alliteration Example

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Free Bird

March 4, 1906
I saw a free robin today out in the pasture today, before we left Sweden. That's what I want for me, Holly Rubin. We are going to America today. Papa is already in America, waiting for us. Papa wrote to us saying: "I have an apartment already for you. It's small but you will be in the Golden Country soon, just like me." I don't want to leave, but I know Mama and Papa only talked about how wonderful America would be. I don't know what's so exciting, after all it is just another country. I love Sweden, with its pretty mountains and hills, I could never leave........................................

March 17, 1906
We have just reached Ellis Island, New York. We have been standing in lines for hours. I tell Mama, "I'd much rather sleep on the floor." "No you can't. It's filthy, besides we'll be home soon. Now hush!" My four older brothers: Jacob, Fred, Carlos, and Julian are just as exhausted as I am. The doctors, all day long, inspect us and ask us questions. "The doctors stare at you, and always watch the way you walk, be careful. Whatever you say or do, they will remember." This is what Papa tells us in his letters. I walk quickly and gracefully as I can. Mama does the same and so do my brothers. I feel their eyes upon us. "If they inspect a disease on you, (examples: lameness, heart disease, and so on), they mark you on your shoulder with a piece of chalk. (Example: L for lameness, H for heart disease)." Mama tripped on a bag, luckily wasn't hurt. But they did inspect her leg. "You'd think we would get sick from all that." I muttered. Mama's leg wasn't hurt, and so we were passed on.

April 1, 1906
After long days and hours on Ellis Island, we fianally made it to our tenament apartment. Papa showed us three rooms: the kitchen, the parlor, and one bedroom. Us kids will sleep in the parlor, while our parents will sleep in the bedroom. Papa also showed us the sink, with RUNNING WATER!!! Mama is so excited! She says it's much easier than having a well. Papa says there are free schools that we can attend, all except for Jacob. He is past 14, and will work in the Uptown Coat Factory with Papa. The law says a child under 14, can't work. Fred will turn 14 soon, he says he can't wait.

April 10, 1906
Papa and Jacob get paid 5 cents a day! Papa brought home 10 cents! We are so happy. Fred, Carlos, Julian, and I attended school today. We are placed in lower classes, until we learn proper English. Here are some words I know so far that I can write:
I like cats.
Mama says she is so proud of me. I told her I wanted to be a teacher when I grow up. I told her it's  a BIG  start for me.

April 16, 1906
A  lot has happened. School is out for 3 weeks of spring break. Fred had a birthday last week April 13. He now has a job. He works in a shoe store where he shines and fixes shoes all day long. He earns a dollar a day!!! Our family is proud of him. We are going to have a small party for him tomorrow. Mama bought a small icebox with the money we've earned. I guess I was wrong, America IS the Golden Country. I saw a bird yesterday in Madison's Square Park with Carlos. "Look at that bird. He's free, just like us. Free bird. Free in America."


THE END

Children worked in factories, such as young as this girl.

Ellis Island, another known as Inspection Island.

Mother and her children in America.

Families on a baot to america.

Pioneer Struggle

This is the worst day in my entire life. My parents have decided to move all the way to the West. My ma spent the whole day packing with my sister Karen and my older brother James. "Andy! Hurry with your chores!" Ma said yelling at me. Why do I have to do the chores while everyone else packs?, I thought. I'm not punished. So, even though I knew it was going to be risky, I popped the question out loud. "Because your Pa is workin' making the wagon and your brother need to help me with the big loads." "But Karen could do the chores, she's only eight." I protested. "She needs to help me with women things. She's too young to do all those things by herself. Now go on, scoot." she swatted me on the back and pushed me to the barn. 
                                                                 Later that night, my Pa had big plans for us. "You kids needn't go to school tomorrow. I want ya to help your Ma goin' to town to shop for supplies. Is the packin' all done?" "Yes, George. Everything's ready." our Ma answered clearing the table.
 "I'll need James for tomorrow to load the wagon." Pa continued. "Can I help?" I asked. "No Andy, you help your Ma at the store." It was settled. I would NOT get to help the men.
                                    The next day, we went to the store and Ma bought some food. She bought some extra shoes for me and more tobacco for Pa. She bought some slate pencils for us. "I'm going to teach you children till you all can go back to school." Then, we carried our bags home.

With all of our supplies, trunks, and things packed, we were ready to go a week later. Pa sold the farm and he hitched two horses up. He traded one of our neighbors the oxen for the plow. With some money left over he bought another small wagon for us. Ma had blankets and food in our #1 wagon. The other was the big wagon: Big Ben. Big Ben would be in the back while #1 wagon would be in the front with the horses. Then, both of those wagons would be attached. 

We left our home 3 hours ago, and caught up with the wagon train. "We're on the Big Move." James told us. "What's that?" Karen asked. "It's where you travel to a new place, called the west. Lots of folks do it." I explain. "But I thought this was a wagon train." she said reaching for an apple. But James slapped her hand. "No food, Karen. Not until later." My legs ached and I barely had any room. Ma and Pa had all the room on a wagon seat. I saw some people walking. But I knew our Pa would never let us walk, besides the question was just too risky. 

