Ziya's Published Writing

I’m Ziya, I am a Second Grade student at Cheremoya Elementary School in room 5. At the beginning of the school year we had to use Zoom to go to school because of COVID-19. It was hard to work on Zoom, but now we get to go to school in person because COVID-19 is ending. I love that COVID-19 is ending!

It was hard to stare at a screen for very long. It was so boring that I had trouble paying attention unless he played a video. It was hard to talk to the other students because you are looking at a screen and there are so many people talking. Break-out rooms were hard too because it was all dialogue and not doing something. Then, because I had trouble paying attention, I had trouble doing the homework. I was not sure if I was doing it right. The technology would stop working if I didn’t plug in my computer and it died or the internet was down. Sometimes we would just get kicked out of zoom too. Zoom was confusing and frustrating. I am very glad Zoom is over!

I was nervous about going to my classroom for the first time. I was never there in person before. I visited the school, but COVID-19 came and I was not able to do school in person. I thought I would not be able to do the work, but it is so much easier being in a classroom. I can now pay attention and understand the work he is doing. Days seem shorter being in the classroom in person. I think it is because I am more present and we get to go on the structure at recess. It is not just school stuff. We get to play too. The monkey bars are my favorite. It is easier to interact with the other students. We can talk to each other instead of talking to a screen. I am excited about being in the classroom!

Long ago, there was a boy named Randy. Randy is 6 years old and his favorite movie is Jurassic Park. He lives on Acorn Road in cottage with his mom and dad. The cottage is a small brown two story home on top of a mountain. Inside Randy’s house there is a fireplace. Randy is a brave boy. In the evening, Randy goes to other mountains by himself.

As he was crossing strawberry hill, he saw a stranger. The stranger was tall and was wearing a purple jacket with red pants. His name was Harold.The stranger ask Randy, “If you could choose one special power what would it be?” Randy told him he wanted to become a dinosaur. The stranger made Randy’s wish come true by putting a spell on him.

Later that night, Randy was so excited about his special power that he couldn’t fall asleep. The next morning he slept in past noon and he had already missed so much of the day. Randy quickly ran down stairs, ate breakfast, and went outside to use his special power. Randy punched the ground very hard to turn himself into a dinosaur. Randy turned himself into a T-Rex! He began climbing over mountains and cliffs so much easier. It was starting to get late and Randy knew it was time to get back home. On the way home, he ate a few coyotes.

When Randy arrived home he realized he was way too big to fit into the front door! He went around to the other side of the house and looked into his parents window. Inside, his parents were sleeping with headphones so that they couldn’t hear anything. Randy roared so loudly to wake them up but it didn’t work. After roaring over and over again for 10 minutes Randy was out of breath and panting, he had given up. Randy began stomping over to the nearby village. When he arrived, the people of the village saw him and ran for their lives! One person shouted, “Look out for the big dinosaur, get out of the way!” Randy began crying because he didn’t know how to turn back into himself.

Randy decided to run back over the hills to find the stranger who gave him the magical power. The stranger says to him, “You like the saddest dinosaur in the world.” Randy replied, “I have scared everyone away from Harold-ville!!”. Randy sobbed. The stranger told him to grab a pail of hot lava from the magical volcano and pour it onto himself. Randy quickly runs over the the volcano, pours the lava on himself, and he magically turns back into a child. Then he runs back down the mountain into the village and he grabs a microphone from the microphone shop. Randy runs back into the hills where the people are hiding and he gets to the front of the crowd to let everyone know that he was the T-Rex. Everyone from the village believed him and they let out a big sigh of relief. They all ran back down to their village and lived happily ever after.

Thee End.

Preparations:

I decided to use a milk carton because I thought it would be big enough for my idea. I had to gather a milk carton, small net, paint in the colors of purple, red and light blue and bird feed. I also needed paint brushes, scissors and popsicle sticks. I already have the paint, scissors, milk carton, paint brushes, pencils, popsicle sticks and tape. I’m going to use the same bird feed we use for our parakeets. The only thing I may need to buy is the small net.

I’m using a milk carton for my bird feeder with a door cut out in the front that will have a small net covering it so that the birds can get the food but squirrels can’t. I’m going to use the lid of the milk carton to pour bird food into the feeder. I will make a roof out of popsicle sticks to keep it dry and as a perch for the birds. To prepare I washed the milk carton out and left it to dry. 

I might have trouble finding a net and I think the squirrels might be able to one day figure out how to open the lid.

 

Building:

Step 1: Washed the milk carton

Step 2: Painted milk carton and let dry for one day

Step 3: Cut five popsicle sticks in half and glued them together with a glue gun to make the roof and perch.

Step 4: Cut out the front of the carton.

Step 5: Glue the net on to the front and cover the edges with popsicle sticks.This makes it squirrel proof.

Step 6: Glue on the roof and perch.

Step 7: Punched holes at the top and tie strings in it to hang in a tree.

Step 8: Fill with bird seed and hang up.

I realized that there was too much space inside the carton so we put extra cardboard inside to make a platform for the bird feed to sit on so the birds can reach it. Instead of putting the net on the inside like I planned I had to put it on the outside because it was too hard to glue it inside. 

