Dear Students,
Keep your audience in mind. As a writer, you want the reader to form a mental picture and understand why this place is important or meaningful to you. Please pay attention to the following guidelines:
- Grammar counts! - Refrain from using texting lingo, abbreviations, and lower case "i".
- This should be a paragraph in length. Think about putting your audience in the moment and the use of descriptive details.
- DON'T FORGET your first name and last name along with the period you have language arts (Example: Kristin Allan - LASS 1/2 or 4/5)
I walk down the wooden porch steps to the warm sun speckled backyard with Katie and Ilsa close at my heels. With a book in one hand and a cold diet Dr. Pepper in the other, I quickly settle into my favorite reading spot - the wooden Adirondack loveseat. It’s a perfect fit. Any stress drains from my body as I relax my book on my lap and set my drink on the oversized armrest. The dogs quickly collapse in a pile at my feet. I crack my book open and begin to read. The large branches of the plum tree shade me from the afternoon sun, and I watch the honeybees visit the hibiscus tree’s lavender blossoms a few feet away. Children a few house down the street squeal with laughter as they play outside. Katie and Ilsa lift their heads and cock their ears to listen. After dismissing the threat, they go back to sleep. I give my book my full attention and surrender to the developing plot.
ReplyDeleteAs i snuggle into the couch with my dog next to me, i stare at the perfect view of the lake. I see boats glide across.I open my favorite book and start to read the amazing plot line. Music swiftly fills the room. My dog lifts her head to watch the children play on the street.After awhile she gets tired, and gentle tucks her head into my lap .This is my favorite place.
ReplyDeleteFaith Bergeron- LA/SS 4/5
My favorite place is the corner of my bedroom. The corner is between the end of my bed and a window looking out past my balcony. I keep a black beanbag here for quiet time when I am studying or when I am reading. I sit on my wonderfully, comfortable beanbag after I grab a blanket and a pillow to prop myself up. I love looking around my room at my pictures and drawings before I get started. Next, I look around to make sure that I will have the most amount of quiet time possible. The corner area makes reading my favorite book so much fun. I feel that I can get lost in a story in my favorite place.
ReplyDeleteSounds very comfortable and cozy. What a great place!
DeleteIt is my nest, my desk, where I retreat after a long day of school. The heavy quilt molds to whatever shape I require, and is absolutely perfect in the winter, when cold soaks into your very bones. Be it an amazing book, in whose pages I am utterly trapped inside in milliseconds, or my Asus laptop, which seem to know no limits, I will always have something on hand, ready to push back the worries of everyday life. My homework, more often than not, is also done here, in my place of rest and calm, and music is always a push of a button away, to make this drudgery slightly more enjoyable. In fact, I am here right now, serene and possibly the slightest bit sleepy… But my place, my wonderful, warm, fluffy place. This is what makes home home.
ReplyDeleteClaire Brown
LASS 1/2
Great word choice in this piece. I love the word "drudgery" and "fluffy"!
DeleteMrs. Allan
My favorite place in the whole world is my desk. Its somewhere where I can have some peace and quiet where I can read and relax. I also do my homework here. I have a computer and printer/copier nearby in case I need to print something or listen to music.. After I finish homework, I am usually found at my desk reading an amazing novel.
ReplyDeleteMax Chu
LASS 4/5
My favorite place to go is Iran, because I can see my family there. I go there every summer. We have a lot of fun. I get to play with my three cute little cousins. I like to go to the park with them because it is nice and sunny outside. The park is very big with green leafy trees and a play ground area with swings and slides. It is right across from my grandmother’s house. My grandmother lives in an apartment, and my uncle also lives right below my grandmother. Almost every day in the summer, when I go to Iran, I go to my uncle’s house, because my favorite cousin that is only three years old is there to. Something I also like about my grandmother’s apartment is that they have a lot of grocery stores near their apartment that I go to with my grandmother, or my mother. There are some interesting things that they have there, but not here.
ReplyDeleteHoda Veshagh
LASS
1-2
I love your details. It helps me create a mental picture as I read about your favorite place - Iran. Thank you!
Delete
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place I like to visit is the baseball field.
Whenever I visit, there is always something intense
going on like a strike three your out, or a big hit to
the outfield. However, the other times I am there,
I am playing myself. When I play on my team
there is always something interesting. The reason
it is my favorite place is because
whenever I am there, there is something that is
entertaining to me and I highly recommend you stop by
and watch a game.
Bullis, Hudson
LA/SS
1/2
Nice voice in this!
