student editorials, voice, articulation,

October 25, 2012

Here are some pieces from my current writing group. I edited for audience. 

My writers are approaching that stage. The key here is to notice how strong their voices are and, most especially, their articulation skills. Enjoy!-Linda

Student Editorials: Westwind Alternate School Writing Class

East End Teacher – Linda Johnson

How do students see the world? Children have opinions that matter. Read and learn.

Patience

By Natalie Nelson

Age 11

If you have patience you do not freak out at your brothers and sisters when they do something bad to you. Say you do not want to do something that your mom and dad tells you to do.

You most likely argue with them, but sometimes they do not raise their voices. That is patience.

You have to have patience on long, long, long trips. I often have to have patience with my three brothers and I have to have patience with my friends. My parents are in their forties and they are still working on their patience and I am always working on my patience. If there was no patience fights and wars would be happening all the time.

I wish we could all have perfect patience. No one wants bad things. Patience will not make things perfect, but it will make things better. If you do not have patience all kids could turn out to be very, very, very mean.  

Honesty

By Sean Gold

Being honest is being completely true to your self and to friends. You must be completely honest in secret and in public to everyone no matter their size, age, color or gender.

If no one was honest the world would be a terrible place full of lying , stealing, killing, adultery, swearing and nobody would keep the Sabbath Day holy. There is already a lot of this. If the world doesn’t quit, your kids and their kids could end up even worse.

How to have a Happy Family

By Brinley Wilde age 9

A happy family helps, loves

and works things out.

A happy family forgives, shares

and has faith in each other.

A happy family trusts, helps out around the house

and plays together.

If you don’t have a happy family

You need to try these things,

And have a happy family.

  

Faith

By Jianna Hubbard Age 12

Faith is not seeing but simply believing.

I, as a 12 year old, think that we as people

in this world

don’t have enough faith,

For example you assure yourself that you have enough faith that will get A’s in all your school assignments.

You slack off, don’t try your best

And you get an F. There’s a second step in faith.

And that’s action. To have faith you have to act.

FAITH REQUIRES ACTION, that’s a saying that I really like.

Whenever you have faith ACT,

Have faith that this world and all the people in it

Will turn out Okay.

Get off your chair and ACT!

Example

By Isaac Wood age 11

Being an example is  not just showing people what to do, its YOUR actions, moves, words, etc.  That’s right, I’m talking to YOU! Being an example is people watching YOU and stuff you’re doing even when you don’t mean to, that means that you always have to behave.

We have many examples before us in many different ways like Elvis Presley, Michael Jordan, Martin Luther King, etc. Martin Luther King Jr. is a big example for writers like me. And when I say big I mean BIG. He was a talker. Martin went against racism and I’m glad he did because I’m brown skinned! When he spoke it was like the BIG Bang theory coming out of his words!

Mahatma Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. Being a good example is a good start to being one of the greatest people n the world.

Good luck!