Bay Packer, Brett Farve, threw twenty nine interceptions. Mike McCarthy impressed upon Brett that he must make better decisions at the quarterback position. As a result, Brett has only thrown eight interceptions in eleven games this year. McCarthy’s confidence in Farve’s ability to make good game decisions is further evidenced by McCarthy letting Farve call audibles at the start of plays. Farve’s previous coaches limited Brett’s ability to do this. Farve has taken advantage of many defensive situations this year. As a result, the Packers have had an increase in big plays.
Another reason I feel the Green Bay Packers will go to the Super Bowl is they have the best momentum of the NFC. The Packers have won fourteen of their last fifteen games. Only the Patriots have a comparable record at this time. The Packers are also improving as the season progresses. They have scored at least thirty-one points in their last four games. In the last three games, the Packers have led by nineteen points or more. The only weakness appeared to be their running game. However, in the last five games they have averaged 101.2 yards per game. This is a great improvement over the first six games in which they averaged only 65.6 yards.
If the Green Bay Packers keep up their good work, they will make it to and win the Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers strengths that are helping them with their great season are the offense, defense, coaching, and momentum. This could help bring another championship to the NFL franchise that already has more than any other team.

What's Happening in class?

The week of December 17th will be busy!

In language arts, students will be selecting one of their three final draft essays to polish and share with the class. They will also be creating visual aides to go along with the reading of their essays. Preparation for the presentations will take place in class on Monday and Tuesday, and we will begin sharing essays on Wednesday!

In reading, We will be reading the long short story, "Flowers for Algernon." Parents around my age may remember the movie version of the story called Charlie. It's a science fiction tale about a intellectually challenged man who has the opportunity to triple his intelligence! The story delves into the pros and cons of being intellectually challenged and the pros and cons of being intellectually gifted. Charlie, the main character, deals with academic, emotional, and social challenges, and we get to go along for the interesting ride. Students will be taking a quiz on "Flowers for Algernon" on Friday, December 21st!

***All students have selected their new book report books too! They are accelerated reader books and the AR quizzes will be due to me roughly 2 weeks after winter break.

HAVE A SAFE, FUN WINTER BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be in MEXICO! :)

Magazine book report information below:

Magazine Book Report Rubric

Detailed, interesting, well written information 10 points __________
about the person

Neat, detailed, colored cover complete with picture 10 points __________
of person

Overall effort and creativity in the development of 10 points __________
the “magazine”

Magazine Book Report

1. After reading your biography or autobiography, pretend that you are an interviewer, and interview the subject of your book. (If your subject is no longer alive, pretend that he/she is still living.) You will be asking your person 10 in-depth questions which can be answered using detailed information from your book. Based on your person's fame, you will choose an appropriate magazine in which this interview might be found. (Examples: movie star = People Magazine, athlete = Sports Illustrated, political figure = Newsweek or TIME, rock star = Rolling Stone Magazine, etc.)

2. Design a cover for your magazine. First, draw, by hand, a detailed picture of your person and color it. Next, use construction paper, colored markers, colored pencils, or your computer, and add other touches to make it look like an actual magazine cover.
Think about the examples I showed you in class, and remember: Make it colorful!!

3. Your interview must be in final draft form. Either type your questions and answers for your interview, or write them in black or blue pen.

4. This book report is worth 30 points and is due on Thursday, December 13th.

What's Happening in class?

The week of December 10th will be action packed!

In language arts, we will be working on Wordskills unit 8. The unit will be due on Friday.

We will also be writing original myths. What seemingly unexplainable occurance would you like to explain? Do you know the real reason there is thunder? Are the gods and goddesses actually having a fierce bowling competion on Mount Olympus? Students will have a chance to tell their version of why something really is the way it is when they write original myths and share them with the class on Friday. I will be posting some interesting ones next week. Check back and check them out!!

In reading, we will be taking the mythology packet quiz on Monday! It will be worth 35 points, and cover the 4 myths covered in class. A study guide, which includes everything students need to know to do well on the quiz, was handed out and gone over in class today. (Friday, December 7th)

On Tuesday, December 11th, I will be explaining and showing examples of the magazine book report which will be due on Thursday, December 13th. Students will all receive a copy of the book report requirements, and I will also be posting the book report requirements Tuesday afternoon if you'd like to see them!

***Only two weeks left before winter break!!!!!! :)

What's happening in class?

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

This week in language arts, stuents are turning in their final draft persuasive essays. They are due on Monday! The rough drafts looked very good overall, so I'm looking forward to seeing the end results. We will be delving into more grammar this week as well. Prepositions and prepositional phrases will be our focus.

This week in reading, we will continue the mythology unit. Students did a nice job on their god and goddess quiz, and now we will be reading and discussing some chosen myths. In the last myth we read, entitled, "The Trickery of Hermes," we discovered that it's not really white clouds that we see crossing the sky on a windy day, it's actually Hermes, the messenger of the gods, driving his white cattle across the sky.........no really, it is! :) Additonally, we will be doing some more practice for the ISAT reading test, using the ISAT workbook and writing an ISAT extended response tied to the myth, "Phaethon."