Eleven Writing

How has the way strangers treated each other different on this day?

On this very sad day, everything happened. In the morning at 8:30, a plane hit the first Twin Tower. A while later at 9:08 a.m, another plane hit the second Twin Tower. After the planes crashed, everyone was being treated nicely. Strangers were helping people they didn't know.

When Alex and NuNu go on the bus, they have a contest where they look out the window and they have to keep a straight face while looking at strangers. It is hard because people have a bus face ( A bus face is where they just look at the kids on the bus weirdly.) so it makes it hard. On that one day, when they were going to play that game, everyone looked at them and gave them a nice smile. Strangers were helping people get out of the towers and helping them walk to where they would be safe. 

It was a hard job to do, about 30 minutes later, the first Twin Tower collapsed still with people inside. All the firemen were trying to get the people out in time. Not everyone survived the first Twin Tower collapsing. Then, the second Twin Tower collapsed. Only a couple people survived that one too. Smoke and debris covered lots of New York. It was crazy! 

Everyone was extra nice, kind, and extremely friendly. This wouldn't really happen on a normal day in New York. Lots of times people don't care what other people are doing or where they are going. Strangers don't go up to people and say, “What are you doing” or “Where are you going.” On that day people wanted to make sure everyone got home to their families. That task was very challenging. Strangers from all over New York helped out big time. A lot of people didn't get to come home because they didn't survive the attacks of September 11, 2001. We will always thank the strangers who helped and who really tried. We will also remember all the people who had died from the attacks of September 11, 2001.

How to make a Glogster

How to make a Glogster!

Introduction

Have you wanted to make your posters on an iPad? Well now you can! Glogster is a poster app. You can use it for a project or just for fun. Many people use this app and say it is very cool. Use these instructions so you can use it too!

Materials 

a project or reason 

an electronic device

the app Glogster downloaded and functioning

an idea of what your presentation will look like

Before Glogster

Plan your idea on a piece of paper. 

Make a any adjustments that are needed.

Think: your Glogster needs to be readable and easy to follow.

Keep it simple or make it awesome!

During Glogster

Use the tools to make your project snazzy.

Background

This will make your project from boring to not boring.

Click on the button the says walls.

Now click on the background that goes with your project.

Text

You can always type in things that you need.

Click on the button that says text.

If you want to have heading then click heading.

That is the same for other types of writing like paragraph.

After you get what you need, use the text to type in what you want.

Images

Now you can put your videos in your presentations.

Click on the button that says images.

Now click on the picture that you need.

Videos

Your videos can be put in your presentation.

Click on videos.

Now click on the video that you need.

Audio

Audio is so you can record your voice.

Click on audio

A box will come up so you can record your voice.

You can always record your voice again.

Tip: make sure that you are close to your device when you record.

Web

Now you can put images and videos from the web in your presentation.

Click on web.

A little screen will pop up with the web in it.

Don't forget to put your sources in.

    Graphics

 Graphics are images show a lot of different things.

Click on the button that say graphics 

Pick the one that you need

Trash 

The trash is place for all of the unwanted materials go. 

Drag the item you want off of your project.

Pull it close to the trash until the lid opens.

Now you can design any way you want to! Have fun!!

Glossary

Heading: a title

Paragraph: a segment of information, 4 to 5 sentences.

Poster: a board is usually filled with information about a topic(s)

Glogster: an app that you can download in the App Store. It is a poster app that lets you design in your own way.

Functioning: working properly 

Sources

www.glogster.com 

The glogster app

www.dictionary.com 

Drawing Pad

Glogster Example

What Makes the USA Special to Me?

What makes the USA special to me? 

It's of course that we are named the “Land of the Free”

I love that we all have our own pride

And thanks to our Military, we don't have to hide

Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and the Navy too

They all sacrifice their lives for me and you

I love how our country is always brave, tough and strong

And I love to sing to the USA’s National song

I love to learn about all of the country's nifty sightings

Especially reading all of the famous president's writings 

I love how our country has its own Liberty and Justice for all

And it makes sure that the American flag will never fall

I love all of the places you can go to in the United States

The park, the beach, even school with all of your classmates

I really enjoy how we always keep this amazing country clean

I admire how there is not much dust to be seen

I love our government and all of its fair laws

Oh, right now, they totally deserve an applause 

Thanks to George Washington we have all that we need

Can you believe he fought for us?

 That was such a good deed!

He did it for our country, once and for all

He made the USA and he made it stand tall

Once again, what makes the USA special to me? 

It's the people, the places, and that we are free! 

Gossamer Writing

Inesh Parikh- Gossamer Point of View Vocabulary Story

              Fastidious: First day of her new assignment without Littlest One:

I methodically climbed up the front steps of my new house. It is a good thing that I am away from that little nuisance. I never liked her. Though I should have been a little more sentimental to her. She asked so many questions. I finally get a new house with nobody to disturb me. Woo-Hoo! This is going to be great. I looked around and her house is so dull. I actually felt some sympathy for the person who lived here. I’m done looking at the whole house except the basement. I am usually a minimalist but today I wanted some action by walking all over the house. As I descended down to the basement I saw a lot of pictures but what shocked me was downstairs. It was astonishing! There was a milion photos. This women was in her 100’s! There was photos of her traveling the whole world and about her family. It turned out that the old-old women had a very good life. Then I saw the most astonishing photo. About the animal I fear the most, A cat! 

