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Article #5 My House I live in a house. My house is small. My house has two bedrooms. My Mom and Dad sleep in one bedroom. My sister and I share the other bedroom. My house has a kitchen. My Mom and Dad cook dinner there every night. My house has a living room. My family watches television there every night. My house has a big bathroom. My house has a lot of closets. My house has a basement. My Dad has a workshop in the basement. My Dad makes wood furniture. My house does not have a second floor. My house has a garage. My house has a big backyard. My backyard has a maple tree. My backyard has a swimming pool. My backyard has a vegetable garden. My family likes our house.
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Article #6 My First Pet My name is Sarah. I am 14 years old. I have a pet cat. My cat's name is Milo. My cat is black and white. Milo's paws are white. Milo's body is black. She is very cute. Milo's fur is very soft. Milo was a very small kitten. Milo is a very big cat. Milo cannot have kittens. She is fixed. Milo likes to eat. Milo likes to play outside Milo likes to hunt for birds. Milo likes to hunt for mice. She likes her ears scratched. Milo likes to sit in my lap. Milo likes to sleep on my bed. Milo is a good pet.
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Article #7 Jennifer the Firefighter Jennifer Smith is a firefighter. She is one of the first female firefighters. Jennifer works hard every day. Jennifer exercises every day. She lifts weights. She wants her muscles to be very strong. She saves people's lives every day. She is very strong. Jennifer is married. Her husband is a school teacher. Jennifer's husband is proud of her. Jennifer is a mother. She has two daughters. Jennifer's daughters are proud of her too. Jennifer is happy being a firefighter. Jennifer is happy being a wife. Jennifer is happy being a mother.
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Article #8 Mark's Big Game Mark's favorite sport is hockey. He is 15 years old. Mark practices three times a week. Practices are two hours long. Mark plays one game a week. Mark is a good hockey player. He plays on Friday nights. Friday night hockey games are popular. Mark's family watches him play. Mark's friends watch him play too. There are always many fans. Tonight, is the big game. Coaches are coming to watch Mark play. Mark wants to play in the National Hockey League. Mark wants to make a lot of money. It is very hard to play in the NHL. Mark's parents want him to go to college. They want him to have an education. They want Mark to be successful. They want Mark to be happy.
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Article #9 The Easter Egg Hunt Samantha is going to an Easter egg hunt. Tracey is going to an Easter egg hunt. The Easter egg hunt is at Sydney's house. It is going to be fun. Sydney's mom hid chocolate eggs. Sydney's mom hid chocolate bunnies. Everybody is here. Everybody has an Easter basket. The Easter egg hunt can start. Everybody must close their eyes. One, two, three, go! Samantha finds an Easter egg. The Easter egg is behind a table. She puts it in her basket. Tracey finds a chocolate Easter bunny. It's under the couch. Tracey puts in her basket. Sydney finds a chocolate Easter bunny too. It's in front of the television. She puts in her basket. Everybody finds lots of chocolate. Everybody shares their chocolate. Samantha, Tracey, and Sydney love Easter.
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Article #10 Joe's First Car Joe is 18 years old. Joe works at McDonald's. Joe saves all his money. Joe has $2500.00 in the bank. He wants to buy a sports car. Joe starts to look for a new car. Joe looks in the newspaper. Joe looks in magazines. Joe finds a car he likes. Joe goes to see the car with his dad. He really likes it. Joe doesn't have enough money. Joe's dad tells him to keep saving his money. Joe wants this car a lot. Joe asks his dad to help him. Joe and his dad make a deal. Joe's dad will lend him the money. Joe must work hard. He must pay the money back to his dad. Joe is very happy. Joe owns his first car.
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Article #124 What I Like Most and Least About Myself I was trying to think up the best and the worst things about myself. I think the best thing about me is that I am very friendly. I have a lot of friends, and they all like me. I try to be good to my friends. I don't often have arguments with people. I think that I am quite easy to get along with. The worst thing about me is that I sometimes feel sad. Sometimes I don't feel sad for any particular reason. I just get into moods where I am depressed. Sometimes there is a reason to be sad. I was sad when my pet frog died. I was sad when I lost my favorite baseball card. On those days, I'm still nice to my friends, but inside I feel like there is a heavy weight in my chest. I think that everyone feels sadness sometimes. I try to do things that make me happy whenever I get into one of my sad moods. Last Saturday, I felt a bit sad so I called up my friend John and asked him if he wanted to go to the movies. We went to...
