2ndGraders #29

Bradley's Odyssey Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten
Land of Rules and Unruly

Bradley’s stomach rumbled. He had not eaten a crumb since lunchtime. His last drink of water had been before the earthquake.
“Ship, I’m starved and thirsty,” he called out. “Take me to the nearest place where I can gorge myself.”
The rowerless oars steered the ship northwest. Moments later, a low stretch of land came into sight. Closer in, Bradley spotted a pebbled beach divided by a yellow line.
The ship slid onto the pebbles. Bradley leaped onto the beach and ran up to the signs posted on each side of the line. The one to the left read:
Welcome to the Land of Rules
Rule One: Read Rule Book before entering.
A book, the size of a lunchbox, hung there on a rope.
The sign on the right read:
Welcome to the Land of Unruly
Only rule: No rules allowed
“Eeny-meeny-miny-moe,” Bradley went, and he stepped into the Land of Rules.
Beyond the beach, he found a ruler-straight path leading inland. Following it, he walked through a forest in which the trees grew in ruler-straight rows. He passed a field where corn stalks stood in equally straight columns, and a farmyard where even the cows and chickens walked in straight lines.
Farther on, Bradley came to a statue of Discipline, the God of Rules. The red marble figure stood among rows of red, domed houses. Each dome had a round front door, and before each door stood a person with one hand raised.
Bradley walked up to a woman outside the first house. “Greetings, ma’am,” he said. “I’m new to this island. Would you know where I could find something to eat?”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. Her lips tightened. Without saying a word, she remained standing there with her left hand held up.
Next Bradley approached a man outside the second house. He had his right hand raised.
“Excuse me, sir,” said Bradley. “Is there a drinking fountain nearby?”
The man stiffened. His eyes widened, and he also said nothing.
“What’s with everyone around this place?” Bradley muttered, continuing down the lane.
Soon he came to a sign. It read:
Reading signs not allowed
While reading the sign, Bradley heard a shout. “Rule number seventy-four! Seventy-four!”
Across the lane stood a woman, waving a ruler. “Can’t you read what the sign says,” she said. “You’re breaking rule seventy-four.”
Bradley reread the sign. “Yea, but...” he stammered.
The woman waved her ruler again as if swatting flies. “Rule twenty-three! Twenty-three!” she shouted. “Raise your hand before talking!”
Bradley raised his hand. “Yea, but...” he began again.
“Rule sixteen! Sixteen!” the woman said. “Do not speak until you are called upon.”
So Bradley’s hand went up again.
“Yes, what is it?” the woman said.
“Who are you? And why are you waving that ruler at me?”
“I’m Miss Rule, Ruler of the Land of Rules,” said the woman. “I rule over the Rulies who live here and wave my Ruling Ruler at anyone who breaks a rule.”
Bradley raised his hand once more and waited to be called upon. “Let me get this straight” he said. “If one rule says you can’t talk without raising your hand, and another says you can’t talk until someone calls on you, people can never talk to each other.”
Miss Rule nodded. “That keeps the Land of Rules quiet and peaceful,” she said.
Up went Bradley’s hand again. “But why is everyone standing still?”
“Rule four-hundred states that Rulies can only walk in straight lines in alphabetical order,” the woman replied. “Since everyone has the same last name, Doe, no one knows who should walk first.”
This time, Bradley raised his hands along with his shoulders. “So is there a place to eat around here?” he asked.
“What’s your last name?”
“Zimmerman.”
