Junior High Writers

This fall, Jennifer Robbins’ seventh grade English Language Arts students at Columbia Falls Junior High practiced imitating strong writing from mentor texts. Then, they chose their favorite piece in their Writer’s Notebooks and chose a writing goal such as figurative language or sensory details. Here are a few strong examples!

Bryson Brittan

 

By BRYSON BRITTSAN

It’s a boring November day, but not for long. At 1:30, the announcements pierce my ears, and  I realize it’s Mr Andrew’s basketball team’s time to go.  Knowing I’m on his basketball team, I hustle to the locker room  to grab my smelly uniform. At that moment, I am relaxed-this is just another game. 

 Now we wait in the hot hallway to ride on the bus, the big yellow bus. I’m getting motivated as I listen to my pre-game playlist. As I step onto the bus, it becomes as warm as an oven baking cookies. The smell of the brown leather seats and dust blown from the heaters brings back memories of past games. I can hear the chatter of my teammates through my headphones, and I’m starting to feel more pumped to play point guard. That’s what I do.

 I take a seat with a friend of mine by Coach, placing our heavy bags in the seat in front of us. I get jolted backwards as we take off. “Goodbye, Columbia Falls,” I say in my head, hoping that when we return we’ll all have big smiles on our faces.. 

This game could define me. It can show people that I want this as much as I want to breathe. It can show people that obsession beats talent. This game is my life, and I’m always ready for a brick wall to be in front of me just so I can break through it. 

This game. 

I’m ready.

Emma Schenk

 

By EMMA SCHENK

I draw all the time.

I draw my inspirations, my ideas, my feelings.

I draw everything on my mind.

Drawing has always been the quickest stress reliever I’ve had. 

Sketching in a little booklet always feels as if someone is squeezing my art tight and keeping all my feelings and stories I’m too insecure to tell in a safe, trustworthy place.

I draw because words are too tedious, too limited, too much for some people.

When someone writes a story, some people might not understand it or don’t have the attention span to read it. With a picture, it tells a beautiful story that makes you feel something just by analyzing it.

I draw because it’s a safe way to escape reality and dash away from the world’s problems while trying to escape my own. I try to break away from the potholes and ditches of society and patch them with art, ideas, and thoughts.

I feel comfort when I hold a pencil in the palm of my hand, as the sound scrapes against the paper overflows inside my head and blocks out any other thought.

I draw because I feel I could accomplish something and maybe even get somewhere in the world.

I feel as if the world is one giant rock, while I’m just a pebble lost in the sand of thoughts and sorrow.