CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.D

Jet Bikes Have you ever run a business from a playhouse? My friends and I have. It is a bike shop. We call it Jet Bikes. One day my friend Trent asked me and my brother Jared if we wanted to build a bike shop out of his old playhouse. Jared and I said, “Yes.” So we went to get permission from my mom to go to Trent’s house and get started. The first thing we did was get some things out of his garage. We got old, rusty bolts; new, shiny nuts; black tape; wrenches; half-empty cans of oil; and screws. Then we built a new roof for the playhouse.

Ann Do you have a friend who loves you? Well, I did. Her name was Ann. She was a very close friend of mine. She was almost like family to me. Ann was very kind, and she had bright blue eyes and curly gray hair. I loved her very much. She invited me to go swimming every summer. We had a lot of fun all those summers. But she could not get in the water most of the time because she was sick. Sometimes my sisters would come swimming, too. But it was better with just Ann and me because I just wanted to spend time with her. Ann always listened to me when I had a problem.

Grandpa, Chaz, and Me It was a few months before my brother was born. My grandpa was perfectly fine, but then he went to the doctor for a checkup. The doctors found something wrong. They said they had to run some tests. Then they said he had colon cancer. The doctors wanted to run more tests, so Grandpa had to stay in the hospital for a while. After he got home, I played with him. He would always play with me and do all sorts of stuff. I loved my grandpa. I liked to hear him play his harmonica. He even tried to teach me how to play it. Then he had to go back to the hospital for surgery.

The Day I Took the Spotlight Wouldn’t it be superb to have one moment when you took the spotlight, to have everybody clapping for you and cheering loudly? I have had that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—the day I took the spotlight! Sometime in February, my teacher told us all about the Woodmen of America speech contest. The topic was “people who have overcome obstacles in their lives.” I thought my great-grandma Lorraine Parsley, who has had recurring cancer 13 times and is still living, would be perfect.

Indy’s Life Story I am going to tell you about my dog and how I got him. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but at some point my parents asked if I wanted to have a dog. I, of course, said yes. We couldn’t decide what kind of dog to get at first, but at last we found a great breed, the Shetland sheepdog. We called a good breeder. I was so excited about getting a dog! Before I knew it, I was on my way to the breeder. I went inside and saw dogs everywhere. It was so hard to pick which one to get. I saw one I liked. It was a small blue merle.

The Terror of Kansas It was 1:00 a.m. on a warm spring Wednesday, and it was storming outside. Casey was sleeping in her bed when she was awakened by a loud blast. It was the tornado siren. Just then her parents rushed in and said, “Grab your pillow and one thing you want to save!” She decided to grab her dog, who was sleeping in her room. Most of her other things she could replace, but she couldn’t replace a living thing. Then she heard a loud crash and ran downstairs with the trembling dog in her arms. When they were all downstairs, they started listening to the weather radio.

Chloe’s Day The first thing I do when I wake up is lick myself with my pink, scratchy tongue. Then I get up and stretch. First I stretch my front legs, then I stretch my back legs. Next, I go wake up Erin’s mom by scratching on her door. Sometimes she sprays me with a squirt bottle filled with water to stop me, but mostly she gives me my favorite smelly salmon cat food with medicine in it. Then I sleep until lunch. When I wake up again, my stomach is growling, so I meow for more food. Usually Erin’s mom gives me more, but sometimes she tells me to go eat my hard, dry cat food.

The Haunted House Have you ever been trick-or-treating when you came upon an old house and wanted to explore it? Well, I’ll tell you a story about five kids, Jake, Zach, John, Bob, and Sean, who did it. They were trick-or-treating in their neighborhood, going door-to-door, when they came upon an old house. “Let's go in,” Sean said. Everybody said they would. They started up the walk. The grass was overgrown, and there were a couple of broken windows. They got to the door, and it opened by itself. They went inside. They had flashlights with them, so they turned them on.

I Am Attean I am a swift hunter and a polite young man. I wonder if I can find my manitou. I hear my lost mother calling. I see my gone father hunting. I want to learn the white man’s signs. I am a swift hunter and a polite young man. I pretend to hunt moose. I feel the wind behind me. I touch the rattling water. I worry about the white man's trap. I cry to see my camp leave. I am a swift hunter and a polite young man. I understand I must go hunt. I say there should be peace. I dream of unity with the white man. I try to be brave. I hope to see my camp again. I am a swift hunter and a pol

Did You Ever Look At . . . Did you ever look at the stars in the sky? What did you see? I saw the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper. I look very closely and see the shape of my face. Did you ever look at the sky on an afternoon? What did you see? I saw children in a train and a very big castle. Sometimes, if you look very closely, you may see your beautiful face. Did you ever look in the mirror? What did you see? I saw my beautiful skin, blond hair, and hazel eyes. Sometimes, if you look very closely, you will know that you are truly beautiful, too!