“Then you may follow me to the lunchroom,” said Miss Rule. “Here are the lunchroom rules. No elbows on the table. Sit only in assigned seats. No talking with your mouth full. No eating with your mouth empty...” And the Ruler of the Land of Rules went on reciting rules, as Bradley followed her down the lane.
The pair stopped outside the fifth red igloo. Upon entering, Bradley found a wide table with platters of jelly sandwiches, bowls of fruit, and cartons of milk in the middle. A dozen Rulies sat around the table, staring at the food.
Bradley sat down. He reached for a banana and began to peel it.
“Rule number sixty!” Miss Rule shouted. “No bending elbow at the table!”
Stiff-armed, Bradley lay the banana on his neighbor’s plate. He asked this Rulie, “Would you mind holding this banana near my mouth so I can eat it? Then I’ll do the same for you.”
“Rule number three!” Miss Rule snapped. “No sharing food in the lunchroom!”
Bradley found himself staring at the food like the others. “These rules are ridiculous,” he finally said. “There should be a rule about having too many rules.” He stood and bolted for the door.
Miss Rule waved her ruler in a frenzy. “Rule forty-eight! No standing without raising your hand! Rule nineteen! No raising your hand while sitting! Rule six-thousand eighty-four no questioning the rules in the Land of Rules!”
Bradley left the lunchroom. He ran down the lane and veered off through the cornfield.
“If I can’t get some food in the Land of Rules, I’ll try the Land of Unruly,” he told himself. “It must be easier there.”
Soon he came to the yellow line that divided the island. A sign read:
No leaving Land of Rules without a pass.
No passes issued on days ending with Y.
“Figures,” he said, and leaped over the line.
The terrain now was grassless and muddy. Boulders and tree stumps stuck up here and there. Rusty cans, old tires, and glass bottles littered the place.
Bradley followed another path, this one as crooked as a Z. It led to a cluster of green domed houses. Graffiti covered every round wall. Piles of garbage blocked each round doorway.
Among the green domes, people walked in all directions. They bumped and tripped each other. They shoved and wrestled.
“This is worse than our school hallway after recess,” Bradley told himself.
A man with ragged hair and smelly clothes stepped up behind Bradley. “Hello! Hello!” he shouted.
Bradley wrinkled his nose. “Well, you don’t have to yell.”
“Right you are!” said the man. “We Unrulies don’t have to do anything!”
Bradley continued along the crooked path. While passing the fifth, green house, he heard the clash of dishes and the jangle of silverware. He entered. As he stepped through the doorway, a jelly sandwich splattered his shirt.
Around the room, a dozen Unrulies stood on chairs. “Food fight!” one of them shouted. Suddenly the air filled with flying meatballs, chicken drumsticks, dinner rolls, hot dogs, and milk cartons. Slices of pizza slithered down the wall. Spaghetti swung from the lights.
Meanwhile Bradley eyed some cupcakes on a table. “Oh, if I could reach one of those,” he said. Quickly, he stepped forward. But before he got a few feet, a slice of bologna slapped his face.
On another table stood a pitcher of lemonade.
“What I would give for just one sip,” he said. He moved forward again, only to have a tomato slam his shoulder.
“This is worse than the Land of Rules,” he said. “Let me out of here.”
Slipping on chocolate pudding, Bradley ran from the lunchroom. Back on the crooked path, he stumbled over a pile of rubbish and dodged a flying rock. With two Unrulies shouting names at him, he cut cross-country until he reached the yellow line.
“The only safe place on this island seems to be right here in the middle,” he told himself.
Then, like a man on a tightrope, he followed the line back to the beach. He scrambled up the rope ladder onto the ship. Soon he was safely out to sea again.