I then went back up. I was a little frightened but what if that photo was old. I went back to my happy thoughts. I soon reached the really old woman's room. She was sleeping very nicely. I earnestly bestowed a dream for her which came from the basement photos. Well, my work here was done. I will return to the heap now. Then I heard a colossal sound. It made me immobilized. I was bewildered. After a few seconds, I knew who made the sound. The cat! When I turned around, I saw its menacing face. The cat was almost kind of poised to eat me. I ran as fast as I can. The cat was catching up to me. I didn’t have enough time to disappear. I sneaked past some doors. Then I saw the front door. I was almost there but the cat just jumped out of nowhere blocking my path. “MEEEAAAAAWWWWWWWW!” The cat said. I was so scared and I thought about how I should have just stayed with Littlest One. LITTLEST ONE! I just thought of the best idea. I always told Littlest One not to flutter unless needed. We’ll now was the perfect time to use it. I easily fluttered out of the house. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

 P.S (I just included this) Aftermath: After this, I went to a new house. My personality changed. Soon, Littlest One (now Gossamer) was the leader. I was third in command in the heap. I was now nice to Littlest One. I was respected by others. My life was way better! I also helped get Rotund get back to being on the good side (My sequel called “The Good Sinisteed”. I wrote about this in my Gossamer Test). When you think about it, Littlest One (now Gossamer) might of saved and changed by life. Thank you Gossamer!  

Investwrite Writing

                                                       Investwrite Writing

You are on a plane. The plane is going to drop soon you will have to jump out. If you jump out of the plane without a parachute, you will die. Luckily, we do have parachutes. You have to chose between two parachutes. A Hasbro Parachute and a Mattel Parachute. The better company’s parachute works. Have you picked a parachute? Not to change your mind or anything, but I will tell you why I would pick the Hasbro Parachute. Listen closely because your life may depend on it. 

I think Hasbro is a great company. When we bought it in the Stock Market Game, Hasbro costed $75.03. We bought ten shares (my group’s name is the Stockers). Now it is all the way up to $78.51 (10:11 A.M 3/18/16). Hasbro had actually almost went up to 80 once. Hasbro is one of our best companies in the Stock Market Game. Hasbro Overall is a great company, but let's get to the main topic. Is Hasbro a good long-term investment? I think Hasbro is a good long-term investment because Hasbro sells a lot of products. They also get a lot of advertising. Every month, they make new products. If one fails, the other one works. Hasbro also has some of the most popular board games. Now, that gets us to the next topic which is what products do Hasbro make.

Hasbro makes things that kids (from babies to teenagers) . Can you guess what it is? If you said that Hasbro makes games and toys, you are correct. Hasbro makes things for babies and also for teenagers. They even make games for adults. I think 98% of the people who have kids and have a home, have or had a Hasbro product somewhere. The Hasbro board games I have are Sorry, Clue, Trouble, and Battleship. I might have even more games of Hasbro! Wow, that is a lot of Hasbro games for me! I think that a lot of people have a lot of Hasbro games just like me. To think, I have no Mattel game but have so many Hasbro games. Well, that brings us to the next topic, who are Hasbro’s competitors. 

Hasbro’s main competitor is Mattel. Like I said before, I have a lot of Hasbro products but no Mattel product. Hasbro and Mattel are kind of the same because they both make toys, but Hasbro makes way more board games then Mattel. Hasbro is a old company. I think Hasbro is a better company then Mattel because if it wasn’t for Hot Wheels, Mattel wouldn’t have even been close in the race for best gaming company. Also, Hasbro sells way more products then Mattel. Even with Hot Wheels, I think Hasbro is way better then Mattel. I am pretty sure that a lot of people would agree with me.

I think Hasbro is a better long-term company then Mattel because I am pretty sure that Hasbro will keep on creating more games for a long time. They will also continue to create other versions of the already popular games. I think Mattel will run of ideas and then will have to rely on their best products only. People would slowly become bored of those games because they have played it too much. They would want different games. If Mattel can’t make more new games, they would have to close. Then Hasbro would be the only major game and toy maker in the Stock Market. It would probably rise a lot because of that. I know I am getting too far ahead but what I just said is definitely a possibility. Do you agree with me? I hope that I could predict the future so I could know for sure. As I have explained above, I think Hasbro is a way better company then Mattel.

Overall, I just want to say that Hasbro is a great company to buy especially long term. It is one of the best and I know it will be one of the best a few years later too. It is making money for me in the Stock Market game and I know it will make money for you if you buy it in the actual Stock Market. I gave you so many reasons so I hope you understand why Hasbro is such a great long-term company. Hasbro may not be one of the best companies ever, but for me Hasbro is pretty legendary.

Okay, I will give you ten seconds if you want to pick a different parachute….Jump!

                                                             After You Land:

 Congratulations, you stayed alive because you picked the Hasbro parachute! Like I said before, my essay might save your life!

        

 -All this is possible because of the app Market Watch. 

        

Eleven Writing

                                                             A Scary Day ( 9/11)

     6) Write a story about one of the Muffin People and what they may have seen that day.

It was a great day! Full sun and perfect temperature. I was heading to my office. Let me correct myself, it was a regular day until everything went wrong. Let me introduce myself. I am Tom Kawasaki (20 years old). I work at World Trade Center as a Stockbroker. I will start from the beginning. I was just walking down the street. “Hey Tom” Billy said to me. He was one of my good collegges. “Hi” I said back. It is such a good day. I continued to walk and there it was, the huge World Trade Center. The center held some of the most modern buildings in the US (the twin towers). The only problem was that I had to work on floor number 104, the highest floor in the North Tower. I went up the elevator in my office. I said hi to Billy again. “Hi Tom” Billy said back to me. I asked him if you want get coffee in the 40 floor and he said yes. Little did I know this would be my luckiest decision in my whole life.