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Article #125 The Trunk in the Attic Last month my grandmother asked me if I could help her to clean out her attic. I was happy that she asked me. My grandmother says that her attic is full of junk. I think that her attic is full of treasures. I helped her to dust and vacuum the attic. I pulled and pushed around boxes and crates. I helped her to wash the floors and walls. My favorite thing that I did was to sort through the old trunk that she had up there. The trunk had a rusty latch on it. It was a bit difficult to open, but my grandmother got a knife and pried the latch open. The trunk was full of all kinds of things. There were lots of clothes. Some of the clothes had been my grandmother's. There was a blue velvet dress that she had worn to a dance when she and my grandfather were dating. It was a beautiful dress, but there were a few moth holes in it. There were some of my mother's old clothes. There was a pair of bell-bottom slacks that had bright flowers on it....
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Article #126 Hot and Cold I notice that whenever it is summer, people complain about the heat, but whenever it is winter, people complain about the cold. It seems that people are never satisfied. I don't like the winter. It is usually much too cold for me. My teeth chatter, and my fingers turn numb whenever the weather gets cold. It is hard for me to warm up once I start to freeze. I try to wear layers of clothes, but winter winds go through my clothes no matter how much I wear. My feet feel like they are blocks of ice on a cold January day when I walk home from school. I would not like to live in a place that had a cold climate all year long. I am not comfortable when it is too cold. I like the summer. Some people say that it is hot and sticky in the summer, but I don't mind the heat at all. I love to feel the warm sunshine on my skin. I like the freedom of not having to wear heavy coats and boots. I am the happiest when there is a slightly cool breeze that comes ...
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Article #127 Walk a Mile in My Shoes Have you ever heard the saying "walk a mile in my shoes?" I think it is a very good saying. Do you know what it means? It means, that before you judge someone, you should put yourself in his or her position. For example, if someone was running in a race, and they did very poorly and came in last it wouldn't be fair to say, "oh, he's just a terrible runner." You would have to look at all the circumstances that made the person lose the race. Maybe they pulled a muscle in their leg the day before; maybe this is their very first race; maybe they are not in good form because something isn't right in their lives. There can be so many things that affect a person's life, performance and moods. If someone was very quiet at a party, you couldn't just assume that they weren't friendly. You don't know what is happening in their lives. They could be feeling ill, or they might have just had a bad experie...
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Article #128 If I Could Go Back in My Life If I could go back in my life and do some things differently, this is what I would do: I would not waste so many hours in front of the television set. I would get out and enjoy my own life, rather than watching actors in shows. I would be a little more considerate of other people. I would realize that my mother has more to do than pick up after me. I would pay more attention in school. Tests are easier when you have paid attention, rather than fooling around in class. I would save more money rather than spend it on useless things. I would read more. Reading is enjoyable, and it opens the doors into all kinds of wonderful places both real and imagined. I would learn to play an instrument. Music is always appreciated if it is played well. I would eat better foods. I would try to stay healthy through my diet and exercise. I would take more pictures, and I would keep a journal. Memories are very precious. I would take the time to list...
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Article #129 Joking Joking is good. Jokes can be very funny. Jokes can also be hurtful. Jokes can be tasteless too. It is not an easy thing to find jokes that do not offend anyone. Some jokes make fun of different races. Those jokes are not funny. They are hurtful. It is not right to tell racist jokes. Many jokes use bad language or are about questionable subject matter. These jokes are also not acceptable. Many people are highly offended by rude jokes. What some people find funny, others will not. Comedy is a very personal thing. Some people like slapstick comedy. That is the kind of comedy that the Three Stooges use. Some people like very subtle humor. Some people will laugh at just about anything. Sometimes, it is not appropriate to laugh, but you feel like laughing anyway. Did you ever see anyone fall down? Did you feel like laughing when they fell down? You were probably worried that they had hurt themselves, yet the way that they fell was so funny that you felt like...
