"I Think I Can" anthology entries by Ms. Roche's class
Harvey
I was scared, nervous. I thought I’d get hurt
riding the bumper cars. The gate opened,
my knees were hitting each other. I slowly
walked to a car and got in. I put on the seat belt.
It felt like a python squeezing my chest.
She hit the button. Every one took off.
People were crashing into each other,
people crashed into me, but it wasn’t scary
at all. It was really fun! I was relieved; I knew
that was going to be my favorite ride. I was not scared
of it anymore; I faced my fear. You can, too.
Jevion
Walking in to music class
the day of try-outs for honors’ chorus.
If I made it, it would my third year
in honors’ chorus. I was nervous.
Finally it was my turn. I felt as if I were
gonna faint. Knees shaking,
I was sweating. I felt as if I were on
AMERICAN IDOL and Mr. Buchanan
was my Simon, who told the truth
no matter what. After I sang, he
smiled and said, “Do you want to be
in the choir?” I sang, “YES!” and was
happy the rest of the day!
Taliyah
Have you ever tried something when you had to really talk yourself into it? Well, I have. Let me tell you more about my story.
It was a late afternoon when my mom put out a plate of broccoli. There were five pieces. I thought in my head, “I think I can, I think I can!” I picked up a piece of broccoli. I took my first tiny bite of the vegetable that looked like a little green cupcake with sprinkles on top.
I said to myself, “This might not be so bad,” as I put it in my mouth. I swallowed it and immediately thought it might come back up. It was truly disgusting, but I’m glad I tried it. Don’t ever be afraid to try something (like a vegetable) once!
Jordan
Going to Venture River
at the end of the year.
First in the wave pool
then I saw it, the tallest slide,
big and steep, white as snow.
I walked like a zombie
all the way up, getting more
and more scared.
I took a deep breath and said
I think I can slide down. I closed
my eyes and went fast down the slide.
Seconds later I said, “I did it!”
Eric
Have you ever tried to do something new or amazing? Well I have. Listen to my story.
One year I lived in New York, but then we moved. We went down far south to Florida. We arrived and I unpacked all my clothes. When I found my old swim trunks I asked my mom if we could go to the pool. We got done and dressed, got towels and went to the pool.
The hot concrete burned my feet near the poolside and we noticed we had the pool to ourselves. I practiced front flipping. My brother and sister danced to the music on the stereo. Then they picked me up and flung me into the deep, cold water. I used my “not so great” swimming techniques and swam to safety.
I tried to do a backflip but accidentally flipped to the side and scaped my ankle on the side of the pool. I tried and tried but did not succeed.
In about another hour my parents came with snacks. I took a break and rested. Once my ankle felt healed I got up and took a stand. I just had to. I knew it would be cool! But then again, my friend had tried this and broken his leg!
My family was chanting, “E.J.! E.J.! E.J.!” I guessed they wanted me to flip. I readied myself. I stood at the end of the pool and it happened. PERFECTION! Something new for once in my life!
I was scared, nervous. I thought I’d get hurt
riding the bumper cars. The gate opened,
my knees were hitting each other. I slowly
walked to a car and got in. I put on the seat belt.
It felt like a python squeezing my chest.
She hit the button. Every one took off.
People were crashing into each other,
people crashed into me, but it wasn’t scary
at all. It was really fun! I was relieved; I knew
that was going to be my favorite ride. I was not scared
of it anymore; I faced my fear. You can, too.
Jevion
Walking in to music class
the day of try-outs for honors’ chorus.
If I made it, it would my third year
in honors’ chorus. I was nervous.
Finally it was my turn. I felt as if I were
gonna faint. Knees shaking,
I was sweating. I felt as if I were on
AMERICAN IDOL and Mr. Buchanan
was my Simon, who told the truth
no matter what. After I sang, he
smiled and said, “Do you want to be
in the choir?” I sang, “YES!” and was
happy the rest of the day!
Taliyah
Have you ever tried something when you had to really talk yourself into it? Well, I have. Let me tell you more about my story.
It was a late afternoon when my mom put out a plate of broccoli. There were five pieces. I thought in my head, “I think I can, I think I can!” I picked up a piece of broccoli. I took my first tiny bite of the vegetable that looked like a little green cupcake with sprinkles on top.