 Billy and I had our coffee and were starting to go back up. We entered the elevator. Then we heard a bang. BBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!! LIGHT SHATTERED! THINGS BROKE! EVERYONE’S HEART WAS BEATING! Me and Billy were at the 100th floor at the time. Then everything went quiet. We were both shocked! Then we began to fall. “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Billy and I said. We were falling pretty fast. The only thing which slowed us down was some of the wires which were under us. Then I saw a way Billy and I could escape. I knew it was the only way out alive.

I told Billy my idea. My idea was that because of the blow to the electricity, the door kept on opening and closing. It wasn’t that fast so at right time, we could jump out. Me and Billy held hands. We knew one wrong second and we would die. We knew we needed perfect timing to get on a floor. Then I saw the perfect opportunity. “GOOOOOOOO!” I said. Then we positioned our feet, and jumped. I then looked around. WE MADE IT!

I knew there was no time to celebrate. We were still on the 55th floor. We knew that anything could happen, and it did. Right at that second the whole air tank exploded. BAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM! Everything exploded and then the floor set on fire. “ HELP US!” Billy said. Then we saw a woman stuck. “Help me!” she said. We had to get her out. Billy and I pulled and finally got her out. The woman thanked us but we all knew that we needed a plan. We were trapped in the fire for a long time. We couldn't think of any idea. Then I saw a little hole to go to the stairs. We went through at the hole and made it to the stairs. We knew it was time to run for your life and that is exactly what we did.

We ran and ran down the stairs and then we were on the second floor. We were so close and then when we just reached to last floor everything went wrong.BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG I heard and we knew that this was not good. We ran and then everything began to fall on us we passed the front door. Everything was shifting our way. We ran for our life's. We ran so hard that it was crazy to think that I didn’t make track team in high school. Then Billy fell. “Help!” Billy said. We pulled him out we kept on going and going. Then the whole tower fell behind us. For the first time I felt relief. Billy, the Woman, and I all knew that we just made it.

Well, after that I headed home. When Family saw me they ran to me and hugged me. It was a big group. By the way, I have three kids. And we all lived happily ever after even though this was not a fairytale. It was more like a nightmare.

Meanwhile: Billy went home safety too. He had 2 kids. We also later found out that the lady's name was Sonia. She thanked us so much. I found out that she worked on the same floor that I worked in. She was also getting coffee. What a coincidence!

Should Kids Lose Recess Due to Bad Behavior

I Think That Kids Shouldn't Lose Recess Due to Bad Behavior 

       

  With research showing benefit of recess, more schools limit or ban taking away recess to punish students. Researchers say that kids play is coming more creative even though the time to do it shrinks. Also a Stanford study shows that recess is a very important part of school. Well organized recess programs put student in important play and prepares them to learn when they are in class. Recess is most children favorite part of the day. 

  Yes I agree that you should punish kids, but I think you should do it in a different way. Instead of taking away recess you should send the work they don't finish home for homework or have them do it during their free time in the classroom. Play time is just as important can be as important as class time for helping students performed to the best of their abilities. Recess is most children favorite part of the day. It can be an important time for developing social skills

              

               Recess is important because it allows kids to run around and get rid of energy. Being active helps stimulate the mind. Having recess talks away the school day. It gives your brain a break. I don't think kids should lose recess due to bad behavior because recess is important for kids social skills.Their social skills won't get any better and their behavior won't get better either. Their social skills won't get any better because they will not be talking to their friends. This is a problem because that will make that kid behind the others. It might be the only part of the day that they are able have time to socialize.  

                Recess is important because children are able to get fresh air. That is important because they are in a building all day. The students who lose recess are the ones who need it the most. They need it because they need a break from doing work. Keeping them inside to finish it doesn't allow them to run around and be free. All work and no play doesn't make a happy kid. Breaking up the day is always a good thing. That is why i think taking away recess is a bad thing to do. 

Darth Paper

How to make Darth Paper

 

Want to impress your Star Wars friends with origami, you can use this amazing step by step origami Vader instructions!

Materials: Black construction paper(7X3)

White marker or Metallic marker

1.Since Darth Vader was tall, Darth Paper is tall so hold up the paper up.

2.Now fold the paper from the right side of the paper a little more than the center of the paper.

3.Next, you’ll do the exact same thing except with the left side and this time go only to the middle.

4.Now fold top left side of the paper towards the out, but not all the way.

5.Now take out the flap from the inside.

6.We can now so the same thing you did to the left side, to the right.

7.Take the top corner and fold down, but not all the way.

8.Now let's make his helmet a bit more rounder, crease back the top two corners.  

You have made a Darth Paper, you may try the challenging part or just color it in now.

Great you chose the challenging part!

Take the bottom middle of the helmet and crease it up, now you’ll notice that it’s folding the sides too, keep it and fold that part too.

Now take the bottom two triangles you just made and flip those under the helmet.

Congratulations!!!

You finished!

Now you can draw a face and and cut out a paper lightsaber.