Author! Author6!

WT Melon Alphabet: V

V is for Valentines Party: That strange day in all classrooms, particularly in the classroom at the end of the hall at WT Melon Elementary School, when students decorate the room with hearts and naked cupids, eat lots of candy and exchange goofy cards that say things like Be Mine!

Cuts

Kimberly takes lots of cuts in line. She has names for all the types she takes, Around-the-Back Cuts, Cut the Cheese Cuts, and lots more. Read more about Kimberly and her cut-taking in the book Mouth Moths, More Classroom Tales

Classroom Observation 11:

"Warning! Teachers are in their rottenest mood after a teachers' meeting."

Anta Claus Gives Up Cookie

Anta Claus of Antarctica gives Up, a special biscuit, to students who give up too easily in classrooms. Read more about Anta Claus and the Up cookie in the book Mouth Moths, More Classroom Tales

Bradley's Odyssey Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine
Found and Lost

Bradley’s ship sailed over the grape-dark sea. In no time, land was out of sight. Rise, dip, swing; rise, dip, swing, the oars rowed by the phantom crew kept a constant tempo.
Bradley sat on his backpack. “So where should we go now, ship?” he called out. “There’s nothing in sight but sky and water.”
As he spoke, someone tapped his shoulder. Turning, he saw nothing. “Recess?” he called out. “Is this one of your games?”
“Up here, Brave Bradley,” said a voice over his head.
Bradley looked up to see the silver god, hovering ten feet above him. The wings on his cap and sneakers flapped double-time.
“You must sail straight northward to the High Seas,” said the God of Play. “There you will find the island of Show and Tell. They can show or tell you where to find the Thinking Cap. But be warned, Brave Bradley. To reach Show and Tell’s island you must first pass the rocks of Found and Lost.”
“Found and Lost?” said Bradley. “Don’t you mean Lost and Found?”
Recess swirled his silver rod. “The women who dwell on the rocks are named Found and Lost,” he said. “Any sailor who hears the songs they sing, longs to get closer to them. Instead, they end up on the jagged crags. The rocks are strewn with the bones of men who have found Found and Lost, but were soon lost at sea.”
Without another word, Recess shot upward like a bottle rocket. Before the silver missile disappeared into the clouds, Bradley again heard the god’s warning, “Beware, Brave Bradley. Beware of the Songs of Found and Lost.”
Bradley stood. Once more he addressed the empty deck. “Turn left at the next wave, ship. Sail northward. A few rocks should be easy to avoid. It’s time for Show and Tell!”
At once the ship turned. Soon afterward, the northern horizon changed. The wavy line where the ocean met the sky appeared as a high arc, and the water ahead sloped upward.
“Recess told me to sail to the High Seas,” said Bradley. “We must be almost there.”
As the unseen oarsmen sculled up the tilting ocean, Bradley and his backpack slid to the stern. He stayed pinned to the back of the boat until the deck leveled off. A stiff breeze blew. Waves as tall as jungle gyms pushed the ship along at a terrific speed.
Bradley ran to the bow. He turned an ear into the wind and heard faint music.
“Someone is singing, ship,” he said. “I also hear a guitar and drums. Wow! What a beat. It’s coming from those rocks over there. Steer for those rocks, ship. I gotta hear more of that band!”
The ship changed course, and the rocks drew nearer. The music grew louder, and the words came clearer:
Bradley! Bradley! Hear Found and Lost sing.
Swim to us, and you’ll have everything.
No matter what you have, you need more.
Our rocks are better than any store.
“Did you hear that, ship?” Bradley asked. “They’re singing to me! They know my name!”
The ship coasted closer to the sharp-toothed rocks. Sun-bleached bones, even complete skeletons, were scattered about them.
On a ledge at the water’s edge, a pair of tall women was singing. Each had long black hair. Each wore black leather jackets and pants. One played an electric guitar, and the other drums. On the front of the base drum were the words:
Found and Lost
Bradley leaned over the railing to hear the next verse:
Bradley! Bradley! Come to us and choose.
From video games and running shoes.
Gadgets, gizmos, doodads, and stuff,
The things you have are not enough.
“Row nearer, ship?” Bradley called out. “This all sounds wonderful!”
Found and Lost continued to sing:
Bradley! Bradley! Listen to our band.
Get the latest styles in the hottest brand.
Like fads you see in a TV ad.
Stuff you don’t need, but wish you had.
“This is torture!” Bradley ranted. “I want! I want! I want!”
He stomped around the deck. He waved his fists. He kicked the walls like a spoiled kindergartner who didn’t have the right color of crayon.
Bradley! Bradley! Don’t be a fool.
Without our things you can’t be cool.
Swim to us, Bradley, you won’t regret.
Swim to us, Bradley and get, get, get!
Bradley pulled his hair. Sweat dripped down his forehead. “I’m hooked! I gotta have those things! I can’t resist any longer! Give me! Give me! Give me!”
He swung a leg over the side of the ship. He heaved himself onto the railing and sat there, entranced by the music. He was about to leap, when a silver sparkle on a wave caught his eye.
“Recess’s warning!” he remembered. “He told me I’d be sunk if I listened to Found and Lost’s music.”
At that moment, a wave rolled under the ship. The stern rose, and Bradley’s backpack slid toward him. Still half out of the ship, he reached down and grabbed a Kleenex from the bag. With all his strength, all his will power, he tore the tissue in two and stuck a wad into each ear.
Instantly, the world went silent. Bradley fell back into the boat and lay on the deck, breathing hard.
“Ship, steer away from those rocks,” he commanded.
The boat turned, and Bradley sat up. He looked back at Found and Lost on their rocks. The beautiful musicians were blowing kisses and beckoning to him to come back.
“That was close, ship,” he said. “I’d have been lost on those rocks and never found.”
He watched Found and Lost until they were dots in the distance. Finally, he pulled out his earplugs. “But that music sure was catchy,” he said. “And I wonder what those running shoes and video games were like. I bet they were really, really cool.”