I said to myself, “This might not be so bad,” as I put it in my mouth. I swallowed it and immediately thought it might come back up. It was truly disgusting, but I’m glad I tried it. Don’t ever be afraid to try something (like a vegetable) once!
Jordan
Going to Venture River
at the end of the year.
First in the wave pool
then I saw it, the tallest slide,
big and steep, white as snow.
I walked like a zombie
all the way up, getting more
and more scared.
I took a deep breath and said
I think I can slide down. I closed
my eyes and went fast down the slide.
Seconds later I said, “I did it!”
Eric
Have you ever tried to do something new or amazing? Well I have. Listen to my story.
One year I lived in New York, but then we moved. We went down far south to Florida. We arrived and I unpacked all my clothes. When I found my old swim trunks I asked my mom if we could go to the pool. We got done and dressed, got towels and went to the pool.
The hot concrete burned my feet near the poolside and we noticed we had the pool to ourselves. I practiced front flipping. My brother and sister danced to the music on the stereo. Then they picked me up and flung me into the deep, cold water. I used my “not so great” swimming techniques and swam to safety.
I tried to do a backflip but accidentally flipped to the side and scaped my ankle on the side of the pool. I tried and tried but did not succeed.
In about another hour my parents came with snacks. I took a break and rested. Once my ankle felt healed I got up and took a stand. I just had to. I knew it would be cool! But then again, my friend had tried this and broken his leg!
My family was chanting, “E.J.! E.J.! E.J.!” I guessed they wanted me to flip. I readied myself. I stood at the end of the pool and it happened. PERFECTION! Something new for once in my life!
Real-World Reasons for Writing!
Dear Ms. Roche and Mrs. Knox,
Do you enjoy a piece of candy every once in awhile? I bet you do. Well, we do too! That’s why we want permission to bring candy to school and have it in your rooms. Here’s why!
Have you ever noticed anyone falling asleep in class before? That seems rude. I think that maybe they don’t mean to be rude, they just didn’t get enough sleep. If you let us bring candy to class, it’ll keep us wide awake. When I get drowsy, I’ll just quietly have a peppermint.
Have you ever heard a student’s summer growl loudly right in the middle of a lesson? It’s very distracting to some people. Maybe if you let us have candy, it would keep our stomach’s settled. We could control our loud, growling stomachs if we had candy because we would be satisfied until lunch. You’re probably thinking, “You wouldn’t want your lunch if you ate candy before!” You don’t have to worry about that. We’re not talking about a lot of candy, just one piece. It can even be sugar-free in the morning!
I bet you’re wondering if we’d be too careless. No way! We wouldn’t get caught with candy in the halls. We would keep it in our pockets. We would only eat it in your rooms. We could even unwrap it ahead of time and keep it in a Ziploc bac. That way you wouldn’t have to hear any crinkly, noisy wrappers. We would always throw the wrappers away and not on the floor.
Have you ever wondered why it takes us so long to get our work done? It may be because we don’t have anything to motivate us. We could probably concentrate a lot better if we could have candy. We would be excited to work. Why, you ask? Because we would be able to get a reward for our work. The reward would be a chance to eat a piece of candy in class!
So please think it over, Ms. Roche and Mrs. Knox. It could be really good for you, too. You can enjoy a piece of candy with us while we concentrate and focus on our work. We’ll be careful and motivated. I really hope you will let us. Thank you for reading this letter.
Sincerely,
Ms. Roche’s class
Do you enjoy a piece of candy every once in awhile? I bet you do. Well, we do too! That’s why we want permission to bring candy to school and have it in your rooms. Here’s why!
Have you ever noticed anyone falling asleep in class before? That seems rude. I think that maybe they don’t mean to be rude, they just didn’t get enough sleep. If you let us bring candy to class, it’ll keep us wide awake. When I get drowsy, I’ll just quietly have a peppermint.
