I am happy to report - unlike last week - that this story is ALL of Simon from beginning to end. I helped with editing here and there; but he can take FULL credit. He worked through some tears and frustrations, but he did it.
Simon Avenson
5th Grade
November 24, 2009
Damocles and the King
Unit 3
The Long Mile
Ancient Greece was a wealthy and thriving land. One could smell beer brewing in the taverns, pies baking in the ovens and sacrifices burning to the Greek gods such as, Zeus, the god of sky and king of all gods, Poseidon, the god of sea and Hades, the god of death. Houses made of sundried brick followed the fig tree lined paths. Merchants were in their stalls bellowing out, and peasants, who needed food on their tables, were tirelessly working. In a major city, there was a prosperous palace and inside the palace there was a just King, In that same city, there lived a famer called Damocles. Although Damocles had everything he needed, he still wanted more.
On a lugubrious day Damocles was feeling agitated. His house was a mess and he had left over food on the counter. Also, he had a broken well that he had to fix or else he wouldn’t be able to get any water. While in the city to get the supplies to fix the well, Damocles happened to bump into the King. Damocles proclaimed, “Watch where you’re going!”
The King, who was quick to react, shouted back, “How dare you address me like that!”
Damocles astonishingly declared, “I did not know it was you, Your Highness.”
“It is ok since you did not know, what is your name?” He asked.
“Damocles,” and he mumbled, “I wish I could live as you do”
The King replied “Would you like to take my throne for a while?”
“I would love to Your Highness,” he meekly responded.
“Very well then,” spoke the King, “You can have the throne while I take my much needed vacation.” Since Damocles could not contain his delight, he excitedly shook the King’s hand repeatedly and he skipped home to get some lunch.
Damocles, who was beginning to feel quite important, started the incredibly long walk to the palace. When he got there, he was astounded by the unreal beauty of it all. Everywhere he looked he saw gold trimmed couches, beautiful chairs, an enormous dining table, and a fantastically royal looking throne. Damocles sauntered to a dressing chamber and changed into a fine tunic, breeches, socks, and a robe. After that, he came out of the dressing chamber and strode to the throne. He ordered some food and commanded the orchestra to play his favorite song, since he knew the song when settle his nerves. While lounging on the throne, Damocles looked up and saw an extremely sharp and heavy sword.
“Get me out of here!” Damocles yelled.
“What’s the matter?’” cried his personal servant.
“There is a sword up there!” proclaimed Damocles
“Yes,” replied the servant, “The king must live in constant fear; there are many people who would like to kill him.”
Damocles replied shakily “Once the King returns from vacation, I will go directly back to my house and enjoy the carefree life there.”
The moral of this story:
Walk a mile in my shoes
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Plan Ahead
Simon has another writing assignment due this morning for his class. The title of his piece is, "Plan Ahead." It is a bit ironic, because although his mother broke his work into tiny segments to work on throughout the week, he gave very little thought to the project until yesterday; which unfortunately, left the two of us working on this piece for a number of hours --- when I finally stepped in and said, "Dictate the story to me and I will get you through." So, the story you are about to read is Simon's work; with a bit of tweaking and suggesting from his mom.
Simon Avenson
5th Grade
11/17/09
The Ant and the Grasshopper
Unit 3
Although smelling like an old wet towel; Connor and his master took their morning walk through the enchanting landscape behind a family farm. Connor knew this trail which he had worn down with his paws. He liked to smell the morning air when taking his walks. This particular morning, he whiffed the air from a new harvest. Unsuspectingly, Connor passed by a conversation between and hard working ant and a carefree grasshopper. “You should take some time off,” the grasshopper chirped. Balancing the kernel of corn on his head, the ant replied, “This is my third kernel today. We are stocking up for winter.” “Winter? Who cares about winter? There is plenty of food right now,” snapped the grasshopper. “You should start preparing too,” replied the ant and he left the grasshopper doing whatever grasshoppers do and continued on his journey.
