Writing and Reading is Fun
by Clifford MorrisMost recently revised on: Sunday, 05 November, 2006
So many people seem to be falling behind in 'reading', a word with two meanings. One, reading is a complex process of turning printed marks into sounds and then combining these sounds into words. Two, reading is that much more complex process of comprehending those words. In other words, learning how to read, in the first sense -- decoding via phonics or word recognition --- does not guarantee learning how to read in the second sense -- truly understanding the meaning of what is read.
This web page is all about the fun involved when we read out loud or silently and how all of us learn to write simple but interesting stories. Note that in the above sentence, I deliberately used the adjective 'interesting' to describe the noun 'stories'. I did this for a special reason. For over forty (40) years, I have been teaching writing and reading to many, mostly to school-aged youngsters. It has been my experience that such stories had to excite their interest. Otherwise, they were, more often than not, unmotivated to scribe their true personal views.
If you are not interested in reading the basic steps necessary for writing out a simple story, you can skip the following series of paragraphs and, instead, scroll down to the bottom of this page. If you plan to do that ... and that is perfectly okay with me ... you will be able to read some of the very simple and short stories that have been written by others who also find reading aloud and paragraph writing to be a fun and life-long enjoyable exercise.
Before continuing, here are a few comments about me and, perhaps more importantly, why I like to read and write. Over the years, I have truly enjoyed writing about living my life to its fullest, that is, being associated with different types of varied individuals, visiting interesting places and doing numerous things. In other words, I have spent a lot of time traveling down many 'roads', so-to-speak. Such trips have enabled me to acquire a variety of exciting experiences. Perhaps some of these events may have already happened to you. Maybe you are now doing some of them. As you grow older, many other such 'roads' will surely pass your way. And, as I especially enjoy taking train trips, I shall henceforth try to compare each of my very own personal experiences, or written adventures, to a specific train station trip with numerous station stops here and there.
More to that previous point, I believe that it is very important that I take a few minutes at this time to share with you some of these events. In this way, might both of us become different individuals, perhaps more aware of life out there and maybe better able to cope with some of the trying ways of the world? This is quite a question, isn't it?. I think though, that together, we can partially answer this question. But stop, wait for a moment! Am I not getting ahead of myself here?. Did I not just use the singular pronoun I, and then switch to the plural pronoun us? In other words, I guess that what I am trying to say above is that I seek your assistance. I can not possibly write all such stories on my own. I would appreciate your help. Will you therefore consider, for a moment, to journey along with me as we take a joint train trip to many different areas of life? To repeat, once again what I have already stated above, I like taking train trips and I really like reading and writing. That, in a nutshell, is why I have decided to link both of these two important skills together. Will you therefore write with me? To sum up all of the above, let us make this a joint writing journey.
Now this imaginary 'train trip', or journey throughout our lives, will (hopefully) involve many of you as authors. Together, we shall share some of the interesting things that we have already experienced, including many activities that we are currently doing ... and plan to do ... in the very near future.
I shall 'start the ball rolling', so-to-speak, by beginning to draft out some of my own interesting incidents. Then, if you wish, you can climb on board or join me by also writing about you and some of the fun things that you really enjoy doing in your life.
Finally, before showing you some of those stories, I have two (2) personal viewpoints about learning that I feel that you ought to be aware of. Both of them are not mine alone but belong to others who have spent most of their lives theorizing of thinking how we best learn, how we best perceive the information that we receive and how our various intelligences operate within and around us. I have merely revised their thinking on these issues. I feel that those two viewpoints have much to do with being a better reader and stronger writer.
Writing Simple Stories My Way
The initial writing step arrives well in advance of the first printed draft copy. For want of a better phrase, let us label this initial stage the pre-writing stage. Here are five (5) key questions that we should first ask ourselves.
What is the topic that we want to write about?
Will we plan our work by talking and drawing out our topic?
Who will read our finished product?
What might such readers like to read about in our stories?
What have we achieved throughout this writing process?