Finally, we made camp after 9 hours later. It was dark, so we had to be careful. All the wagons formed a circle. Ma gave us some hot bean porridge and a tin cup of milk. "Did you pack your good bake bread, Ma?" I asked her knowing how I loved her bread. She shook her head. "Takes too long to make it. When you kids are finished, you'll need to go to bed." "Can we explore?" I asked her. "No! You kids don't need to be wanderin' by yourselves at night. That's the rule from the wagon master."  Okay, so we had to go to bed. Not much fun.

While we were riding on the dusty prairie, we all halted to a stop. "The wagon master has decided to take a shortcut." Pa explained. "Has he done this before?" we asked him. "Yea, he has. Don't worry."  While we took a shortcut through the woods, James decided to keep us occupied. We played a game, checkers, and read some books. "Look! Indians!" Karen pointed. We peeked out the wagon. Some were hiding behind bushes, while others were picking berries. James pulled us two back inside saying, "You keep your distance, they'll keep theirs." 

Rain came all the next day and the day after that. For 2 whole days it rained. The roads were wet and muddy. One day, our wagon wheel cam off. James jumped off first, then me, and then we helped Karen. Pa pulled to a stop, and so did everyone else. No one was hurt, maybe a couple bruises. The wagon master, Mr.Steel, ordered to make camp until our repairs were complete.

It took Pa 2 extra days to fix the wagon and make another wagon wheel. There was no extra firewood to make dinner, so we ate cold and wet berries we found in the woods. Somebody got sick and had to be taken care of for another 2 days! Finally on the 5th day, we got back on the trail. When we found dry firewood, we all stopped to collect it. 

We had to stop again, for a day, because someone was havin' a baby. I don't know when we'll ever get to our new home. We are all feeling grouchy, espescially me. The days are gettin' colder, they say. We won't have much food, if the rain doesn't stop.

(4 weeks later) We made it! Pa made us a new cabin and everything is workin' out fine as we planned. We have a barn and some crops. There's a school and a small town we can attend to. Ma is excited as well, because Pa got her a cow.  Everything turned out well, even though, we faced our first pioneer struggle. 

THE END 

A covered wagon for the early 1960's. 

Land pioneers would have traveled through, dusty roads.

Sleeping Seashore

The Dobbs had a crisis in their family. It was not their wealth. It wasn't the time of year, it was only 1906. It was their youngest child,  Mary Jane, Little May for short. She had become blind for the past month now. The family wasn't their usual self, either. Mr. Dobbs had stopped working, being the boss of a company. Mrs. Dobbs stayed in her room all the time crying loudly, because of her little girl's illness. The maids worked grouchily, though the work was never done.

The rest of the children tried to help, but with poor results. John the eldest, (16 years old), went to get himself a job. Sarah who was only 14, decided to help the maids work. Tom, age 10, always stayed by Little May's side to keep her company. 

But Little May, despite of her blindness, wasn't sad. She had been feeling happy, as if nothing had ever happened. Once, she begged for her family to have a family dinner. So, they did. "Why are you so happy?" her family asked her. "Isn't it foolish to waste the day crying?" she asked. "Well, no, not when you're sad." "Even though I can't see, I am still alive. I'm so glad I didn't die from being sick." The family were shocked she hadn't cried for weeks.

The family were still sad, but they decieded to take their minds off of it. An elderly woman, Mrs. Peters suggested a family vacation to the seashore. "It is only a day's journey away. I have a cottage there, you can use. Thank goodness you all are going in the summer. It gets so cold in the fall."

So it was planned. They packed up trunks of things and took a train to the Florida beach. Little May had brought her paint set, because she was a good painter. When they arrived, they unpacked and decided to rest. In the morning, Little May told them, "I'm going to paint a picture of the ocean."

She took off her shoes and for the first time, she felt the cool water. She smelled the salty air, and she felt the soft gooey sand between her toes. The wind blew her brown hair and she played in the ocean all day long. In the evening, her family wondered how she would ever paint again.

When she was sleeping she had a dream. In it, she was standing on the beach and she could see. But the ocean could not "see". The ocean was gray and black and ugly. She realized that if she could see, the ocean would be sleeping. "Wake up." she said. She, herself awoke. 

She raced to the window. "Wake up!" she shouted. "Sarah! Is the ocean sleeping?" "Sleeping?" "Yes, I cannot see, so is is the ocean awake?" "I don't understand." "The colors." "Oh, well, the ocean is blue and has a pretty green to it." her sister explained, perplexed. "Oh good! Mama! Papa! Everybody come here!" Everyone rushed in half-- awake. "I understand why I need to be blind, now." Little May said to her family pointing to the window. "Why?" Mr.Dobbs asked. "So that the seashore will always be awake." "That's what she told me, Papa. I still don't understand." Sarah commented.

