Onward Vikings, Onward!

As we study early exploration this quarter, we will also explore the motivations behind many a discoverer's "drive" to succeed.  We will also learn that discovery isn't always about finding a new land... it's also about new information, new ways of thinking, and new points of view!


A Viking's Wisdom

Oh ye, the land is young and we are old,
same with the stories others have told.
For land to sky, and sand to snow,
what are we mere beings bound to know?

                                                ~ /Sophie

... a murder of crows

Dark, evil, and scary I see.

It is staring disturbingly at me.

Hop and bounce it goes.
All the way through the rows.

There are copious amounts over there.
They stare at me evily, with no care.
They are waiting for delicious food.
Why are they so rude?

Walking over the parking lot,
standing there, hoping not to get caught.
Looking at me with huge bug eyes.
People staring at them with sighs.

I go up to it, wondering what it thinks.
Jumping on carts, making loud clinks.
It is like he is asking me to go,
this horrible animal is a crow.
                                                  by Jenna

There are three murders over there,
sitting in three trees,
and there is a certain crow
that is staring at me.

That one certain crow's eyes
were gleaming in the sun,
so I got up from my bench
and I started to run.

The crow then caught up to me
and I screamed.
I was so scared
of how bright his eyes gleamed.

I tried to get up.
But the crow knocked me down.
No matter how hard I tried
I couldn't get off the ground.

When I finally managed to get up,
the crow had already flown away.
Then I realized to my surprise
the crow had been a hallucination of the sunny day.


The sky, clouds, and trees weren't real,
the murders of crow weren't real, too.
But just a single crow was real;
the one that was controlling my thoughts - telling me what to do.
                                                by Hunter

Crow, oh Crow!  What do you know?
You sit on a cart all day!
You sound like you have no heart!
You sit and wait for snow.

You know no one watches.
You know no one cares.
You sit on perches all day,
even when people say... "hey!"
                               by Hope


A black crow sat upon the silver handle of a grocery cart.  Its beady black eyes stared into mine as if it were looking into my soul.  Its feathers flustered around his back and wings.  It waddled across the handle, but its eyes were still fixed upon me.  Suddenly, a murder of crows came gliding in, taking over the carts with their pitch black feathers.

I turned around to show my little brother, but by the time he arrived they were all gone.  All of them were, except the first one.  Its beady black eyes fixed on me, and it didn't even blink.

                                                                                                                      by Megan

The black beetle eyes bore into my soul.

Her wings were shiny and midnight black.

Its gruesome glare made me feel like I was

falling down in a never-ending hole.

This murder of crows made me feel cursed.

They all kept their eyes fixed on me

and when I yelled at them all to leave,

it just made my problem worse.

                                                  by Cailyn

This Old House

Students wax creatively about the possibilties an old abandoned house/warehouse might reveal via ink and paper.





Through the crumbling years, past 2012, there was one building;  789 Broadway Street, New York.  It stood firm, but cracked in the afternoon.  The blinding rays of the sun spread across the sky.  Not one living organism remained on the crusty brown surface of the dried up earth.  The broken windows let light through, to shine upon the faded graffiti.  Two pillars stood somewhat hunched over, with knocked over tables and chairs all around.  In a corner, there hung a cobweb with the desiccated body of a fly and some lifeless eggs.  Wooden planks covered the floor with sharp nails sticking out like porcupine quills. 

The beaches are gone; the oceans vaporized.  The building's story is fairly simple.  This was the one structure surviving WW III.

                                                                                                  by Raphael

You say you want a revolution....

Our phenomenal students are currently studying the American Revolution. 

3 taxes were placed,

they made you pay,

for sugar and tea

every single day.

You paid taxes on paper,

you paid taxes on food,

but the taxes on tea

darkened the colonists' mood.

"Let's sabotage their tea taxes!"

the colonists said.

Then everything changed,

when the British went to bed.

They dumped crates of tea

all through the night.

But the British found out

and they put up a fight.

That's how it went,

the Boston Tea Party.

And to only think

this stared because of tea.

                                      by Megan

 

The smoke from his rifle fills the air
and the colonists cry loudly in despair.
For a man threw a block of wood,
causing the Redcoats to shoot,
not clearly understood.

The guns hit five people to death
including Crispus Attucks, a famous escaped slave.
And the deaths provoked a panic wave,
but the colonisits tried to protect their customshouse.
It all is a dreaful end
for this was called the Boston Massacre.
                                                          by Cailyn

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time a little boy named Kevin was outside playing with his new dirt bike.  It had a yellow tint on it and it could go 50 miles per hour.  As he was on his third lap, Kevin crashed because he saw a tornado coming his way.  He was scared and stuck under his brand new dirt bike.  He started screaming and saying, "Tornado! A big tornado is coming this way!  It's picking up everything!  Help me!  Mom, help me!"  (His family was not home... only his big brother)
His big brother came out and got the bike and Kevin and brought them inside.  They got into the bright white bathtub that was cemented into the floor.  The room was small.  They were scared and they heard the roaring of the tornado, they heard the sound of the house being dominated by the destroying storm.  All of a sudden, the storm was gone.  Their family came home and it was over.

                                                                                                                             -by Brandon

I don't think we are in Kansas anymore.. Descriptive Writing: Storm

Students were asked to write a short, descriptive passage about a storm.  As inspiration we looked at a photograph of a stormy sky.