The second step involves very careful planning. I believe that all writers must first plan their work and then work that plan. Even though there is no actual mechanical writing at this step, this planning phase is a definite must. Here are four (4) possible strategies, or ways, that we might want to incorporate into our work at this stage.
Brainstorm all our ideas onto slate / chalkboard / whiteboard / paper / computer screen.
From this storm of brainy ideas, make a list of possible writing topics.
Answer all questions possibly related to the topic.
Talk over your (scribbled) ideas with others who may know you well ... or those who may know more about the topic under investigation.
Once a body of brains, so-to-speak, have stormed all of their ideas onto one of the above formats, the composing of short sentences, that is, a sentence for each idea, can begin. Sentences of a similar nature could now be grouped together to form future possible paragraphs. Sometimes, it is a good idea to number such similar sentences from say one (1) to eight (8), assuming that there will be a total of eight (8) sentences in the paragraph.
The first sentence is called the opening sentence or the topic sentence. The eighth or final sentence should try to tie together the thoughts expressed within the six (6) middle sentences. Moreover, each of those middle sentences should describe something that was introduced in the initial sentence. Throughout, we will share parts of our past and present by printing, writing or typing out our current viewpoints.
The third step in the writing process consists of generating some form of a rough draft copy. Said in another and similar way, this is the first time that we will sit down and compose some simple sentences. Some teachers will disagree with this latter stage. That is, you first written / typed version ought to be your first and finished or final product. Such writing theorists believe that this strategy forces the writer to do her / his best first.
I do not agree with this approach towards writing. Instead, I feel that the more one writes, the better the final version will be. Or, to modify terms recently generated by those studying the behaviors between novice and expert performers, deliberate writing practice makes perfect writing. True, the novice writer may, in the interim, commit various spelling, grammar and language errors. But with constructive comments and various corrections by a caring other, the end product will surely improve.
Perhaps the following four (4) questions may aid us to record and organize our ideas at this phase of the writing process.
What thoughts or ideas will we include?
How will we organize all of the material?
How will we begin, develop and complete the piece of writing?
What title might best offer our readers a glimpse into what they are about to read?
In the fourth step, we become very critical of what we have just written. That is, we now question not just the quantity (how much) but the quality (how good) of our sentences, in particular, our selection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, prepositions and conjunctions, to name just seven (7) important parts of speech. Let us then title this part of our writing the self-editing and peer revision phase. And, as we did in the above three (3) short sections, here are four (4) more important questions that we should now be asking ourselves.
What message do we intend to convey to our readers?
Are all of our written thoughts in the correct order?
Have we used the best grammar throughout?
Have we asked our peers if we have conveyed our ideas clearly?
Have we asked such peers to listen as we read our writings aloud?
I call the fifth step, the final draft copy. Here, we write out our finished piece of writing. This is the version which others will see. Remember this most important thing about writing. Once our ideas are in writing, they are there forever. In a sense, this is a somewhat scary thought but it is true. If what we write can be saved, it will last a long time. Perhaps that is why many people deliberately do not place their ideas to print. And to repeat, once again, here are three (3) important questions that we ought to be able to answer at this final phase.
What should we add, alter or delete from our final piece of writing?
Have we corrected all grammar, spelling, punctuation and language errors?
Have we used the peer revision process and new ideas to create a final version?
Some Simple Stories
For ease of use, many of the following and beginning authors felt that:
Their very short stories should be arranged in alphabetical order ... by the first important word in their title. That is, the first word in their title ... short words such as "a", "an", "my" and "the" were ignored when their short comments were arranged alphabetically.
The authors also decided to indent the first word of the opening sentence of their paragraphs.
Many authors decided to keep their readers in suspense by not using their real names.
And finally, to make their stories look as professional as possible, they all agreed to place their stories in the Currier New font with a 12 point pitch.
All of the above comments represent just one of many ways to start writing out our life experiences. Along our imaginary train trip, we will acquire many similar experiences. Each experience will have to be written down in some way as our imaginary train will stop at many stations. Let us now hop on board our special writing train and start our journey. Enjoy your written ride through life!