Portrait in the Hallway

Wonderful Ones,
My portrait hangs in the hallway at W.T. Melon Elementary School. It was painted just before I left Apple Island and came to America and built this school. Sometimes, if you look at this picture more than once a day, you can see that it chances. I do that to amuse the children and keep them wondering.

All the best, Walter Teach Melon

Belinda’s Soccer Ball

Belinda brings her soccer ball,
Out to recess every day.
She knows that if you own the ball,
Others have to let you play.

Two Pictures 4

Can you find the differences in the two book covers?

Bradley's Odyssey Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight
The Odyssey Begins

The silver bus drove to the ocean. It parked beside a sandy beach in a small cove. The door folded open, and Bradley climbed down the steps. A light, fishy breeze blew, and small waves lapped near his feet. His toes rested on a white, chalk line that stretched from one end of the beach to the other.
“Hello? Hello?” Bradley called out.
In the water about fifty yards away, a group of orange dolphins leaped and splashed. Among the dolphins, Bradley spotted a trail of bubbles, moving toward shore. Soon the bald head of a diver surfaced. Shortly afterward, an orange scuba tank appeared, followed by a muscular body encased in an orange wet suit. The diver stood up in waste-deep water. He lifted his facemask, revealing a round face with a handlebar mustache. He held a harpoon with three points.
“All right, laddie, let’s get started,” the diver called out. “On your mark! Get set! ...”
“Wait!” cried Bradley. “I don’t even know what I am starting.”
“Well now, laddie, you’re standing on the Starting Line, so you can start anything you want,” said the diver. “A swimming race? A running relay? Push ups? Sit ups? Looks like you could use a bit of exercise. Care to start a car? Why not start a fire or a fight?”
Bradley shook his head. “I’m starting to get confused.”
“I can start that too,” said the diver. “On your mark! Get set! ...”
“Wait!” Bradley repeated. “Who are you?”
“The name is Coach, God of Physical Education, laddie,” the diver said. “It’s also my job to help children get started on things such as math assignments, book reports, and science projects. So whatever you need to start, let’s get started.”
“I’m supposed to start looking for the Thinking Cap,” said Bradley.
The god stroked his smooth chin. “The Thinking Cap? The Thinking Cap, did you say, laddie?” he said. “Aye, now, that means you’re starting on a great adventure, a long odyssey. That means you’ll be needing an especially good start. You’ll need a head start, a flying start, or a jump-start. From what I hear, the Thinking Cap is hidden far across the ocean. It lies in Lands Never Taught About in School; Never Shown on Maps.”
“I think I’m going to start crying,” said Bradley.
“On your mark! Get set! ...” Coach began again.
“Listen, Coach,” Bradley interrupted. “Is there any way of getting out of going on this odyssey?”
The God of PE pulled out one side of his mustache and let it spring back “Not unless you have a note from your parents, laddie,” he said.
“But how am I ever going to get across the ocean?” asked Bradley.
“Well now, I can start you off on the right foot,” said Coach.
Here the god raised his three-pronged harpoon. Almost at once, a long, wooden ship rounded the end of the cove. Although the deck was empty, a dozen oars, six per side, swung back and forth in a steady rhythm. The ship’s tall curved bow turned toward the shore, revealing a carved, wooden head on its front tip. The figurehead, Bradley could see, resembled the goddess Counselor.
The ship struck the beach and slid to a stop a foot from the Starting Line. A rope ladder dropped over its side.
“Here’s your ship, ship-shaped and ready to ship out. laddie,” the orange god announced.
“But the boat has no crew,” said Bradley. “How do I get it started?”
“Just give a command and it will take you where you want,” said Coach. “Now, laddie, if you’re finally ready to start, I’ll give the start signal. On your mark! Get set! Get going!”
Bradley sighed. Holding his backpack by the strap, he climbed the rope ladder. He stood alone on the ship’s wooden deck.
“But, Coach, I don’t know which way to start sailing,” he called out.
“Well, laddie, this being the Atlantic Ocean you can’t sail farther West, so I suggest you head east.”
Bradley turned a full circle. “OK, ship,” he said. “It’s weird talking to wood, but would you mind rowing out to sea?”
Nothing happened.
“You’re now the ship’s captain, laddie,” said Coach. “Bark out those commands like you mean it.”
“OK, ship!” Bradley shouted. “Head eastward!”
In unison, the twelve oars rose. They dipped into the water and swung backward. The ship’s high bow turned toward the eastern horizon.
“Forward, ship!” Bradley commanded. And, with swift strong strokes, the oars pulled the boat swiftly through the gentle waves.
Ahead, a large orange sea horse rose to the surface. It skidded across the water on its curled tail. Riding the sea horse was a naked boy, holding a conch shell.
“That lad is one of my assistance,” Coach called from shore. “His name is Once-Upon-a-Time, and he’s helpful if you want to start a story. Bon voyage, laddie. You’re off to an excellent start.”
At that moment, the boy on the sea horse raised the conch shell to his lips. A trumpet blast resounded across the sea
Bradley stood in the ship’s bow. “Once-Upon-a-Time,” he called out, “there was a boy named Bradley, and he had no idea what he just started.”