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Article #130 Drugs There are two different types of drugs. There are legal drugs and illegal drugs. Legal drugs are the type of drugs that the doctor gives you when you are sick. Illegal drugs are the drugs that people sell on the street. Illegal drugs are very dangerous. If someone ever wants you to try any type of substance that you are not sure about, you should always say no. People who sell drugs on the street are criminals. If they get caught, they will be sent to jail. They sell drugs to get money. They don't care that people's lives are ruined from taking drugs. If you take illegal drugs, you can become addicted to them. That means that you just have to have the drug no matter what. Some people steal from other people to get money to buy drugs. Drugs affect your mind. If you take drugs, you will not be able to think clearly. Your marks in school will drop. Your memory won't be very good. Your personality won't be the same. It is very unfortunate tha...
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Article #131 Divorce Mary's parents just got a divorce. Mary is very upset. She thinks that her parents don't love her anymore. She thinks that they got a divorce because of her. She is wrong. Her parents love her just as much as they always did. They aren't getting divorced because of Mary. Sometimes, marriages just don't work out. It isn't really anyone's fault. Marriage isn't easy. It is hard for two people to stay together for a lifetime. Sometimes, people change as they get older, and they move on. Some people have perfectly good marriages, and they stay together for their entire lives. Divorce doesn't happen because the parents don't love the children anymore. A lot of children feel that it is their fault, but it isn't their fault at all. Children neither cause the divorce, nor can they prevent it. It is up to the parents. Divorce isn't the end of the world. Children can still see both parents and stay with them. Life goes o...
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Article #132 If my Fish Could Talk I have a goldfish. He swims around in his bowl all day. He looks bored. I look inside the bowl and watch him. His mouth always moves. He looks like he is talking. I imagine what my goldfish would say if he really could talk. I think he would say: "Hey, I'm bored in this little bowl. Why don't you get me a bigger tank with more fish in it? I would like to have some friends to swim around with." I went out and bought a bigger tank for my goldfish. I put some plants at the bottom of the tank, and I got a miniature deep-sea diver to put at the bottom of the tank. I looked into the tank and imagined what my goldfish was saying. He seemed to be saying: "This is a nice tank. It's roomy in here, and you decorated it well, but I still don't have any friends to swim with." I went to the pet store and bought three more goldfish. I put them into the tank. All of the goldfish seemed to look at each other. They swam n...
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Article #133 The Best Teacher I have had a lot of teachers. Some of them were good, and some of them were boring. There is one teacher whom I remember very well. He is the best teacher that I ever had. His name was Mr. Alban. He was a history teacher. History is not my favorite subject. I don't really enjoy history a lot. When I was in Mr. Alban's class, he made history seem exciting. He was more of an actor than a teacher. If he was describing a war, he would make us feel all the emotions that the soldiers and their families would have felt. We could almost hear the guns firing and the people shouting. He would paint a picture in our minds that was very vivid. When I had a history test in his class, I didn't have to study much. I would remember every word that he had said. I would see him doing the actions that went along with his stories. He was very animated. He would shout out orders as if he was a general, or he would speak softly and reverently when descr...
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Article #134 Weather Sometimes, I watch the weatherman on television. It is fascinating to watch him point to different areas of the country on the map. He tells us where the weather will be nice and where it will be bad. The weatherman is not always right. Weather reporting is not an exact science. Nothing is very exact when it comes to the weather. The weather department does a lot of research, but they can never be sure of exactly what will happen. Sometimes, it looks like it will be clear, but the wind changes direction and clouds move in. The weatherman can warn people if there is a chance of a hurricane or tornado. The weatherman can also warn people of floods. Sometimes, entire towns have to be evacuated because of bad weather. It is important to be aware of the weather. For example, it is not good to be caught in the middle of a field when there is going to be a thunderstorm. You might want to take extra precautions if there is going to be a heavy snowstorm. You wo...