"I had a dream. In it I was standing on the seashore, and I was no longer blind. I could see everything. But the ocean was all black and ugly. I realized that the beach was sleeping. I decided that for the ocean to awake, I would have to remain blind. I decided that's exactly what I wanted." she said. Even though it didn't quite make sense to Mr. Dobbs yet, he realized that seeing the seashore was a wonderful idea. He was glad that they came.

When the family returned back to the city, everyone was happy, no one was sad. When Little May became 16, she moved to the cottage Mrs.Peters had left for her, before she(Mrs.Peters) died. She sat their painting a picture of the ocean,thought about her dream when she was 7,and had tears in her eyes. On the bottom of her painting said:

Florida Seashore, may it forever be awake. ---Mary Jane Dobbs
                                                                         (Little May)

The End 

The seashore "awake".

The seashore "sleeping".

ELA Notes Post (showcase)

1. My BEST EXAMPLE of creativity- Seasons.

• One reason is that in this post, the words are different colors.
• These colors are looking like a season.
• For example, one stanza says:
•   Seasons of leaves
  Seasons of colors
  Seasons of breezes
  Seasons like FALL 
  
  Now you see, that the word FALL is in 4 different colors that indicate that season. The other letters describe that season, which is the season of fall. 

2.  Evidence of my growth as a reader: Legend of the Dolphins

• I created a biography that is true in this tribe called the Chumash tribe. This tribe has believed in a legend that was made into a movie. (Dolphin Tale)
• I became really inspired by it so I decieded to write about it.
• I had to do some reasearch about it as well, because the movie didn't give me enough information. I went to this website to learn more. This website had the information that I was looking for.
• 3.  Proof I am a thinker: Be yourself 
• I had to REALLY  think deeply about this one.
• This was my most HARDEST post I have ever made.
• I to think about, "How could I convince people to be themselves?" or "What are peoples' distractions when it comes to being yourself?"
• The world has MANY  distractions that would make you CHANGE  yourself.

4. My Top 3 (favorite) posts: Legend of the dolphins, Seasons, Be yourself

• They are my top 3 favorite because they show how I think deeply and my creativity.

My Worst Moment in my life

When I was little, I had a grandpa named "Pops". He was and always will be very special to me...............................................

He saw me when I was born. He held me. He and his wife, Grannie B., loved to be with me. I didn't know, at that time, that I was the FIRST grandchild on their side. Later did I realize that I was incredibly special to them.

When Grannie B. died when I was just 9 months old, I know now that Pops must've been very sad. When I grew up, age 3-4, Pops visited me every Saturday. He never missed a day, maybe once because Mom had errands to run. He was always so excited to see me. 

Sometimes when my parents when off to work, I didn't get to stay often at his house. My nana, my mom's mom, wanted to babysit me.  
On Sundays, after church, Pops got to take me to his house. He'd have toys and books, and a metal game called: Tic-Tac-To. As always, I'd always watch the movie The Jungle Book . 


He visited and came to ALL my birthdays, then. My parents took pictures of me and him, and videos. Then one day, my brother and sister, were born into the world. He held them.  


As I said before, he still visited me, and of course the twins, who were still newborn babies. Life was so perfect. He made me laugh, and I loved him more than ever. Nothing would ever go wrong........................




Maybe I WAS wrong. One day, I was about 5 or 6 years old, my dad was playing tennis with a friend, at a park. His friend hit the ball and it accidentally hit my dad's knee, HARD. I was at home, not knowing what was happening. My mom got a phone call and was told that my dad was in the hospital. My nana, who happened to be there, said she would watch the twins for her. I begged my mom to let me go with her, so she did. 


In the meantime, Pops and my uncle Mark, were riding in their car on the way to the hospital. Another car hit theirs.....a car wreck. Pops wasn't weariness seatbelt. It was too late. Pops had died, but my uncle survived. 


When my dad was able to come home, I realized that something else was wrong. Where was Pops? Pops, my Pops, who would give me a nickname and always visit me, EVERY  Saturday. I asked my parents and they told me he died. 


Later in my life, when I was old enough, my mom told me the real story. I was devastated, still am. Everyone in my family LOVED Pops.   
The sad part is, my little brother and sister barely knew him. 


My grandfather was really, really special to me. I ALways will remember him.  This was my story of my grandfather and I.


THE END  

Seasons (Poem)

Seasons...........
Seasons of hope
Seasons of joy
Seasons...........

Seasons that bring rain
Seasons that bring sunshine
Seasons that bring new life
Seasons like SPRING

Seasons..........
Seasons of hope
Seasons of joy
Seasons..........

Seasons that bring heat
Seasons that are fun
Seasons that are dry
Seasons like SUMMER

Seasons..............
Seaons of songs
Seasons of happiness
Seaons....................

Seasons of leaves
Seasons of colors
Seasons of breezes
Seasons like FALL

Seasons..............
Seasons of songs
Seasons of happiness
Seasons..............

Seasons of playing
Seasons of ice
Seasons of snow
Seasons like WINTER

Seaons of SPRING
Seaons of SUMMER
Seasons of FALL
Seasons of WINTER

Seasons...........
They always finish
ROUNDTRIP
Seaons.............