This couldn’t of been done without Tom Angleberger, the New York Times Bestselling Author of the series of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.  You can check out his website here.

website:http://origamiyoda.com/

And his YouTube video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1AAim4yV-EA

Eleven Writing

Prompt: 4) How would the story have been different if Bobby came home but not Alex's Dad? Write the new ending.

Alex was waiting. Waiting and hoping and praying that his dad would come home. “I mean how could he not come home? I had even hung up a banner! He has to come home! That’s it, this is nonsense, he is coming home!” Alex thought to himself. He really hoped that he was coming home and that when NuNu woke up he would be home. He made dinner, he cleaned the dishes, and he put NuNu to sleep. “Come on universe help me out!” Alex thought. After a few minutes past, Alex got worried, he was starting to lose hope and all he could say was “Please come home dad, please.”

Mack was waiting, and waiting, and waiting. He was just staring out the window waiting. He was hoping that Bobby would come home, but just like Alex, he was starting to lose hope. What if Bobby didn't come home? What if I will never see him again, what if he and Dottie wouldn't get to say goodbye? These were all thoughts that were rushing through Mack’s head. He tried to think about other things, but he just couldn't. He couldn't take his mind of of this thing that was weighing him down. It was just so awful to think that Bobby might not come home. 

Waiting, still waiting. Just hoping that Alex’s dad would come home. “It’s my fault. This happened because of me, all because I said that I hated him. None of this would have happened if I didn't say that. Just please dad, please come home. I miss you. I don't hate you, so please.” Alex said to himself. There was still no sign of his dad. “Come on, first my dog runs away, then my dad isn't home yet, come on!” Alex thought as he was biting his nails. He and his mom were so nervous that he might not come home. Alex was starting to gain a little more hope. He started to think that maybe his dad was coming home and the bus was just taking a little longer, or if he was walking, he might have stopped to pet a dog, or even find Radar! For Alex, things were looking up.

“I want Robert! Where is he?” Dottie exclaimed. Mack didn't know what to do. He saw people covered in dust and debris walking down the street to their families. He wasn't sure, but he didn't think that Bobby was walking down the street. Out the window, Mack could see footprints of dust scattered on the street. It was just so hard to imagine that your son is not coming home. He saw a whole clump of people walk onto the street, but he was almost positive that he wasn't coming home.

Alex was, once again, starting to lose hope. Maybe his dad was not coming home. Maybe he was gone. “The last thing I said to him was I hate you, I DON’T hate him. He’s my dad, I love him. What if he can never find out that I wasn’t being serious, it wasn't true.” Alex thought. What if that was it? It was getting late, but Alex refused to go to bed. He had to wait and see if his dad would actually come home.

Mack basically knew that Bobby wouldn't be coming home, but he still had a sprinkle of hope that he might be. He saw a man, who was covered in dust and debris, walking on the same side of the street that Mack’s house was on. He was wiping his eyes clear of dust and started to look around. “His eyes look like I have seen them before. Who is that?” Mack thought to himself. “No, it can't be. Is it? Wait, Bobby?” Bobby sprinted to the door, tears rolling down his face, and he ran up to his father. Now both men were crying. After reuniting, they headed inside. Dottie even remembered who he was. To Mack, everything was perfect.

“AGH, I wanted this day to be perfect, then this happened.” Alex said to himself. Ring ring ring ring. The phone had just gone off, Alex just thought that it would be a salesman or something so he didn’t think much of it. His mom got a worried look across her face, but Alex had not realized. She slowly walked over to the phone, debating with herself if she should pick up the phone or not. She quickly reached for the phone and put it right against her ear immediately. “What happened to him, where is he? Tell me!” She exclaimed. Alex jerked his head to his mother and started listening in on his mother’s conversation. Tears streamed down his mother’s face and she started sobbing. That is when Alex knew that his dad was gone.

Persuasive Writing

 Should College Athletes Be paid

Should college athletes be paid? What do you think? Don’t worry. I will give you some time to think. Few minutes later: I think college athletes in very popular sports colleges should get paid. What I mean by that is that there are some colleges and leagues which are really popular and good in college sports. So I think that the athletes in those colleges or leagues should be the ones who should get paid. If not every sport, then at least pay the athletes from the the 5 major sports (basketball, baseball, football, hockey, and soccer). I hope after this you read this, you will think just like me on this topic.

On March 13, March Madness (NCAA Division 1 Championship) begins with Selection Sunday. Like the name says, the tournament is “Madness” because 68 teams (they made it by either winning  their conference or getting an at- large bid which is that you are one of the best teams in the country but you don’t win you conference tournament) compete in the tournament. Even by getting this far, the athletes don’t get paid. They go through the madness but get nothing in reward. Also many people bet on which team will do what. Tv companies and colleges get paid for the “Madness” too!

My second reason I think that college athletes should be paid is that everyone else gets paid except them. Tv companies and other broadcasting companies get paid by showing them on TV. Colleges also get paid for the athletes work. Even coaches get paid though they do work hard coaching the players so they deserve to be paid. The athletes work hard too but they don’t earn money like the coaches.

That now gets us into my third reason that I think college athletes should be paid. Like I said in the my second reason, the athletes work really hard but they get nothing in reward (money). The athletes go to hours and hours of practices a few times every week until the season is over. They get some stress because they have to travel all over the country (or part of the country because it depends on conferences) for games. The athletes  also put in all their effort to win and they even have to face injuries along the way.