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Article #135 How to Avoid Catching a Cold How many colds do you catch in a year? Most of my friends catch quite a few colds. They cough, sniffle and sneeze. They carry around tissues and blow their noses all the time. Their eyes water, and they have scratchy throats. I don't get many colds. In fact, I can go for a whole year and never catch a cold. That is why I consider myself an expert on how not to catch a cold. I'll tell you how to avoid catching a cold. I think that you need to take a lot of vitamin C. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I drink fruit juice too. I also take vitamin C pills. Whenever I begin to feel a cold coming on, I make sure that I have taken my vitamin C pill, and I drink a lot of orange juice. That usually knocks the cold right out of my system. I make sure that I get a lot of fresh air. In the winter, a lot of buildings are shut up tight so that the air is stale, and people's germs circulate through the buildings. I get outside and ...
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Article #136 The Future I sometimes wonder what life will be like in the future. Life has changed so much in just the past few years. I'm sure that there are still big changes that are coming. Do you think we'll still drive cars? Maybe we'll get into computerized vehicles that we won't have to drive. We'll just push a few buttons, and the vehicles will take us to wherever we have to go. Maybe there won't be roads. We might just fly through space to get where we want to go. Instead of telephones, we'll just use our computers. We'll be able to see each other when we talk. That type of thing is already happening. Maybe we won't have to cook our meals. We might be able to push buttons to order whatever we want. A nice roast beef dinner, or an ice cream sundae, might just pop out of a machine. It would be nice to have a robot to clean the house for you. In the past few years, computers have been extremely important. People used to write to eac...
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Article #137 Giving a Speech I had to give a speech last week. I gave a speech to three hundred people. I had to speak in front of a group of students. I had to tell them about a campaign that we were having to raise money for cancer research. Giving a speech can be a difficult thing. When you stand in front of a big crowd, you can get very nervous. Some people feel like they have weak knees. Their legs feel as if they are made of rubber. Their heart beats very hard inside of their chest. Their palms get sweaty. Some people even become short of breath. For some people, giving a speech is their worst fear. When you give a speech, everyone is looking at you. They are waiting to hear what you have to say. When you have three hundred people looking at you; you have six hundred eyes that are on you. It is a little frightening when you think of it that way. Before I give a speech, I take three big breaths. I calm myself, and I remind myself that what I have to say is important. ...
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Article #138 Moving to Another Country My friend Steve moved to another country. He had lived in Canada all his life, and he moved to Japan. Life in Japan was very different for Steve than what he was used to. At first, Steve suffered from culture shock. His whole life seemed different. He was not used to the way of life in Japan. Steve was not used to the large crowds of people that walked up and down the streets in Japan. In his hometown in Canada, the streets were fairly quiet. Steve had to get used to the food. In Japan, the people eat a lot of fish. Steve had never eaten much fish before. Steve wanted pizza, but it was expensive in Japan. Steve said that he had to adjust his eating habits. The people in Japan have different customs than we do here in Canada. Steve didn't want to offend anyone, so he had to learn the customs. He had to learn about what Japanese people considered polite and rude. Sometimes, in a foreign country you can do something to insult someone ...
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Article #139 Look for the Beauty I have learned that things don't always go the way that they were planned. If something doesn't happen the way that I want it to, I try to make the best of the situation. I always try to find something good in everything that happens. Last year, I broke my ankle when I was walking on an icy sidewalk. At first, I was very upset. I was missing school, and there was a party that I wanted to go to. I couldn't do very much of anything. My ankle was very sore. I stayed home, and I read a book. It was an excellent book, and one that I probably would not have had time to read under normal circumstances. My friends brought my homework to my house, and we had some really nice visits while they were here. I had to accept the fact that I couldn't go anywhere on my broken ankle, so I made the best of a bad situation. Once, I lost my way when I was out camping. I ended up in a very large field. I was afraid that nobody would find me, but ...