Oh, I almost forgot one important thing. If you like any of the following very simple and short stories, please feel free to add your comments to a story and, if you so wish, send your version to me, at cliffordmorris@rogers.com. If I like what you write, I'll add your version to the following collection. At the end of your version, please include your (real or imaginary) name and the date that you wrote the story.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Cluff McDuff (my real name is Clifford Morris ... but don't tell anyone)Alexander Milton Ross
In this very short story, we remember Alexander Milton Ross as a special Canadian. Mr. Ross was born in Belleville, Ontario, on December 13, 1832, and died in Detroit, Michigan, on October 27, 1897. Throughout most of his adult life, he was an ornithologist and a physician. Ornithologists are people who specialize in the life of birds, specifically, how and where they live and how various kinds of birds are able to survive in different environments.
In 1855 and at the very young age of just 23, Mr. Ross made a very important decision ... a decision that would influence the lives of numerous innocent individuals. It is as a result of that decision that he is now known as a famous Canadian. We now remember him as a leading Canadian anti-slavery person, or activist, who spent a considerable amount of his time traveling throughout many of the southern United States of America (USA) regions to assist enslaved human beings to escape to a free and better life.
How was this ordinary house doctor from the Canadian city of Belleville, Ontario, able to accomplish such a huge task? Here is how I believe he became famous. As an ornithologist, he often traveled throughout Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama. At that time, many rich plantation-owners would make slaves out of Negroes.
The rich plantation-owners would force these poor slaves to work long and hard hours picking cotton from their very large fields. The plantation-owners, unaware of the secret missions of Mr. Ross to free slaves, would usually let him roam freely throughout their large estates. The plantation-owners thought that Dr. Ross, the ornithologist, was there just to do research on all kinds of birds. They had no idea that he was really much more interested in their slaves and not in their fields of birds.
If you think about it very carefully, Dr. Ross was really quite a smart Canadian. By day, he was supposed to be watching birds but by night his true mission was freeing slaves. He made at least five trips to the southern USA states, always pretending to be a bird watcher. He planned every operation most carefully. Each time that he visited the South, he arranged through his many contacts to meet secretly at night with groups of trustworthy slaves.
At every meeting, Ross would describe, in most careful details, the best secret escape route from their homes all the way up to Canada. He would outline the sites of the stations where Underground Railroad conductors would help the fleeing slaves, or fugitives.
He always suggested to the runaways, another word often used to describe escaping slaves, that it would be much safer for them if they traveled during the dark night hours. For example, during one of his many evening meetings, this time in Richmond, Virginia, some 42 slaves gathered. Nine of them accepted Ross' offer of help to escape. Those who decided to stay where they were, as it was really a dangerous journey, promised to encourage more slaves to escape.
Ross wanted the very best for each and every one of his runaways. He would always give each slave a few dollars, a pocket compass, a knife, and as much food (cold meat and bread) as each person could carry. Sometimes, Mr. Ross personally conducted slaves over the whole journey, that is, he would accompany the slaves from their home in the South all the way up to the North, in Canada. He did this as he wanted to make sure that the slaves got to their destination safely.
November 20, 2002
Billy BigfootAmelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart was born in 1898, in the American state of Kansas. During World War I, she was a nurse. Later, she became a social worker. Finally, in 1920, she was accepted as a pilot. In fact, she became a very special pilot, as in May of 1932, she was documented as the first woman to fly an airplane alone and across the Atlantic Ocean. She went missing while flying a plane, in 1937. If you wish to read more about this famous female pilot, read "Soaring Wings".
November 11, 1995
Cluff McDuffAnimals
There are many kinds of animals in the world. Some are very smart while others are quite simple. Men and women are the smartest type of animal while animals such as monkeys and zebras are simpler. I like bears because they are cuddly, cute, and furry.
June 10, 1995
Martin JonesBasketball
Basketball is a favourite sport for many people. Each team has five (5) players. Mr. Naismith supposedly invented this game. The goal or objective of this game is to put the ball in the basket. The players really do enjoy winning. At the end of each game, the winning team is excited, happy, and pleased that they have won the game.