People have told the NCAA corporation a lot of the similar reasons I have told you , but the NCAA says that the top colleges give free scholarships just for sport talent. The NCAA corporation says that the the free scholarship is just like earning money from playing a sport. That means that the scholarship covers the cost you would earn if you played a sport. I think that college athletes should earn more than the scholarship itself.

Think about Lebron James, David Ortiz, Tom Brady, and Patrice Bergeron. All of them went to college and continued their sports career. Imagine the people who were really good at sports but did not want to go to the next level. They had a really good talent for sports but maybe they wanted to do programming. All of their talent went to waste. If they would of got payed, they could have at least used their talent to use. 

That concludes my persuasive writing. I hope you understand why I want college athletes to be paid. I wish that you are on my side after you read this. This went into court and is still being decided. It is good to know that people are thinking just like me. You should too! I hope it happens and I wish that you do too!

What happened this year in the College Basketball Division 1 Championship is:

 

As you can see, the Final Four teams were Oklahoma, Villanova, UNC, and Syracuse. Villanova won the National Championship with a game winning 3-pointer. Kris Jenkins made the 3-pointer on the last second. It was awesome. The College Basketball season began in November and it finally ended  ended on April 4. It was a great season but like I have said many-many times before, it was bad that the college athletes did not get paid.

Bibliography:

Pictures:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PemrxrmwJAo

http://www.ncaa.com/

Information:

ww2.kqed.org

printyourbrackets.com

 

How to Make Cupcakes With Words/Symbols

Have you ever seen a cake or cupcake with words inside? If you have you probably wondered how you can make it, it's actually pretty simple if you have the patience. Here you can learn how to make cakes and cupcakes with words inside. 

1.You need to make a cake in any color you want, but you have to bake it in a brownie pan. The reason you do this is because this will make the words/shapes. 

2.After your cake is done baking you put it in the fridge for 15 minutes so that it can cool and harden a bit. The reason we want the cake to harden a bit is so that there are less crumbs.

 

3. Once 15 minutes has passed you can remove the cake from the pan(if you haven't already). Now you can start making your shapes, but make sure if you're  making cupcakes that the words or shapes can fit inside the cupcake and still have room.

4. Once you finished cutting out your shapes you put them in the freezer until you finish this next step.(We are putting them in the freezer for less crumbs again). After you put your shapes in the freezer we will make the actual cupcakes/cake. 

5. Now you can make you cake batter and start filling the cupcake tray. Tip;Don't fill your tray up all the way, or it'll overflow when you bake it.

6. Once  you've filled your tray, you can add the shapes. You will need to make sure you're  putting them in the right way, you can also use a toothpick to move around the shapes and make sure they are standing upright.

7. Now you bake you cupcakes or cake. You don't need to worry about the cake we already baked burning because, first it's cold, and second, it's inside the batter and it'll take longer for the heat to reach it.

8. Once your cupcakes are done baking you can decorate them however you like, you can even out the word or shape that's inside the cupcake on top so people would know what's written inside. If you want you can even just decorate it normally and surprise people.

9. The last step is the way you present them, you can just leave people to bite into them, but it's hard to see what's written. So instead you can tell them to cut the cupcake in half.

Sources;

http://www.curbly.com/m/11222-how-to-bake-a-heart-or-any-shape-into-a-cupcake

How to Throw A Curveball

How to Throw A Curveball

You will need:

 -a baseball

-a target/catcher

-a baseball glove(optional)

Have you ever wanted to learn how to throw a curveball. Well if you have then you should keep reading. The point of throwing a curveball is to get side and down spin. That is what makes the ball move. Most pitchers in the MLB have this pitch because it is very effective. 

Grip

-You will need to place your fingers like a two-seam fastball 

-Then you will move your middle finger to the same seam as your index.(Or you can keep it the same

Pitching motion 

-By now you should be in the wind-up or stretch 

-now you should start throw the ball the normal way

-Now before you release the ball you act like you are turning a door handle

Follow through 

The follow through is very important so you don't hurt your arm

-After you want to go half way across your body

-Lastly you would want to bring your back leg inline in an athletic position with your front leg

This is how you throw a curveball you should not overuse this pitch or you will hurt your arm. 

  

How to Add Effects on iMovie

How to Add Effects on iMovie:

Hi, today I will be showing you how to do effects on iMovie. I will give a few simple steps for each effect. You will learn how to add filters, speed up or slow down a video, how to put a video on the screen at the same time as another video, how to add text on the screen, and finally, how to split up a video!  If you look at the diagram, you can see the buttons that you will need to click if you do these effects. You can do these effects on as many clips as you want! You won't really need any materials all you will need is a device where you can download the app iMovie. Let’s get started!

How to Add a Filter:

First, you are going to click on the clip you want to add a filter to.

Next, go to the bottom of the screen and press the button that says filter. That button is highlighted in my diagram.

Finally, once you click it, it will show you the different filter options and you can pick one. You can repeat this on as many videos as you want.

How to Change the Speed of a Video:

First, click on the clip you want to change the speed of. 

Then, at the bottom click on the speed button. You can see the button in my diagram.

Find the scroll bar and move it so you get the speed that you like.

How to Put a Video on the Screen at the Same Time of Another Video:

Click on the video that you want to insert another video onto.

Next, press on the button that says video.

All of your videos will show up and you can press the one you want.

Click the button with the three dots.

Finally, a few options will come up and each option will show a different way to place the video on the screen, pick the one you want and you are done!

How to Add Text on the Screen:

Select the clip that you want to add text onto.