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Article #140 My Doll When I was an infant, I got a rag doll. It was a very plain, little doll, and it wore a clown outfit and a clown's hat. I used to take that doll to bed with me every night. I couldn't go to bed without my doll. My mother used to pretend that the doll was talking to me. She would make the doll dance and sing songs. I would talk to the doll. My mother would answer for the doll, but I was a baby, and I thought that the doll was actually talking to me. That doll was my best friend. I took her everywhere. One time I took her to a store with me, and I left her on a shelf in the store. We were halfway home when I realized that I didn't have my doll with me. I was very upset. My mother and I rushed back to the store. My doll was still there. I was so relieved. I hugged my doll, and I promised myself that I would never leave her anywhere again. I couldn't imagine life without that doll. Through the years, the doll became less important in my life...
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Article #141 I am Curious I am curious about many things. I would like to find the answers to a lot of questions that I have. What holds the stars up in the sky? Why does ice form on the top of the lake when it is cold? Is there life on other planets? Why do we not fall off the face of the earth? How do caterpillars turn into butterflies? All of these things are mysteries to me. There are so many questions that are unanswered. I think I should go to the library and get a book to find out why people grow old. What makes a television work? I also want to know where electricity comes from. Who is the strongest person in the world? Who is the smartest person in the world? Why do some people have blonde hair, and some people have black hair? Why do people in different countries speak different languages? Why do people have to die? Why are no two snowflakes alike? What makes people fall in love? What makes the rivers run? Why does the sun rise every morning? How did the oceans fo...
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Article #142 Creative People Some people are just born to create. That's what I think. Some people just have the need to write stories, compose beautiful music, or paint pictures. Creativity seems to be inside them, and they need to let it out. It's good that we have people like that. Composers like Mozart and Chopin have given us music that is incredibly beautiful. It's not just the classical composers who have given us great pieces of music; there are modern composers who have written great songs also. Elton John is an example of someone who has composed many wonderful songs. Andrew Lloyd Webber has given us some very popular musicals like Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. There are so many talented and creative people in this world. When you visit an art gallery, you marvel at how artists are able to recreate realism or make up something that seems totally unreal yet beautiful. The American artist Norman Rockwell painted some pictures that actually looked l...
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Article #143 Career Choices What do you want to be when you grow up? There are so many things that you can be. You might want to work in the field of law. You could be a police officer. You could be a judge or a lawyer. Maybe you'd like to work in the food industry. You could be a cook or a waitress. You might want to manage a hotel dining room. Perhaps you would want to do room service in a hotel. You could be a chef and make fancy meals for people. Maybe show business is what you'd like to be involved in. You could act in television shows or movies. You could sing or play an instrument in a band. If you like to help people, you could go into medicine. You could be a doctor or a nurse. You might be a surgeon and operate on people. There are other jobs in the field of medicine too. You could be an x-ray technician or a lab technician. It takes a lot of education to be a doctor. Maybe you would rather be a teacher. You could teach in a primary school or a high schoo...
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Article #144 I Need Glasses I have been having trouble seeing the blackboard. Everything is blurry. I keep getting headaches. I told my mother about it, and she made an appointment with the optometrist. I went to a place where they made me read words and letters on a chart. Some of the words were big, and some were very small. I tried to read everything, but sometimes I couldn't see some of the small letters. The optometrist would cover one of my eyes while I read the chart. Then, she would cover my other eye. She even put some drops in my eyes. I asked the optometrist if I had passed or failed the test. She laughed, and said that it wasn't the kind of test that you passed or failed. She was just trying to find out if I needed glasses. I did need glasses. My mother and I looked around. There were many pairs of frames. I wanted something that was in style. I tried on many pairs of frames. Some of them looked good on me, and some of them looked really funny on me. I ...
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Article #145 I am Clumsy My mother says that I am clumsy. My father says that I am clumsy. I know that I am clumsy. I do things all the time that are clumsy. I fall down for no reason at all. If there is a crack in the sidewalk, I will be sure to trip on it and fall down. If I carry a plate of food in the cafeteria, I almost always either drop it or bump into someone with it. I don't try to do these things, it just happens. When I drink juice, I miss my mouth and get juice all over my shirt. I always have something spilled on my clothes. Last week I opened a jar of peanut butter. The jar flew out of my hands and landed upside down on the floor. There was a big glob of peanut butter on the floor. Yesterday I knocked over the sugar bowl. There was a big sticky mess on the floor. I bump my head when I get into the car. I rip my pants on things. I lose my money out of my pockets. I step on the cat's tail. I always feel bad when I do that because the cat thinks I don...