MVP*: Magellan Voyage Project

Wearing blue jeans and his blue backpack, Adam Story takes off on his around-the-world journey. He later learns that wearing blue is important, because he is now part of the GGG: the Great Global Game. Read more about Adam's journey in the book MVP: Magellan Voyage Project!

Writer’s Workshop

Our Writers’ Workshop follows math,
We write and work nonstop.
But Writers’ Workshop does not mean,
We ever get to shop.

Author! Author5!

Bradley's Odyssey Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven
The Creation of Teachers

1. Sir and Miss
Long ago when the earth was nothing but water, chalk dust, and modeling clay, Super sat on Mount Education feeling bored.
“Counselor, there’s nothing on Earth to watch tonight,” he complained to his wife. “Just the same dull stuff--water, dust, and clay.”
“Then make something to amuse yourself, Super,” Counselor replied. “Create something that will make the world a better place. Create something that will work hard, but we won’t have to pay very much.”
So Super flew down to earth and grabbed a lump of clay. He mixed it with chalk dust, pencil shavings, and eraser crumbs. He stirred in a pint of patience, a cup of caring, a dollop of dedication, and a handful of humor. Then he shaped the lump into two figures and called his creations teachers. One teacher he named Sir and the other Miss.
2. Gifts To the Teachers
When the gods in the Hall of Education learned about the teachers, each gave them a gift. Counselor knew Sir and Miss would need food, so she gave them a healthy, red fruit.
“This is an apple,” she said. “An apple is as versatile as a teacher must be to do a good job. You can bake it to make pies, squash it to make sauce, squeeze it to make juice, or bob for it to have fun on Halloween.” From that day on Counselor’s gift became the symbol for all teachers.
The next gift came from Recess. “Here is a silver whistle,” he said “Blow it, and anyone who hears you will suddenly stop doing whatever they were doing.”
Therapist forged the next gift under his volcano. “This is a bell,” he said. “Ring it, and anyone who hears you will come running your way.”
Alphabetty gave the teachers letters, and Digit gave them numbers. It was Academia, however, who gave the greatest gift--the Thinking Cap.
3. The Thinking Cap
Although the Thinking Cap looked like a plain, gray baseball cap, it had amazing powers. The instant the teachers put it on, they spoke wise words. They wrote books about what they said and wrote book reports about what they read in their books.
Wearing the Thinking Cap, Sir and Miss wandered the world. Whenever Atom made new plants and animals or Geo new rivers and mountains, the teachers stuck a label on it, giving each item a name. They wrote the names on lists. Each Friday they tested each other on how to spell every word.