Go to the bottom of the screen and select the button that says text.

Choose the kind of text that you want and you are done!

How to Split Up a Video:

Press the clip that you want to split up.

Press the button with the scissors and you should see the word “split”.

Press “split” and your video will be seperated into two parts!

I hope that you have learned how to do some cool effects on iMovie today!

Sources:

I used iMovie to get the diagram.

http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=2246405

Desserted Island

Once upon a time, in land far far away, there was an island. Now, this wasn't any ordinary island. So, you might be thinking that I spelled ‘deserted’ wrong in the title but,  this island has living things on it. So, why is it a desserted island? Well, this island has a curse. Every day at dawn, it will pour all kinds of desserts down on the Island. So today, I'm going to tell you how this came about. 

Once, a really long time ago, on this desserted island, there lived a nice sorceress who everyone on the island knew and loved. But, as she grew older, she began to crave dessert every day. She began to study up on The Magic of Desserts. Soon, she discovered how to make it rain anything she wanted. She made a spell to make it rain dessert every single day. It rained dessert for the rest of her life and she was very happy. when she an old lady she died. The rest of the islanders didn’t know how to stop it from raining dessert and they didn’t have the sorceress to help them eat it. For the rest of their days the island was covered with  desert and soon it became deserted because everyone became tired of all the dessert. Years later, the island became repopulated when a band of pirates ran across the island. Luckily, all the pirates had sweet tooths and ate all the dessert every day. 

AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

-Allison    

Whatever After

           

Whatever After is a great series written by Sarah Mlynowski. Whatever After is about a ten year old girl named Abby who focuses a lot in and out of school and loves fairytales. Her seven year old brother Jonah loves ketchup, climbing, and does not pay attention to fairytales. They have a magic mirror in their basement that only they know about.

 Maryrose is a fairy who lives inside the mirror. Any random day at midnight, she lets Abby and Jonah in the mirror after they knock three times.

 On the first knock, the mirrors starts to hiss. On the second knock, the mirror turns purple, and on the third knock, the mirrors sucks in everything, including them and they land in a fairytale. They never get to see Maryrose, but they know she's there because after their first journey, she spoke to them. The mirror brings Abby and Jonah into any fairytale and it could be any fairytale there ever was. 

If they want to go back home, they have to find a way out by trying to find an object that will bring them in. The problem is,the object can be anything! Before getting out of the fairytale, Abby and Jonah usually mess things up or try to fix them. In the end, they always find a way out. 

One time, they got sucked into Beauty and the Beast. That was one story! Everything there is named for what it is or how people look. Abby and Jonah have to make Beauty (you probably know her as Belle) fall in love with the beast. Apparently, you cannot force love like how Abby was doing it. A lot of wacky events happened and Abby got. . . .  well I’ll let you find out yourself!

You could say the series is called Whatever After because in the end, it is not happily ever after, it's whatever after! This series is great for kids who love fairy tales and adventure because that is what this series is all about! Whatever After is totally worth your time!

                                                                                                                                    By:

                                                                                                                                            Layla

 The first book in the series!

The Color Blue Attacks!!!!!!!!!!!

 Back then everyone loved the color red. Now everyone loves the color blue. Let me tell you how it happened.A long time ago a girl named Joella was playing with her red play set when she heard someone on t.v. say that they found a way to make a unique color. They announced that they would call it blue. Red was vanished from all supermarkets and stores.  Blue was becoming the  best color ever made. When Joella went to her favorite store, Ocelcea, and saw no red anywhere she was surprised. The store even changed their sign to blue. Blue was everyone's favorite color besides Joella’s. She fought and fought for the color red but it never worked. One day Joella gave up on the color red. That is why the color blue is such a famous color.

Batty and Spidy

                                                          Batty and Spidy

There once were 2 best friends, a bat named Batty and a spider named Spidy.

In order to be best friends, Batty had to promise Spidy she wouldn't eat him, but Batty broke her promise and ate Spidy. Now that we got that out of the way I will tell you what happened that made Batty eat Spidy.

Batty woke up at night, because as you know, bats are nocturnal. She woke up Spidy even though he was being a pain about it. " What are you waking me up for!!!! It's night!!!!" Spidy yelled.

" Well, Mr. Boring,I woke you up so we can have some fun!" Batty stated. Even though Spidy was being a pain at the moment, he fixed his mood for Batty. Spidy then told her, "Yes Batty. I know that. You wake me up every night to have fun." Although Spidy was Batty's best friend she was still upset to be woken up at night. When Spidy was fully awake, they went into the woods to explore, which is not fun for Spidy, but is for Batty.

" O.K. we are in the woods. Now what?" Spidy asked." I don't know, I haven't thought this far." Batty replied. After that, they fought a lot about not knowing what to do, being hungry, and being thirsty. Then it happened........... 

"I am so hungry I could eat spider." Batty said with a mischievous look in her eyes. Wide eyed and in disbelief, Spidy replied," You wouldn't dare! You promised to never eat me! That's the whole entire reason why we are  friends!" Gulp! In one swoosh Spidy was gone and in  Batty's stomach." What a satisfying meal." Batty said.

The End 

                                                                                                                                               By:

                                                                                                                                              Layla

The Village Red- Fighting to Catch You Up

In the fight of Purple Tornado, Arnold Crimson fought. As they fought, he watched the mighty Tornado back off into the sunset. He watched as his commander screamed out “ 30.7 seconds! A new record!” That’s the Village Red on a daily basis. The Village Red’s skill is fighting. As you just learned, they are very fast at it! 