Have you ever heard a student’s summer growl loudly right in the middle of a lesson? It’s very distracting to some people. Maybe if you let us have candy, it would keep our stomach’s settled. We could control our loud, growling stomachs if we had candy because we would be satisfied until lunch. You’re probably thinking, “You wouldn’t want your lunch if you ate candy before!” You don’t have to worry about that. We’re not talking about a lot of candy, just one piece. It can even be sugar-free in the morning!
I bet you’re wondering if we’d be too careless. No way! We wouldn’t get caught with candy in the halls. We would keep it in our pockets. We would only eat it in your rooms. We could even unwrap it ahead of time and keep it in a Ziploc bac. That way you wouldn’t have to hear any crinkly, noisy wrappers. We would always throw the wrappers away and not on the floor.
Have you ever wondered why it takes us so long to get our work done? It may be because we don’t have anything to motivate us. We could probably concentrate a lot better if we could have candy. We would be excited to work. Why, you ask? Because we would be able to get a reward for our work. The reward would be a chance to eat a piece of candy in class!
So please think it over, Ms. Roche and Mrs. Knox. It could be really good for you, too. You can enjoy a piece of candy with us while we concentrate and focus on our work. We’ll be careful and motivated. I really hope you will let us. Thank you for reading this letter.
Sincerely,
Ms. Roche’s class
Ms. Roche's Writers Write for Real!
THE ELDERLY HOUSE By Jevion
So much depends on a house
Getting wet in the rain
Looking like an old person
Thinking about where he lost his umbrella
The Elderly house
Just sitting there leaking
Waiting for the sun
To dry the rain off of it
waiting
and
waiting
just getting soaked
with nothing to keep it
from getting wet
The sun finally comes out
and dries off the rain
and the house is better
again
like an old person knitting a sweater
by the crackling hot fire
trying to go to sleep.
PLAYTIME-NAPTIME by Aaron
Inside the house
A moth flew by
Kitty soon became
Interested
She arched her neutral colored
Back and stretched
Her long paws
She leaped and clawed
At the moth
The moth swiftly flew
Away
Kitty jumped on
the soft grey couch
And licked her
Soft fuzzy fur.
Then came a
long yawn
And it’s pretty much nap Time
for the rest of the day.
Gypsies By Harvey
Gypsies holding hands
in a circle
with red-brown and green
colored clothes that look
like different colored capes
and shawls put together.
Gypsies talking to each other
their brown eyes closed,
humming
brown and white ladies
with strange earrings
walking in the woods
telling each other’s futures
over and over again.
Then suddenly
they stopped telling each
others futures.
They sat down and
started telling
the past.
Have You Heard? by Jordan
Have you heard the big blue and white trucks
running down freeway?
Moaning and covering hundreds of miles
traveling along the way to Nashville.
Have you heard cars racing on track
Just for it to be said, we are the best on the test?
Squealing their tires, revving their engines,
Shifting their gears as they groan on the track
that goes round forever.
Have you heard that motorcycles are
The way to go?
Their back is humped
like a camel crossing the desert,
but fast as lightning.
Have you heard the freeway is the way
To go as you travel?
No matter which way
To a place we
All may know as home.
Mongo by Taliyah Hamilton
Under a enormous tree
Mongo lies under it
thick puffy fur
Rich brown eyes and
lying on his left side
Like a rock saying still all day
Looking up
Freezing like an ice-cube
I glanced and saw him
Lying back down
And he goes right back to sleep
All afternoon
Wonderful Night by Darlena Cook
The moon is full
The grass is dull
Lights are out
There is no doubt
The candles are bright
Lit up the night
No TV to watch
No games to play
All we can do is lay
Mountains are deep
Holes are deep
Ice is slick
Hard as bricks
Darkness is near
Family is here
which makes this a wonderful night
Living with Lupus by Tiffany Burns
My mom has lupus.
Lupus means your muscles and joints hurt.
She walks funny-
Feet stomping,
Hurts when lifting,
Limps when walking.
She sometimes trips out of bed,
Before her morning medicine.
Her legs and arms are sore
Like a child getting a shot,
But she can drive.
I help with a lot of things,
Turn off the TV,
Sweep and vacuum,
Wash dishes,
Pack and unpack
When we move.
But Dad sits back
Doesn’t do a thing;
Doesn’t have lupus,
Just laziness.