September 20, 1995
Albert SinclairThe Best Win
On Saturday, I watched a special hockey game. There were two (2) teams playing for their special cup. The game was being played at the Burpo Center, in downtown Smithsville, Ontario. The Brittle Bones team won the game. They defeated the Low Oldies by a score of 3-1. Wasn’t this the best game ever?
June 11, 2001
Joshua DiamondBicycles
Bicycles are ‘neat.’ One can go between ten (10) and one hundred (100) kilometres / kilometres (km) on a bike. As your feet push the two pedals up and down, the chain moves the rear gear. This continuous action makes the bike move forward. In other words, the speed of the bike is caused by the human energy of the person riding the bike. Pedals, brakes, gears, and wheels all work together. Do you like or dislike bikes?
September 18, 1995
Tori LevereBig Red is the title of a book that is mainly all about an orphaned seventeen (17) year old boy called Danny Pickett and his love for an expensive Irish Setter dog called Big Red. Danny lives with his father, Ross, on the Wintapi Estate and near a mountain. They have been trappers all of their lives and are quite poor. The land that they live on is owned by a very rich man named Mr. Haggin. He also owns a very smart dog called Big Red. Although Big Red is a show dog, he is the type of dog that Danny has always wanted.
One day Mr. Haggin asks Danny if he wants to go to one of Big Red's dog shows in New York city and to take care of Big Red from then on. Danny's dreams have come true. Danny makes Big Red into a hunting dog and they have many adventures together. The dog is supposed to be good for nothing but a show dog but Red and Danny prove everyone wrong.
To sum up this short note, this book is the story of a young boy out in the woods who makes his living by hunting and trapping. His dream is to have a dog that will be beside him while he hunted the legendary Old Majesty. Old Majesty is the famous bear who lives in their neck of the woods. He is famous for his cunning and size. The other dogs are afraid of him. Danny is not afraid and wants to be the hero who took down Old Majesty.
April 22, 2005
Cluff McDuffChess is my Game
Chess is one of the best games going as it teachers you numerous things. First, every time you move a chess player, it is as if you are trying to solve a little problem. Second, you must be able to think ahead. Third, can you work quietly? Fourth, you have to remember what can happen if you place one of your players in a certain location. Fifth, if you fail to pay attention to the many moves of your opponent, you could be easily defeated. Finally, the game of chess requires that you get along well with others.
March 27, 2003
Cluff McDuffA Dark and Windy Night
It was an especially dark and windy night. A family was driving their car in the woods. There was thunder and lightning. They heard a noise. Then all of a sudden, the lights went out.
Lucky for them, they had extra batteries. Then they heard the noise again. The parents said, "If anybody sees the thing that's making that noise, tell us?" They heard it again. Only this time, they could see it and hear it.
All of a sudden, it jumped up on their car and it would not get off. What were they to do? They thought that if they moved the car, it might become more aggressive. They decided to leave it there. They were in luck again because they had food. But just because they had food, it didn't mean that they could stay there forever. So, they ate some food, and then they fell asleep.
In the morning, they woke up and saw a bear on the ground with her cubs lying under her. The only reason she did that was to protect her cubs.
May 18, 2002
Joanne JordanExcellence is the Morning
Every morning is an excellent time for me. There are many reasons for me to say this. First of all, school starts early in the day, that is, just a few minutes after 8:00 am. A second reason for enjoying the morning part of the day is coming to school and seeing so many nice, polite and happy girls and boys. My final reason for enjoying this first time of every day is that this school is nearby. I guess you could say that I like helping students.
April 06, 2001
Cluff McDuffFamily is Important
My family is very important to me, especially my parents. My father and my mother have looked after me for many years. In fact, they continue to contact me by telephone. They often call to see how I am doing. They ask me how I feel, how my health, and what is are my current activities. For example, just recently, my mother called to wish me a happy birthday. At this time, I also spoke to my father. Both of my parents are in their early eighties. My parents are happy that I am happy.