4. The Crab Apple
For years, life on earth was peaceful and interesting. All went well until Flunk, in the Underworld, decided to stir up trouble. One day, when Counselor wasn’t looking, the God of Failure placed a new apple in Sir’s lunchbox, a hard, yellow crab apple.
The next lunch period Sir bit into the apple and made a sour face. From that time on, whenever he wore the Thinking Cap, his thoughts were crabby and cruel. He thought up names to call Miss, and ways to trick her. He began writing boring books and giving dull speeches. Even worse, he grew tired of learning.
5. Apple Island
Sir and Miss arrived on a peanut-shaped island. Sir planted three crab apple seeds in the southern half of the island. Miss planted three red apple seeds in the North.
The crab apple seeds grew into a dense, dark forest that Sir liked very much. “This is where I will stay and live,” he said.
At the same time, Miss’s trees grew into lovely woods. The land became green and grassy. “This is the place for me,” she said. “I’ll make my home here.”
In the center of the island stood a White Mountain that the teachers named Chalk Mountain. Near its base, Custodian, God of Classroom Tidiness, placed a hat rack. That is where Sir and Miss hung the Thinking Cap. Then, before they parted, the teachers chose a name fore their new home. They called it Apple Island.
Super stopped reading. He jumped down from TEACHER MYTHS AND LEGENDS.
“So that was the beginning, Bradley, my boy,” he said. “In the following years I molded more teachers who lived on Apple Island. They became either crabby or kind, depending on which apples they ate.”
Counselor pulled the strap on her bike helmet. “The teachers built Teacher City, The Great Hallway, The Grand Playground, The Great Book Building, and Office Palace where they kept the Thinking Cap,” she added. “And you know the rest of the story, Bradley.”
“Eventually the kind teachers left Apple Island,” Bradley remembered. “They sailed to America and built the Small Citizens Houses of Official Learning. Otherwise known as S.C.H.O.O.L.s.”
“And when they left Apple Island they took the Thinking Cap with them,” said Discipline. “They placed it in a certain coat closet, in a certain classroom, in a certain school, until yesterday when a certain crabby teacher named Mrs. Sticky Fingers stole it.”
“And they hid it somewhere not even Monitor, Lookout of the Gods can find it,” said Therapist from his jewel-covered wheelchair.
“But what do you want from me?” asked Bradley. “What can I do about the missing hat?”
“Bradley, my boy,” said Super. “There’s another myth in the book. It foretells of a time when education on earth will be in great jeopardy as it is today. The myth says that knowledge and learning will crumble until a hero, a common boy with average grades, will come out of a classroom to save it.”
“This boy, the myth hints, will be eleven-years old,” said Digit.
“And his name will begin with B,” said Alphabetty.
“Even today teachers use B as a high grade, so they won’t forget this heroes name,” said Academia. “The grade A is in my honor. C is for Counselor, D for Discipline, and F, of course, means Flunk. Can you guess who B stands for?”
“Whoo! Whoo!” went her owl.
Bradley gulped. “Bob? Brian? Beethoven?”
The gods and goddesses stared at the boy. “Bradley,” they chanted.
“Yes, Bradley, my boy, we believe you’re the only mortal who can find and return the Thinking Cap,” said Super. “We believe you are the chosen one.”
Bradley slid low in his chair. “Me? Chosen? But I’m never chosen for anything. Teachers never choose me to be a class helper. Kids never choose me for a partner in class projects. And if we ever choose teams in PE game I’m always the last one picked.”
“Bradley, the world needs you,” said Geo.
. “And if you run into any trouble, the gods will be watching you from the Board Room,” said Atom.
“I only wish you had warmer clothes,” said Counselor. “You’ll catch your death of cold dressed like that.”
Bradley raised his shoulders to his ears. “But even if I wanted to look for the Thinking Cap, I don’t know where to start.”
Recess spun his rod. “A good place to start is at the Starting Line, Brave Bradley,” he said. “The silver bus is waiting to take you there now. Just follow the Muses”
At that moment the four Muses approached the table.
Bradley stood. Shouldering his backpack, he followed Art, Music, Drama, and Poetry out the door. His head buzzed with a million questions. He looked back at the table and started to say, “But I...”
The Gods of Education, however, had already resumed their Staff Meeting.
“OK, next matter of business,” Super’s voice came over the speaker. “Summer vacation is drawing near. Which of you gods will volunteer to host the End-of-Year Staff Party?”