Even with lupus My mom will feel great
With all my help.
The Bad Storm Of 2009 by Cathy Hayes
On a stormy day a tree fell
I wonder, I wonder,
will it fall on me
Or on anther tree
I sat and thought
And then my power went out
I couldn’t see not even a tree
I looked out side
I saw the sky
My power line was hanging
So low, down to the ground
I felt mad and sad
People have died
People have tried to get the trees out of their yard
Finally the lights came back on
Everybody was happy
They say it was the worst storm since 2004
I hope we never have anther storm and you better watch out for that tree.
That is what happens on a stormy day.
So much depends on a house
Getting wet in the rain
Looking like an old person
Thinking about where he lost his umbrella
The Elderly house
Just sitting there leaking
Waiting for the sun
To dry the rain off of it
waiting
and
waiting
just getting soaked
with nothing to keep it
from getting wet
The sun finally comes out
and dries off the rain
and the house is better
again
like an old person knitting a sweater
by the crackling hot fire
trying to go to sleep.
PLAYTIME-NAPTIME by Aaron
Inside the house
A moth flew by
Kitty soon became
Interested
She arched her neutral colored
Back and stretched
Her long paws
She leaped and clawed
At the moth
The moth swiftly flew
Away
Kitty jumped on
the soft grey couch
And licked her
Soft fuzzy fur.
Then came a
long yawn
And it’s pretty much nap Time
for the rest of the day.
Gypsies By Harvey
Gypsies holding hands
in a circle
with red-brown and green
colored clothes that look
like different colored capes
and shawls put together.
Gypsies talking to each other
their brown eyes closed,
humming
brown and white ladies
with strange earrings
walking in the woods
telling each other’s futures
over and over again.
Then suddenly
they stopped telling each
others futures.
They sat down and
started telling
the past.
Have You Heard? by Jordan
Have you heard the big blue and white trucks
running down freeway?
Moaning and covering hundreds of miles
traveling along the way to Nashville.
Have you heard cars racing on track
Just for it to be said, we are the best on the test?
Squealing their tires, revving their engines,
Shifting their gears as they groan on the track
that goes round forever.
Have you heard that motorcycles are
The way to go?
Their back is humped
like a camel crossing the desert,
but fast as lightning.
Have you heard the freeway is the way
To go as you travel?
No matter which way
To a place we
All may know as home.
Mongo by Taliyah Hamilton
Under a enormous tree
Mongo lies under it
thick puffy fur
Rich brown eyes and
lying on his left side
Like a rock saying still all day
Looking up
Freezing like an ice-cube
I glanced and saw him
Lying back down
And he goes right back to sleep
All afternoon
Wonderful Night by Darlena Cook
The moon is full
The grass is dull
Lights are out
There is no doubt
The candles are bright
Lit up the night
No TV to watch
No games to play
All we can do is lay
Mountains are deep
Holes are deep
Ice is slick
Hard as bricks
Darkness is near
Family is here
which makes this a wonderful night
Living with Lupus by Tiffany Burns
My mom has lupus.
Lupus means your muscles and joints hurt.
She walks funny-
Feet stomping,
Hurts when lifting,
Limps when walking.
She sometimes trips out of bed,
Before her morning medicine.
Her legs and arms are sore
Like a child getting a shot,
But she can drive.
I help with a lot of things,
Turn off the TV,
Sweep and vacuum,
Wash dishes,
Pack and unpack
When we move.
But Dad sits back
Doesn’t do a thing;
Doesn’t have lupus,
Just laziness.
Even with lupus My mom will feel great
With all my help.
The Bad Storm Of 2009 by Cathy Hayes
On a stormy day a tree fell
I wonder, I wonder,
will it fall on me
Or on anther tree
I sat and thought
And then my power went out
I couldn’t see not even a tree
I looked out side
I saw the sky
My power line was hanging
So low, down to the ground
I felt mad and sad
People have died
People have tried to get the trees out of their yard
Finally the lights came back on
Everybody was happy
They say it was the worst storm since 2004
I hope we never have anther storm and you better watch out for that tree.
That is what happens on a stormy day.