My babysitter JL helped be with using the glue gun so I wouldn’t burn myself because glue guns can be very hot. I didn’t have to buy anything to make this bird feeder. I used the net from some potatoes and the milk carton and popsicle sticks and everything else we already had at home.

 

Testing:

Why did I pick that spot? Because there is a bird nest near it.  And squirrels can’t get it.

Who helped put it up: My dad did.

What did I do to check that my goals were met:  We are going to watch to make sure the birds come and the squirrels don’t.  I don’t know yet if it worked.

Were the goals met?  The bird seed we have is for Henry and Elisabeth (our parakeets).  If we get wild bird seed it will fit better. I will buy wild bird seed.

DId you see any bird’s visit the bird feeder: Not yet but my dog is outside.

What would you do to change of improve the design: I would keep the netting and the roof. I would change the colors, and the bird seed to fit the net better.

 

Facts:

The bird feeder is  9 1/2 inches tall.

The bird feeder is attached to metal fountain with a yarn.

The food inside the bird feeder contains bird seed.

 

My name is Jim Peterson. I deliver food to people’s home. One gray day,I had to deliver a pizza to the haunted house on Willow Street. I parked my car and slowly walked up the little path and I saw the house.

I rang the doorbell, but nobody came to open the door. So I gave it a little push and it was not locked. I yelled “Hello?” and a ginormous person came down the stairs. I thought he would break the stairs.

The person told me to come in and wait. I stood in the kitchen and waited. While I was waiting, I looked around and noticed a lot of unusual things. There were no kitchen things in the room.

When the person returned after some time, I noticed something strangely different and I ran out the door. He was floating!

My invention is doors that open automatically when there is an accident. It will be called the Automatic Door Opener.It opens up the car door and then you can hop out if your car is damaged. It comes with cones and stairs so you can exit the car safely. I just got the idea from my head.

It’s made out of batteries, old robots, and an engine. It works by using a “brain” to control it. It looks like a huge giant box that pops out into smaller things.

My invention is important because it helps people not be stuck in the car after an accident. It would make the world easier because it’ll help people get out of the car after an accident.

I want Mr. Cheung to buy my art because I think he might like it. It looks like a snail and it’s the biggest of all my other drawings.

One of the things I use everyday for so many reasons is something I learned in P.E. I learned how to get through an obstetrical course. It was very hard at first, but then it became fun to do. My P.E. teacher taught us that to just keep going once we start, never stop. That’s a good lesson for all the thing I do including homework and chores. The obstacle course is a good way for me to use up my extra energy, and I have a lot of energy. I get very tired after going through my obstacle course. It is great to have an indoor activity I can do alone since we are staying home now.

The course includes running up some stairs and then running down those stairs. I swing, jump over across the river of lava and do two somersaults to finish the fall and quickly get away from the danger. I can do it in any order I want to make it more exciting. And then I do it again and again and again.

I practice making up different obstacle courses to make my legs, arms, and heart stronger. Building obstacle courses is a way to build my imagination too. Sometimes I am in the jungle or the desert or the woods. I can even pretend I am getting awat from dinosaurs. They are easy to build. I just use things I have at home. I’m lucky I have a swing in the middle of our living room. Not a lot of houses have swings in the living room.

My P.E. teacher gave us ideas about what to use and how to build an obstacle course. It took only five minutes to build the first course. The most important part is being safe. Using pillows, cushions, and having an adult nearby is very important. The first time I did my obstacle course I tumbled down the stairs. I landed on my back, shoulder, and head, but I didn’t get hurt since I had the cushions to fall on. So, I got up and tried again. It is not just an obstacle course for my body, I also learned how important it is to get up and try again if I make a mistake in reading, writing,or math.

I can’t wait to be able to have my friends come to my house so we can build an obstacle course together. I’m sure they will have new ideas and great moves to teach me.

 

First, build the foundation by following the directions. Next, you have to read the directions to build the set. You have to be very careful not to lose any pieces. Try keeping them in the bag that they come in.

You can create cities and towns. Many different characters have big adventures. Some Legos have wheels and move in the sets.

I am working on my favorite one right now. It is a big victorian home that is really big and very beautiful. It is very, very tall. It has people, furniture, and a street light. I don’t decide what to build the directions sell me what to build.

I keep Lego sets on a shelf. When I want to, I can take one down and play with it. My friends like to come over to see if I have any new Lego sets.

This weekend Ziya watched a video. The video is called Wallace and Gromit. One of the videos my mom does not let me watch. One of the videos is called The Wrong Trousers. Wallace and Gromit are my favorite video.

The next day in the afternoon I went on a bike ride with my dad. We rode on the sidewalk. There were a lot of cars driving near us. I didn’t get scared of the cars. We arrived at the park and played in the grass.

The next morning I went on a walk with my mommy and my dogs Briggs and Zoro. On our walk we saw a coyote. We weren’t scared of the coyote. We continued on our walk until the pathway ended.We made it to the top of the mountain. The view was so beautiful and we ate a snack.