2ndGraders #28

WT Melon Alphabet: U

U is for Up Biscuits: A giant cookie Anta Claus of Antarctica gives to students in classrooms who give up.

13th Floor

In the book The Elevator Family there is no chapter 13. Can you guess why?

Classroom Observation 10:

"No matter how kind the class, substitutes are fair game."

Gavin

Gavin, the bellhop, has a crush on Cathy, the girl who runs the flower stall in the lobby of the San Francisco Hotel. Gavin is so shy he gets tongue-tied whenever he tries to talk with Cathy, so he ends up buying flowers from her instead.

Wrapping My School

Christo, the artist, wraps buildings,
And I thought that’s real cool,
So I did some artwork also,
Today I wrapped my school.

With big spools of poster paper,
Red, white, green, black, and blue,
Running round I unraveled rolls,
And taped them when all through.

Wrapping the gym was the hard part,
Because it stood so tall.
But I put on rock climbing gear,
And repelled down each wall.

A red library, white lunchroom,
The office I wrapped green.
At last my art was finished when,
No inch of school was seen.

Soon inside my package bells rang.
And I heard teacher shout.
“Christine unwrap this school at once!
And let the students out!”

Spot

Do you ever get Writer's Block during Writer's Workshop. If you're lucky Spot might float down from the ceiling to help you. Read more about Spot in the forthcoming book Mouth Moths, More Classroom Tales

Classroom Observation 9:

"Dibs is a special word used exclusively in grade schools"

Anta Claus of Antarctica

This skinny man with a black beard appears in many classrooms and is visible only to students who say "can't" too much. Anta might give you an Up biscuit. Read more about Anta Claus in the forthcoming book Mouth Moths, More Classroom Tales

Rainy Day Recess

Wonderful Ones,
I hope by now spring is in full swing at your school and you don't have any more rainy day recesses. Rainy-day recesses can be fun at times, but too many games of Hang-Man and Seven Up can get boring after a while. I hope the sun shines for you for the rest of the school year!
All the best, Walter Teach Melon

Home Sweat Home

Wherever the Wilsons stay each evening the hang this framed sample on the wall. Home Sweat Home! Did you read it right? This was made by Whitney and Winslow when they were in second grade and not very good spellers.

NATE, ONE NOTE

Nate slipped his new recorder from its case.
And raised the brown plastic tube to his face.

His fingers covered the holes one, two, three.
“Toot softly,” said the teacher. “Play a G.”

Nate sucked in all the air his lungs would take.
And blew as if blasting a birthday cake.

The squeal that came out could have stopped a train.
Like the cry of elks or puppies in pain.

G! G! G! G! Nate repeated the sound.
The kids in his class grumbled, groaned, and frowned,

“Golly gee!” Nate cried. “Gee! I can play G!”
“Gee whiz! Isn’t everyone proud of me!”

G! G! G! G! he continued to play.
Out the classroom door and down the hallway.

The principal thought the intercom squeaked
The janitor thought the steam boiler leaked.

G! G! G! G! brought the teacher to tears
Their students stuck paper towels in their ears.

The secretary shouted a foul word,
The librarian’s SHHHHHH! couldn’t be heard.

G! G! G! G! Nate played into the gym.
The P.E. teacher tossed basketballs at him.

Then Nate crossed the playground playing his piece.
And the school heard the G suddenly cease.

Soon a recorder was found on the roof.

Who threw the thing up there? No one has proof.

But for once students and staff did agree.
No one wanted to hear one more G.

2ndGraders #27

WT Melon Alphabet: T

T is for Ticonderoga 2: This thin, yelow, six-sided fellow might come into your classroom looking for lost pencils. Careful! If he finds one he'll grind it up in the pencil sharpener and thake the shaving to the great chefs of Pennsylvania.

May Day!