As I sat out in the graveyard, reading my book, I saw the sky become gray.  I examined it and realized there was a storm coming in.  Large gray clouds roiling through the sky like giant-sized dust bunnies doubled in size, consuming the once baby blue sky.  Wind roared louder than a lion and lightning flashed more times than my brother has ripped my homework (which is a lot!).


I raced to my brick house in the middle of the wheat field when suddenly a black, shady figure came up and grabbed me.  Its fingers were slimy and green, which made the storm even more horrifying...


I screamed as I awoke from my dream of dark figures and overly terrifying storms.  I looked around my room to see only a slight rain falling from the sky.  I have quite and imagination...

                                                                                                                          Written by Megan

Oh no!  There is a storm coming!  "What do we do?"  It is huge and the winds are turning like a blender and the clouds are dark as a black cat.  It is coming straight towards us and it's pouring down rain.  There are bolts of lightning lighting up the dark blue sky.  How do we survive?  We turn on the news and the report comes in:  HURRICANE!  The thunder is like an avalanche of boulders.  Over night we will wait and see.


The sun comes up shining through the dark cloud and the storm is finally done.  We made it through and I can't wait until the next evening storm!

                                                                                                                        Written by Juliana

The storm was immense and dark black.  It shot large bolts of lightning out of the center of its heart.  The storm was raging with rain as it struck the grasslands.  Houses were boarded up; every door was shut!  This was the most deadly storm that had taken over the beautiful blue sky, but now it's like a lion roaring and gaining on you.  Every minute the storm illuminated different parts and was turning pitch black like a Raven's eye spying on you; watching you sleep.  The ugly storm wouldn't scatter away.

                                                                                                                        Written by Chase

Oh no!  A storm is coming!  A dark haze of thick fog filled the air as the healthy forest green grass started trembling. The gray misty clouds filed the black, smoky sky.  Slowly, tiny globes of ice showered down on one rooftop followed by others.  Suddenly, two bright bolts of lightning zipped through the air, blinding me.  Thunder crackled and thudded the earth as people locked their doors and hid.
The tall trees were getting knocked down by the furious winds.  The waves in the dark, grayish-blue ocean lifted up and crashed over the houses.  A few hours later the storm ended; leaving behind nothing but hope for one person... me.

                                                                                                                        Written by Cailyn

CRAAAACK!  The dark gray sky whips through the air as the wind wisps, 35 miles per hour, blowing the algae green grass away.  Lightning bolts, the color of pure gold, strike a newly planted Oak tree in my yard.  The eye of the storm stirs above my house as if it were my mom stirring cake batter.  As I stick my head out of my window I can feel a nice wind pushing my face; tiny droplets run down my face, trying to get away from the creamy, gray storm.  Dark clouds inch their way towards me, rolling closer.  As I prepare for the storm, the wind pours into my lava-orange room.  I slam shut the heavy peek hole, then fall into a deep sleep.

                                                                                                                         Written by Jesse

Poetry is Alive and Well in the 5th Grade!

When I was two
I went to the zoo.
It was so awesome
because I saw the opossum.

My favorite part
was the hippopotamus race start,
but we had to go so soon,
because we had to arrive home before noon.

I was so sad
because it was so bad,
that we had to leave the zoo,
so I said, "boo!"

I had a good night
because the stars were so bright,
and the constellations
looked like decorations.
                                   -Shruti




When I was little, I went to Hershey Park
I got inside the park, it started to pitter patter
my mom said it did not matter
so we stayed until it was dark.

While we were there
I rode the Great Bear
where you sit in a chair
and ride the rollercoaster upsidedown.

It was lots of fun
I got to play and run
all over the park
until the day was done.

My favorite thing
that wasn't a ride,
was a big, huge waterslide
I love Hershey Park.
                                       -Hunter




Her blonde, golden hair flows through the wind
her eyes sparkle in the bright sun.
When she plays on the Wii, she has so much fun.
Her name sounds like love.

When I look at her I think I am in heaven.
When she talks to me it sounds like birds.
Also, she does not blurt out screaming when I miss a word.
Last, she looks like ten midnight stars in the night.
                                                   -Porter


My outrageous cat
is afraid of a chair.
She wears a hideous hat,
but doesn't have any hair!

She can write with a pen,
but never writes with pencil.
And plays with Barbie and Ken,
and will blow on a windmill.

She can never tell a lie,
but will always talk.
She never wants to say goodbye,
although she won't walk.

                                          -Skyllar


As I read the Raven,
I was scared to go anymore.
I went and read the next sentence,
it was, "forgotten folk tales and lore."

As the next page was flipped,
I thought there'd be some gore.
As I started to read,
there was a rapping at my door.

I went and turned the door knob,
as a black winged creature flew in.
I jumped back in fear across the carpet,
I thought it might have brought in a sin.

I screamed, "Go back to your home,"
but all it did was stare.
I felt it was looking at my soul,
and then just gave it a tear.

My heart scorched and burned,
as the pain dragged me to the ground.
I looked and stared with anger,
as it made a devilish sound.

I went and covered my ears
as I thought my life was done,
but then I opened my eyes,
and it was just my mind having fun.
                                              - Raphael

Roses are red
Violets are blue
You are not nice
So I'm not talking to you!
                                        -Ashlei