Connor was on another walk and the world was gently enveloped in a mantle of snow. His paws crunched on the tiny snowflakes underneath as he walked the terrain he knew. Grasshopper was cold and starving. He was thinner than most of his grasshopper friends (which is pretty thin) and could not get out of bed on some mornings. He needed a plan to get food. One day, one of his grasshopper buddies came over to see how he was doing. Grasshopper’s chirps were feeble. Grasshopper begged his friend to go to the ant’s hill and ask them for some food. When he came back, his arms had enough food for a grasshopper to last the winter. The grasshopper managed to write a note of kindness, although, it was easier now because he had had some food.
While walking on the melting snow on the trodden terrain, Connor heard birds singing and passed by without an ant and a grasshopper enjoying a morning conversation you would have between friends.
The moral of this story is: plan ahead
Thursday, November 12, 2009
God Knows
Simon is taking a writing class. Each week, he has a different exercise to follow in creating his story. This is a story that he wrote about a crow and some peacocks.
GOD KNOWS
In the heart of Southeastern England, a crow flew over a king’s palace and looked down in amazement at the sight of a garden. She instantly flew down to enjoy the scene. In the garden she saw beautiful peacocks strutting around; although they looked kind of snooty. “Me and my drab black feathers,” she whispered to the wind. I want to be like those majestic peacocks. She landed by a water fountain and started picking a plethora of peacock feathers. Afterwards, she flew off to her dwelling to find a way to put the feathers on.
When she got there she thoroughly attempted to put the feathers on but could not. Every time she took a test flight, the feathers fell off, and she had to fly to the ground to get them. She went to the wisest crow she knew, (although she knew quite a few but this one was definitely the wisest), and told him her problem. He suggested she should get the sap of a pine tree and put it on the feathers and then stick them onto her tail. She did and it worked. It was dark out and she wanted to be noticed, so she slept until the morning.
The next morning the exhilarated crow woke up and flew off to the palace to see if the vain and snooty peacocks noticed her. Unfortunately for her they did. Immediately they noticed she was an impostor. One of them snapped, “You look crazy!” They pecked at her until she flew away. Since that day a certain crow never pretended to be a peacock.
The moral of this story is:
God knows who you are even if you try to hide from Him
Quiz Questions
Well, today was a review day for us in Social Studies - and so with that, the kids had some review questions to answer. We are following a curriculum (much easier to buy a curriculum with a baby, rather than make one up) called, Story of the World. It is just that, a story of the world. We began with the Fall of Rome and will head straight through to the Rise of the Renaissance ~~ if we get that far. In recent history, we have been studying the Rise of Islam. Very cool and intriguing.
Review Questions and Quiz (both did exceptionally well - how will you do?)
THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE - this is a small review, as we have already gone over much of the material weeks ago.
1. What happened when the Roman Empire got too big for one ruler?
2.What was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire?
3.Describe some of the things you might see in Constantinople?
4.Was it safe to travel in the Byzantine empire? Why? Why not?
THE MEDIEVAL INDIAN EMPIRE
5. What is a "dynasty"
6. What dynasty united all the kingdoms of India?
7. What was the first Gupta king named?
8. Who invaded India during the Gupta dynasty
9. What is King Skandagupta known for?
THE RISE OF ISLAM
10. What is the land of the Arabian Peninsula like?
11. What is the name given to the people who live in the desert called?
12. How were they expected to behave?
13. What did Muhammad see, in his vision in the cave?
14. What did the mighty voice of the angel command Muhammad to do?
15. What was the angel's name?
16.What were the followers of Muhammad's teachings called?
17. What did Muhammad tell the people of Mecca when he preached to them?
18. How did the rich and powerful people of Mecca respond to Muhammad and his teachings?
19. Why did Muhammad finally leave Mecca for Medina?
20. What was the special name for Muhammad's journey from Mecca to Medina?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Pictures of Today
My children tell me today is 'sorta lugubrious.I also put up a very used word in the "Thesaurus" section that they have to fill in througout the days, as well as add in any Onomatopea words.
