Volume 11, Issue 4 A collection of writing pieces chosen by Erickson students to demonstrate their writing growth over the course of the 2014- 2015 school year. The Squirrel and the Dinosaur! Fable By: Gavin Grade 5 Based off of David and Goliath! Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a squirrel named Dave and a di- nosaur named Giant Bob. Giant Bob wants to conquer the squirrels for multiple reasons. First, they have good land. The land had plenty of trees, rocks, other animals, water, just about any- thing a dinosaur would want. Second, they taste good. What meat eating dinosaur doesn’t want a life supply of food? Third, they are easy to destroy' or are they& When the squirrels saw the dinosaur, they hid in any place they could find. (n- der trees, behind rocks, or in the leaves. With this, Giant Bob bragged. )HA-HA-HA! I will destroy you all any second and will be the greatest, most powerful, and smartest dinosaur on Earth, -ou are ants just trying to flee from me, but nobody can escape my enormous eyes. .othing can stop me,/ Dave knew that Giant Bob wasn%t no match for his weapon, God, and the faith Dave had made him even stronger. 0e was one of all the squirrels who praised God but it seemed that he was the only one who remembered his power. Dave remem- bered the stories his mother taught to him about 1dam and Eve. 0ow he created the sky, the world, the land, the sea, and all of the animals, not to mention himself. Dave could picture himself snuggling with his mom and learning about the promises that 1braham had received from the 2ord. 0e would have billions of questions and his mom would do her best to answer then. 0e was definitely a true Christ follower. hink- ing back about all of this, he too, wanted to be brave and determined, 0e gathered 5 smooth nuts and used his favorite stick. 0e went on over to where Giant Bob was camped out. )I will fight you, Giant Bob,/ shouted Dave. )With a stick and some nuts,/ bragged Giant Bob. Before Giant Bob could strike, Dave threw up a nut and hit it with the stick as far as he could. It hit Giant Bob right on the forehead. For a moment, it seemed like noth- ing happened. hen, there was a THUD like an Earthquake, Dave had done it, 0e had destroyed Giant Bob. ) hank -ou, God,/ he mentioned is all of the e5citement. 1nd all of the squirrels lived happily ever after. 6With food, water, and shelter,7 he moral of the story is' Have faith in yourself. The Lord is your most powerful weapon of all! The Pledge of Allegiance By Nick C. Grade 3 Every morning we say the pledge. We pledge to the flag of the USA. We are pledging to honor our country. In the pledge its says to promise to honor the USA. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.” This shows that the people of our country need to respect and value the rules (Constitution) that were made for us. In conclusion, the USA is the greatest country to live in because we are free! All About Dylan By Dylan Grade 3 Have you heard of Dylan? Well that’s me. I am different than other people. My birthday is June 11th. I am eight years old. I go to Erickson School. I have a small house. My background information is really important. In my family I have two brothers, a mom, and a dad, and a dog. When someone needs help I will be helpful and help them. My favorite animal is a dog. My favorite sport is baseball. I have a lot of stories to tell. When I was eight I got a dog and it is very good. When I was in a bas- ketball game I slipped and fell. When I was on my bike my brother fell into me. These stories tell what my life is all about. Things I do well in are basketball because when I shoot the ball I focus on the net. Another thing I’m good at is baseball. I am good at this sport because when I hit the ball I hit it far. I achieved these sports because I tried my best. I struggle in jump rope because I don’t know how to double bounce. Also, I struggle in soccer because sometimes I kick the ball to the other team. One of my goals is to try my best in basketball. Another goal is to hit the ball in baseball. Also my goal is to make every basket in basketball. My career is to win every baseball game. This is what some parts of my life has been. I will keep on trying. Fireworks By Brianna Grade 3 This song is like a poem because it has repeated words like of course baby you are a live wire. The seventh paragraph is similar to a poem. I know this because when I look at the text I noticed it is the short- est one of all of them. The poem is written in second person. I know that because it would said cause baby you’re a fire- work. This reminds me of Madagascar. I love to listen to it. It reminds me of a song fireworks is in the name. I love to listen to it. The Seven Ravens By Jack Grade 3 The central message or them is to make good choices. The text said, “I wish the youngsters would all turn into ravens.” That text support means the man made a bad choice in turning all the brothers into ravens. The second support is “Between things the pitches fell into the brook” That mans it was a bad choice to fight over the can and drop the bucket. The next support is “for a long time she was unaware that she had any brothers.” This sentence means the parents should’ve told her she had brothers earlier so she can go set out to find them. The fourth support is “she is really to blame for the misfortune to her seven brothers.” This means the people were blaming her for the incident. The last support is it devoured little children. That means the sun ate the little kids. This was a great fairy tale. I hope they make a sequel. The Hideous Genius by 8acob Grade 5 -et another day 9arvin was alone with his thoughts. Each day before 9arvin had to go to work he waited if anybody would go to him for wisdom and it was the same re- sult every time. )Nothing, why am I surprised?” 9arvin thought. 9arvin was a wise man, the wisest in the town in fact. But there was a reason he had to put on a mask to make money instead of people coming to him for wisdom for a low price. 0e was hideous, people thought his face so revolting that he had to put on a mask and say he was a different person. 1s 9arvin walked his way down to the farm he worked on, there was a lady sob- bing. hmmm. Should I risk cheering this woman up& Or am I going to make it worse by revealing my face& 9arvin decided to cheer her up and said, )9y name is 1lbert./ 0e lied, )Why are you crying&/ he pulled of his mask, thinking that he made a mistake. )9y parents have died, and none can give me the wisdom I need. For I don%t know where to start,/ She looked up at his face, but instead of looking to disgusted she laid her head on 9arvin%s shoulder, )Why isn%t she running away screaming& 0e pondered )1nd worst of all I am blind,/ She e5claimed. 1 light dinged in 9arvin%s head )I have found my other 0alf, 0e screamed in his mind. )Don%t worry I am one of the wisest men in the town, and I shall give you the wis- dom you deserve,/ ) hank you :ind man, .ow since you have promised to help me I shall give you one wish,/ )One wish& I don%t mean to be rude but: Where have you learned such wizardy&/ )9y parents were friends with the great sorcerer. 0is name was 9arvin,/ )What a coincidence, 9y name is 9arvin,/ he lady looked up at him in confusion )Why do you look as if you have seen impossible happened& 0e asked )Why, you just said that your name is 1lbert,/ In his head he realized had made a huge mistake )Well I was going to tell her the truth sooner or later,/ 0e thought. )Ok, I did not tell you my real name because at first I did not know you were blind and I am one of the ugliest men in the town. 1nd I certainly did not want to scare you by telling you the name of a hideous man,/ )I appreciate the kindness, but back to the wish,/ )Ok, for my wish I want you to retrieve your sight,/ )1re you sure, hat is kind but you don%t need to do that,/ )I am sure/ 1nd with that wish 9arvin was a handsome man and also the lady had retrieved her sight, )I gave you your true beauty that you deserve,/ Anna P grade 5 Saturn I am known for my rings 1nd some other things.