I almost forgot to comment about my siblings, that is, my rather large number of brothers and sisters. I have ten (10) younger sisters and five (5) younger brothers. Can you imagine having fifteen (15) younger family members often asking you to do this for them, to help them with that difficult task, or to help them with a school subject!
It sure is a fun time when we gather for a family outing. For example, recently, we celebrated mom and dad's sixtieth (60) wedding anniversary. It was quite the event. As it had been some time since our previous family gathering, I was amazed to see how many of my bothers and sisters had aged. Of course, as you can see by my picture, at the beginning of this page, I continue to look as young as ever. I only state this truism because my mother tells me that I'm the best looking one of them all!
April 21, 2005
Cluff McDuffFishing is Fun
Fishing is just a wonderful and fun pastime. This relaxing sport allows you to forget about the things in life that may be bothering you. It is one of those inexpensive hobbies. All you need for fishing is some bait, a hook, some line, and a stick for a pole. However, it is more enjoyable if you have better equipment. There are all sorts of rods, reels, and lures on the market that you can try. Trying new things is really fun. Fishing is a great way to get away from it all!
June 14, 2002
Billy BigfootFootball
Here, in Canada, the game of football is played during the months of June, July and August -- the summer and fall seasons of the year. There are twelve players on each team. Two of my special teams are The San Francisco 49’ers and the Dallas Cowboys. Teams such as these catch, throw, kick, and run on a football field. Often, these special-designed fields are located inside or within an enclosed stadium.
The objective of this team game is to defeat the other team by scoring more points during four (4) quarters. A quarter consists or fifteen (15) minutes. Each team take its turn trying to move the football down the filed. A touchdown happens when a player carries the ball over the goal line or when the ball is thrown over the goal line and into a player’s arms. That team earns six (6) points for that action. Most professional teams also have a team of cheerleaders. Football is the favourite sport for many pupils, families and adults.
June 29, 1995
Cluff McDuffGo Team Go
Tonight may be one of the most important nights even for a special hockey team. I hope that they win their first playoff game. Why is this game so important to me? Well, if our team wins this evening, this means more work for many ushers. And since I am one of these ushers, I then will have additional work. I can’t wait until the game begins.
April 18, 2001
Cluff McDuffHockey
Hockey is one of my favorite sports. I enjoy watching two teams skate up and down the ice trying to put a small black puck in a net. The puck tends to move quite quickly. Each team can have six (6) players on the ice at a time. Last year, my team, the Brittle Bones, almost went to the finals.
September 25, 2003
Cluff McDuffThe Hockey Trade
The following is a true story ... with one exception. The names of the players and the names of the teams have been changed, for reasons of confidentiality. This short commentary is all about a special hockey player named Mr. Albert Johnson. I comment about him here because for some years, he was one of the best players on the Ottawa Titans hockey team. His first year with the team was in 1983; his final year was in 1995. In June of that year, he was traded to the Toronto Loggers professional hockey organization.
I feel that Johnson will be greatly missed by his team colleagues as well as by a large number of his hockey fans. He will have a lot of ice time with his new team because, in my opinion, Mr. Johnson is an experienced hockey player with sound scoring skills and excellent speed. I wish him all the best in his future years of hockey!
September 28, 2002
Billy BigfootHome is Where It All Begins
Parents are very important in my home. My brothers and sisters should set a good example. In my parent’s house, there are many rooms. Some houses have finished basements with carpet covering the concrete flooring. I know of one such house with four bathrooms, five bedrooms, and two kitchens. Would you believe me if I told you that I know of a house with two attics?
October 02, 1995
Cluff McDuffSick Jokes
We all have our favourite sick jokes that we like to tell. Everyday, we utilize jokes to make people laugh. That is, we use the art of telling jokes to make others laugh, and to cheer them up when they are feeling sad or hurt. Often, there are comedians on television. Also, many shows on television are called comedies. Shows such as Room-Mates, Family Matters, Full House, and Fresh Prince contain much laughter. I guess that what I’m trying to say is that jokes can be a tremendous amount of fun.
Here is one of my favorite sick jokes.
