2 Steps to Become Smarter by, Jasmin

1^st step: Read   

Reading is an easy way to become smarter over time, of course. It gives you knowledge for free. It’s proven that reading can improve your memory, every time you read something your brain “traps” in what you read and you remember it. By doing this you exercise your “memory muscles”. Each new memory means you’re strengthening your brain and your brain becomes sharper. Reading helps your brain in many ways like: reading skills, comprehension, writing, vocabulary, and so many other things.  If you already read then you’re off at a great start! 

2^nd way: Write

Writing is also an easy way to become smarter. Writing makes us smarter by having us solve complex problems. Which problems? Well, an example could be to solve and find the story plot or the topic of your poem. Writing makes you sit and think. Thinking makes us smarter. How do you think the first airplane was built? People had to stop and think. Some of us might not be very organized people….on the outside but some of us can be very organized on the inside. In our thoughts.  By writing you organize thoughts into a form that converts into a story or a poem.

Hessville Youth Hoops

Here is one of the personal narratives written by Morgan.

What would happen if the five foot two inch girl had popped my shoulder out of socket? What if I wouldn’t be able to play with or support my team for the rest of the season? Would I heal quickly enough or would I just sit in the crowd and watch? These were all the questions I asked myself as a clutched my shoulder in pain.

It was a Sunday afternoon, about one-thirty, at Morton High School. My teammates and I were facing the best girl basketball team in the league. We had never beaten them before, but we were looking pretty good then.  It was the second quarter and we were on defense. I saw one of the girls race down the court to make a lay-up, but that was NOT happening while I was on the court. In my head, my plan seemed great. I would get in my defensive stance in front of her, steal the ball, dribble down the court, and make a three-pointer. Well it actually didn’t go as well as I had planned. What really happened was this: When number five was dribbling down the court I stopped in front of her and just stood there for a while. She was running towards me so fast that when she ran into me I heard a pop/crack in my shoulder and it hurt really badly. I started to feel dizzy and my vision started to blur. I almost fell but I got my footing together. Luckily, the clock was counting down so the next sound I heard was “BUUAAAH”!!!!

I walked over to the sidelines with the rest of my team and sat Native American style on the floor. My friend’s mom, one of the assistant coaches, saw what had happened and came over to me. “Are you alright? I saw that girl run into you and you looked hurt”, she asked. “Yea, I’m fine. But that girl is so retarded, man. I mean I hope someone fouls her in this next quarter if she plays. That should’ve been a foul!” By the time I had finished going off, I checked the scoreboards. We were falling behind and I knew this game was going to be a blow-out. The pain from my shoulder mixed with the frustration from the game was very stressful and I just wanted to get back on the floor and get all that energy out.

By fourth quarter my shoulder was feeling better and I was able to go back on the court. I was happy to be back on the court but it was also too late for us to catch up with the other team. Time was running out and my teammates weren’t hustling as much. I tried my best and I’m sure some others did too but we were losing by twenty. Even though we lost that day, we still had fun, well except for my arm almost falling off.

Personal Narratives

Today the students turned in their personal narrative stories that they've been working on for the past couple of weeks. They've been working really hard both in class and at home to get their stories just right.

The students did a great job of allowing their distinct author voices be heard and exploding a single moment in their lives. Here are a few of the documents we used throughout the writing process (inspired by Mr. Hughes' anchor charts):

Explode the moment.pdf

Personal Narrative Chart.pdf

Many students chose to read their stories to the class. We all enjoyed them so much!

Great job Grade 7!