Once, when all my ideas were being molded together, there was the idea of 4 villages, all corresponding with each other, all with a specific color, and an amazing group of villages set aside for joining. These 4 villages were: Yellow, Red, Green, and Blue. There have been more villages since then, such as Pink, Purple, and the combo village Magenta, but today we focus on the village Red.

Once, when all the villages were being formed, there was the Village Red. Their supreme fighting skills came from the fact that red is the most violent color and is also the color most associated with anger. Their enemy, as you could probably guess, is anyone who gets on their nerves or in their way.

Now there is only 1 question to ask. When will you chose the Village Red?

Holy Cow!

                

                                        Have you ever wondered where the saying holy cow came from? Well here’s exactly where it came from. 

Once upon a time there was a cow named ma moo moo that lived on a deserted island called cha chu chu. On that island everything is lowercased except the start of sentences and only has one living thing on it…ma moo moo. the only thing that ma moo moo knew was himself. Ma moo moo’s parents died when ma moo moo was just a little calf from a storm. 

One day, he saw a little house and decided to go in. Inside he saw a little rocking chair with a little old lady on it sewing.  The little old lady took him in and ma moo moo helped the lady get milk for her to drink and the lady knitted a sweater for him. They were best friends...until one day ma moo moo got ill and the lady did everything she could for him before he died one day when he was asleep and never woke up. Every night the little old lady would say I miss you...you are my HOLY COW. She passed it on to her children, their children and so on. And that is how it happened. 

  THE END

Hotel Transylvania 2 Review!

This movie is called Hotel Transylvania 2. It is rated PG. It is about this girl named Mavas who had a baby boy named Dennis. Mavas and Jonathan (Her husband) went away and Dracula (Mavas’s dad) took care of Dennis. Dracula wants Dennis to get his fangs so he could be a vampire. Dracula tried and tried!when Mavas got home from looking at houses in California and she was mad. Then, Dracula’s dad came and he hates humans! But, Dracula has a bat that hates humans way more than him. Dennis and one of the baby wolves went outside to be safe but then, they weren't safe anymore! The bat came to get them and they were so scared! Then, the bat got the baby wolf and Dennis! Denis soon got free but the baby wolf was still stuck. Denis got so mad and then… He got his fangs and saved the baby wolf! Everyone was so proud of him and Dracula’s dad and his bat didn't hate humans after all!

I hope you go and see the movie soon!

By: Ava :)

Hatchet

                                                                   Hatchet 

Hatchet is a great book that is based on something similar that happened to the author,Gary Paulsen. It is about a bush plane, CESSNA 406, that crashed into the Canadian wilderness after the pilot had a heart attack. Aboard was Brian Robeson, a 13 year old boy who was on his way to visit his father in Canada after a recent divorce. Brian was left to fly the plane with the little knowledge he had of flying from the pilot before the heart attack. When Brian lands the plane, or more like dive the plane, into the lake, he is grateful to have his only tool he had with him, a hatchet. When he got up to the surface he saw an overhang which he used for shelter and he used the lake for drinking water.  

Using his hatchet, Brian made a fish spear to catch and kill fish from the lake. Also, Brian made a lot of useful items to help survive. He survived a moose attack and a tornado. After the tornado, the tail of the plane came up and Brian built a raft to get the survival pack. When Brian finally got the survival pack, he turned on the emergency transmitter and left it on. While it was on, a plane overhead heard and landed on the lake. The pilot rescued Brian after he was there for 54 days.

Hatchet is a great book for kids who like action and an adventure because there is a lot of action and the story is an adventure.

                                                                                                                                        - Layla A.

The Attack of Purple Tornado

Hibernae was a regular brown bear who was very shy, smart, brave and, of course, sleepy. One night, Star Tail, a lioness who was patterned like the night sky, alerted everyone that they had to gather the war council. Square Bot smiled worriedly when everyone entered. He said, “My data screening shows that our nemesis, Purple Tornado, is approaching.”

“Oh no,” said Sun Paws, taking his seat around the table. “you all know what happened the last time.”

Hibernae looked around the table at everyone's nodding heads. They were all older than her so they had more experience, she wasn't expected to fight anyway since she was mostly known for sleeping. Everyone began murmuring and Hibernae listened for anything that might help her. 

“He's so...big!”

“...can only be defeated by magic”

“...very dangerous”

“You remember all the destruction…”

Prophetic Voice interrupted everyone by saying, “Everyone, quiet! We need to protect the the lab, the castle and make sure Purple Tornado can't get through the portal and hurt anyone else. Disappearing Tiger and Star Tail, you should guard the portal,” Disappearing Tiger nodded his head, “Sun Paws and Waves In The Sky will be at the castle, Square Bot and I will guard the lab.”

“But...what about me?” Hibernae asked, “Where do I go?”

“ Um…”Prophetic Voice started,

“Don't worry about a thing!” Star Tail interrupted with a smile.

“Ok.” Hibernae said dejectedly  and she walked home as the meeting hall once again filled with voices.

Once home, she flopped on her bed and tried to fall asleep but for once she couldn't. Suddenly, she heard a whooshing sound and when she stuck her head outside, she gasped. It was so windy that stones were flying past like leaves and Hibernae could barely keep a paw hold! She finally forced her way outside and dug herself a hole hoping she would be safe from the storm. She huddled in it for what felt like hours listening to the wind howl and her wind chimes making awful noises. She was just thinking, ‘oh I wish that this awful storm would stop!’ When suddenly, everything was quiet. Hibernae cautiously opened one eye and saw purple, everywhere. She closed her eyes again because the purple looked like it was spinning and she was getting dizzy. 