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Article #146 Home Alone I remember the first time that my parents left me home alone. I was very grown up, and I thought that I would be just fine. I was fine for a while. I watched television and had something to eat. I called my friend on the phone, and we talked for a while. Then, I sat down to read a book. The house was quiet, very quiet. I found myself listening very carefully. I heard a tap, tap tapping noise. I wondered where it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from the window. I turned out the lights so that nobody would see me, and I peeked out the window carefully. I was expecting to see a robber tapping at my window. There was nobody there. It was just a tree branch swaying in the breeze and tapping at my window. I felt silly. I turned on the lights and sat back down to read my book. A few minutes later, I heard some creaking noises. I listened carefully. Then, I heard a clunking noise. I think it might have been the furnace. Then there was a whirring noi...
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Article #147 Family What does the word "family" mean to you? The easiest way to define family is to talk about who you are related to. Usually, there is a mom and a dad and children who are brothers and sisters. This would be the "core" family. Then there is the "extended" family which would include grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews and in-laws (people married to your brothers or sisters, husband or wife). However, I think the word "family" has a much deeper meaning. The word "family" brings words to my mind like: love, support, help, kindness, fun, love, trips, closeness, love, forgiving, sharing, love, understanding, respect and love! You'll notice one word that is repeated over and over again. LOVE. I believe if a family has real love for one another, they will be able to overcome any problems they may have. Actually, they may not have too many problems if they all love and respect one anoth...
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Article #148 My First Job My first "real" job was during my last year of high school. I had taken classes in various business subjects. In that last year of high school, we could do a "co-op". That meant we could work part of the time instead of going to school. It would count as a credit towards our diploma. The place I got a job was at a men's tailor shop. The owners were a very nice older German couple. They had two other men working for them, too. One of the men had had brain surgery for cancer. He had a big, long scar all around the top of his head. He told me all about it. He was always happy and full of fun. I thought he was very brave! The tailor shop made suits to order. One of the salesmen would measure the man, and the customer would choose a fabric and style he (or his wife!) liked. The people in the back of the shop would then cut and sew the suit. The suits cost a lot of money. There were also suits already made that the customer could ...
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Article #149 First Trip Away From Home Today I am going to my friend's house. Her name is Valerie. This is going to be my first trip away from home, without my parents. My dad is driving me to Valerie's house, and I'll be staying there for two weeks. Her mom will drive me back home. It takes about l l/2 hours to get there. I have to pack enough clothes for play, work and church. I hope I'll pack the right things. Of course, I have to remember my toothbrush and hairbrush. Valerie lives on a farm. I'll be helping her dad with milking the cows--I think! We'll play up in the hayloft after we have helped put the bales into the barn. We'll be all itchy when that job is done! There are a lot of things to do on a farm. Her mom is a good cook and will feed us well! There is a nice pond where we can go swimming. I mustn't forget my bathing suit. I wonder if the farm dog comes into the pond, too. That would be funny! My dad and mom are giving me money ...
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Article #150 My Job I work at a conservation park called Ball's Falls. I've only worked there for three weeks now. I am a Tour Guide, and I tell people the history of all the old buildings there. Somebody told me that one of the houses I work in is haunted. Now I get chills every time I walk into that house! My boss told me that the stories aren't real, but I have an active imagination! Ball's Falls is very beautiful. It has two different water falls, the Upper Falls and the Lower Falls. There used to be tons of water cascading over them, which turned a big water wheel to grind grain. However, through the years the amount of water has really lessened. I love working at Ball's Falls because I get to work outside a lot. I am getting a tan! In July and August, I will be working with kids there at a day camp. I am getting ready now, making different crafts and thinking up fun new games to play. I can't wait to start working with them. I think that will ...