"Knock, knock."
"Who’s there?"
"Boo!"
"Boo who?"
"Don’t cry."October 11, 1995
Cluff McDuffOrganization is the Key to Societal Success
I believe that it is important to be a well-organized individual. Why do I say this? Well, it is important because otherwise you can often lose important items if they have been loosely stored, for example, in a drawer, box, or desk. Moreover, people require organization to be successful in their daily lives. In other words, if things are arranged in an orderly fashion, it is usually easier to locate them when you wish.
Let me give you a specific example. You might forget an important appointment with a person, if you fail to write the time and location in your address or appointment book. Someone once said that first you should plan your work and then work that plan. That is, you always have to be organized.
May 11, 2002
Billy BigfootParents
Parents are extremely important. They take care of us when we are sick by driving us to the hospital. They truly do love us, even though they sometimes get angry with our behaviour. Without such nice parents, we would not be here today. They are always interested in our overall well being, especially when it comes to learning and doing better. They want us to perform well in school. To please them, I will really try my best in all of my school subjects.
September 28, 1995
Cluff McDuffPeople in Their House
Some people are very important. My parents, my uncles and my grandparents are always trying to set a good example for me. I try to copy their good ways of doing things. Most houses have a series of rooms. For example, you will usually find the following rooms in a house: a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, and a series of bedrooms.
Some houses do not have finished basements with carpet covering a large area of the floor. I know of one such house. That house has four bathrooms, five bedrooms, and two kitchens. Would you believe me if I told you that I know of a house that has two attics?
May 18, 2002.
Billy BigfootPeter and Fudge
This story is all about a fourth grade nothing called Peter. He has a two year-old brother named Fudge. It would seem that Fudge was born to bother Peter, at least, that is what Peter said. The reason why he thinks this is so is because Fudge appears to get away with everything. And whenever Peter did something, Fudge wanted to do the same thing as his brother.
Here is one example. One day, Fudge swallowed his brother's turtle. He had to go to the hospital for a day and a night. He had to drink a tremendous amount of liquids to get the turtle out of him. So when Fudge came home from the hospital, his mom's hand was full of gifts. His dad put Fudge down and said "You can have all these gifts." Then Peter saw a big gift that he thought was Fudge's but it actually was for him. His dad came over and said to him "We are sorry for ignoring you." Guess what the gift was? It was a dog!
April 27, 2002
Joanne JordanProblem Solving Skills
The ability to solve problems is perhaps the most important skill in the world. I say this deliberately because so many of life’s situations involve some sort of a problem to be solved. How then do we solve a problem? Well, here are some very basic or simple steps. First, you must read the problem or know that there actually is a problem. Second, you try to sort out the steps to the possible solution. This is what I call the development of a plan. Once you have planned out all the work, you then work that plan until you problem has been solved.
September 22, 1995
Susan RahbCharlie's Anti-Bullying Strategies
Once upon a time, in the Ontario city of Catville, there lived a mighty cat named Charlie. As he was only eleven (11) years old, he should have been the size of any other normal cat, but no matter how little he ate, no matter how hard he exercised, he couldn't keep his body the size of a normal everyday cat. He was probably the largest cat in the world. Charlie led a hard life. He was too big to do most of the usual things smaller cats do ... although he tried as hard as he could. And, unlike other normal-sized cats, he loved to watch the team game of ice hockey. He would attend as many home hockey games as he could.
One night, he hid under the seats inside the Cat Centre building, the home of the local professional hockey team. No one noticed him hiding there. He stayed there until the next hockey game. In his mind, his new home became the Cat Centre hockey rink. He was a most kind cat. During games, he would run and play with everyone. He seemed to enjoy giving more than receiving. For example, during every hockey game, he would shoot hotdogs into the stands so that all could eat his great cooking. He would stop his running up and down the aisles of the arena to have his picture taken with little children. In other words, I guess that you could say that Charlie was indeed quite a 'cool' cat.