“Oh little bear,” she heard  a deep taunting voice call from above, “come out from your hole.”

She was, frightened but she was no ‘little bear’ so she leapt out of the hole and troweled in the direction of the voice. She spun around in a full circle until she saw the source of the voice, a towering, swirling, purple figure. In a word:Purple Tornado. (Actually that was two words but, whatever) Not wanting to show her fear, Hibernae growled even more fiercely. Purple tornado just laughed his booming laugh as Hibernae took a tentative step towards him.

“Oh, look,” he taunted, “the sleepy bear has finally come out of her little hole. And while she was sleeping, she didn't even notice what my troops did to her precious house.”

Hibernae quickly swing her head in the direction of her house and gasped, before her, stood what used to be her beautiful, peaceful house In ruins. Angry and upset she hurled herself at Purple Tornado who easily moved to the side, not anticipating this, Hibernae had to skid to a halt so that she wouldn't bang into a tree. She spin around and glared at Purple Tornado who smiled he charged again this time this time knowing that he would sidestep, and when he did, she followed but was suddenly spin around and flung against a tree. Dizzy and even more angry, Hibernae sat down to think. ‘Well, he can only be defeated by magic, so I think I'll get Prophetic Voice over here.’ 

“Oh, none of your friends can help,” said Purple Tornado, “I've knocked them all unconscious. And after I do the same for you, I'lL head through the portal. Mwahahahaha!”

“Wait,” started Hibernae, “you can read people's minds?”

“No, you just said the last part about getting Prophetic Voice over hear aloud.”

“Oh.”

“Well, anyway,” Purple Tornado continued,”on with the duel!”

And so, Hibernae lunged and slashed and ducked and charged over and over again. When Hibernae was getting really tired (Purple Tornado hadn't even broken a sweat, of course, because tornadoes can't sweat) she felt a strange sensation, even more sensational than déjà vu,  and suddenly she was just as tall as purple tornado! ‘This must be the magic we need to defeat him!’ Hibernae thought to herself. So, being the smart and brave bear that she was, she lashed out and with a signal blow, Purple Tornado was no more! Hibernae found her friends and when they came to and she had told them her story, they were so astonished and proud of her that they made her the hero of the month. 

The next week, it was Hibernae’s birthday  and everyone came to her house that had just been rebuilt by the village yellow. After the cake and entertainment, it was time to open gifts! Sun Paws and Star Tail hauled in a giant table and when Hibernae looked at it she saw that ingraived in the top was a picture of her fighting Purple Tornado.

The Village Yellow: A Building Story

The village yellow woke up. Amelia Dandelion called out “ I need a house!” and the village was off on their feet. Amelia gave them the plans and they finished in two seconds! That's the Village Yellow for you. The village yellow’s skill is they can build anything faster than it takes you to say, “ Here are the plans!” The village’s supreme skills started with the base of all things here; an idea.

Once, when all my ideas were being molded together, there was the idea of 4 villages, all corresponding with each other, all with a specific color, and an amazing group of villages set aside for joining. These 4 villages were: Yellow, Red, Green, and Blue. There have been more villages since then, such as Pink, Purple, and the combo village Magenta, but today we focus on the village Yellow. 

As the 4 villages collided, the Village yellow formed. Their supreme building skills were produced from the fact that yellow is the color that is associated with gold, which is a natural rock as well as a color. Their enemy is unidentified, but from the wreckage of the attack of the infamous Purple Tornado, they built their patented Your Village, Your Way machine to help. 

So next time you think about fictional builders, don't think of Bob, think of the Village Yellow. Although the village yellow is only semi-fictional.

- Julia V

Inside Out Review

Guys! You have to see this movie that came out during the summer! It's called Inside Out! This Movie is out on DVD and I bet that you will be able to get it in stores today! The rating of this movie is PG, and it has no rude words in it. This movie is SO funny but a little sad at the same time. The movie is about a girl named Riley who has mixed emotions about moving and starting a new school. In Riley's head, some of the emotions loose Riley's most precious memories. That makes Riley mad and scared because Sadness and Joy (Two of the main characters) went looking for the memories. The setting is at the school, new house, and inside Riley's head. The characters are Riley, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Joy. The type of movie watcher who might enjoy this movie, Inside Out, is someone who loves a movie that is a little sad but SO, SO funny and happy at the same time!

Thank you for reading my post! I look forward to making more posts in the future on Word Worms!

~ Ali :) 

How Elephants got their Trunks

You may think Elephants naturally came with trunks. No, but this is the story of how they got them. 

                         A long time ago...

Elephants had really short noses,most of like ours. One day, a little elephant named Ellie, went to get a drink of water in a nearby swamp. What Ellie didn't know, was that there were alligators in the swamp. While Ellie was taking a drink, an alligator came up and snatched her nose! Ellie pulled back as hard as she could, but the alligator didn't let go. Soon, Ellie's nose was six times longer than it was before! When the alligator finally let go, she quickly ran away back to her friends and family. Everyone saw that Ellie was embarrassed. They felt bad so they decided to have the alligators stretch their noses too! After their noses were stretched, it became a big trend to elephants all over the world!

            And that is how elephants got their trunks!