However, all was not well with Charlie. All of the other cats in the neighbourhood around the arena constantly made fun of him because his body was huge and his tail was very long, he lived inside a hockey rink. Unlike most of them, he did not live in a normal house. He did not like killing and eating mice. He could not meow talk. He walked on his hind two legs only. He used his front paws to hug kids. The other cats really made fun of him here ... as all of the other cats always walked on their four legs.
To review, the other cats around the Centre enjoyed teasing him and making fun of his size. Charlie did not know what to do. He decided to return to cat school. There, he attended all of his daily classes and by doing so, he learned how to put into daily practice the following anti-bullying cat strategies. Eventually, he was able to use many of the following eleven (11) anti cat-bullying strategies to make his life a happier one.
- Charlie has learned to surround himself with a group of other friendly cats. He figures that these friendly cats will help deter the other cats from bullying him. While attending classes at cat school, he was trained to believe that there was strength in numbers. This strategy indeed is now working. The other cat bullies are now cowards. They do not feel comfortable picking on him anymore.
- Charlie often tries to treat the other cat bullies as his friend and not as his enemies.
- Charlie sometimes tries to turn a scary situation into a funny one.
- Charlie does not place himself in a bullying situation. Instead of staying and fighting it out, he now walk away and thus removes himself from the chance for a possible cat fight.
- More and more, Charlie seems to be using his creative imagination to resolve what could be otherwise serious cat conflicts.
- Charlie often lets insults go and does not fight back. He feels that the issue is not all that important and is therefore not worth the hassle.
- Charlie is not one to fight. He believes that the real winner of a fight is the one who avoids it.
- Charlie is strong like a tree. He tends to ignore threats and, instead, bents like the wind.
- Charlie knows who the proper authority are (ushers, security, police officers) and will call out loud for help, if he is every swarmed by a large number of cats.
- Charlie often uses his superior brain to reason with the bullies.
- If all of the above ten (10) strategies fail, and this often happens, Charlie sometimes has to take a fighting stance. Fortunately, he never has had to resort to this anti-bullying strategy because if he did, there would be a lot of dead cats around the Cat Centre.
October 08, 2003
Cluff McDuffSuccess is Working and Thinking Smarter not Harder
Someone once either said or wrote that hard work equals success. This idea is important for all of us. In other words, if we all work hard every day, many different things could happen. First, we might feel good about our efforts if we strive to get them done correctly. Second, there seems to be a certain degree of satisfaction when we complete a job. We can see the finished product and we can feel good about ourselves. Finally, if we work our hardest, the time seems to go quickly. Getting your work done is job one!
September 26, 1995
Cluff McDuffSummer
Summer is the best season of the year. Mary (not her real name) says that she just loves summer because she can spend so much time playing outside. Albert (also not his real name) says that summer is the hottest season of the year. Beth feels that swimming, camping, and sleep-overs are her most interesting activities. And finally, let’s not forget what Alex has to say about this special season of the year. Alex likes summer because his birthday is in August. He especially likes his birthday party.
September 09, 1995
Mary JonesThanksgiving Day
Many people celebrate Thanksgiving Day by getting together with family and friends. A turkey dinner is often served at these gatherings. Pumpkin pie is a favourite dessert. Back in the olden days, this was the time for the early settlers to give thanks for a successful harvest. Today, we also used this occasion to be thankful for our many friends, fine food and close family members.
October 10, 1995
Elizabeth Egan JonesWinter Sports
Our journal entry for this week is just about winter sports. Winter sports are so much fun to watch and to play. At our school, we have one huge skating rink, complete with loud music. Some of these special sports involve: soccer, ice hockey, building forts, figure skating, constructing snow people, snow machines, snow boarding, and skiing. Which of these sports do you like?
November 14, 1995
David Smith and George HalidayWonderland
Wonderland is really a great place to visit. In fact, it is a much better place to visit now than it was a few years ago. Because of its exciting rides, many people visit this park annually. I feel that the best ride there is Days of Thunder. A daily pass costs about thirty dollars ($30.00). I have been there twice and may even return there for another exciting day.
October 03, 1995
Robyn Lewis
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