Deletewhen i get home my favorite thing to do is to go in my room, turn on the radio grab the computer and just type stories. When iam not at home am probably at my aunts house and i like to go into her gameroom and just relax.
ReplyDeleteperiods 4/5
Last year, exactly this week I was in Washington DC. I came out of the subway tunnel after we had road the subway in from Mclean, Virginia were our hotel was. I walked to the middle of the National Mall with my eyes pinned to the ground. When I looked up I saw the massive Capitol Building sitting right in front of me. It looked way more amazing then when I have seen it on TV. I turned around and saw the Washington Monument towering over me.(This is when it was closed for repair after the earthquake, I never got to go in it.)Behind the Washington Monument I could see the Lincoln Memorial in the distance, Abraham Lincoln frozen, sitting in his chair. I looked to my right and saw the Museum of Air and Space with its huge rockets sitting in the windows. I gazed to my left and saw the Museum of Art, its architecture so astounding. It was amazing to be there, standing in the middle of the mall looking awe-struck at some of the nation's most know structures. It was hard to take it all in at once. As the trip moved along I was able to tour or go to every museum, monument, memorial or building you could think of. I still remember every second I had standing there for the first time in Washington DC. I will never forget how awesome that trip was. If you have never been there you have to go. It was the most amazing trip ever.
ReplyDeleteAlex Vlaisavich
LASS 4/5
9-26-12
Wow! What a great place and moment. Thank you for sharing this with us. I love the emotion in this!
DeleteAs I ride my boogie board across the waves in the beach called Santa Claus I have a lot of fun. Santa Claus is located in Santa Barbara, California and I have had lots of fun boogie boarding and surfing the waves at Santa Claus. Right next to the beach there is a really good restaurant that makes very good tasting food and serves nice meals. I always have the best experiences there, the waves are good. They are not too small and not too big. The ocean at this beach is a sapphire blue color. As the wave starts to form I start kicking very fast to get into the wave. As it starts to go over me I can look through a part of it as if I am looking through a window, and I can actually see people on the beach through this wave. It is the best rush anybody could ever have, I feel so in touch with the ocean when I boogie board at this beach.
ReplyDeleteCarper, Eric
LASS
1/2
"Sapphire blue" - You have my attention!
DeleteMy favorite place is probably my room where I can escape from it all into a book. I come home from someplace (school, soccer, ect.) and flop down in some comfy spot on my bed or on a chair of some kind with an exciting book and maybe a loving pet and lose myself in the plot. I’ll read and read and then stop when I finish it or have to do something else. Then I'll come back later.
ReplyDeleteNicholas, Meisburger
I walk into my room from a long day of school, with my cat Josie right beside me a snack in one hand and my book in the other, and flop down into my butterfly chair and lose myself in a book. I would read all night if I could, but I remember that I need to do the rest of my homework, so I put the book down and come back to the amazing plot later.
ReplyDeleteJackie Christenson
Period 4/5
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place to read and do homework is a lumpy and soft, comfortable and cozy beanbag. As I sink down and the beans fold into me, it is hard to get back up. The bright sunlight shines through the family room window onto the pages of my book. Biscuit begs me to play by barking, growling, and throwing her toys in front of me. Finally she gives up and climbs into the beanbag, nuzzling up besides me as I continue with my work and stroke her fur. Sometimes I am so relaxed in my beanbag that I fall into a deep sleep.
O'Brien,Madeleine LA 1/2 9-28-12 blog response
I like how you described the couch. I can feel its lumps and beams. Good details!
DeleteHeights and deadly snakes are definitely not in my comfort zone. Yet, on a cold winter night, walking down the stairs, flopping myself down on the couch with popcorn in my hands, a blanket, and the TV remote sounds pretty good to me! Adding a funny movie with a great plot just finishes off my favorite place to be in the winter!
ReplyDeleteKenna Sandblast-LASS 1/2
Super opening! Very eye catching!!
DeleteAfter a long day of school my favorite place to go is my room. I like to go to my room because I can do many different things in my room such as: read, use my phone, hang out with friends, listen to the radio, and sleep. I also like my room because I have complete control over how I like my room to look! After doing homework I will usually retreat to my room. I like being able to have a place where I can go and just relax!
ReplyDeleteLeah Mize PER. 1/2
My favorite place is my room because it is where I can rest and do what I choose. As soon as I close my door, I think to myself what I should do. I could play my guitar, sleep, draw, call a friend, go on my iPod, or read a book. My bed, which is the most comfortable ever, has a soft blanket and the world's most fluffy pillows. I have a suede swivel chair in which I can read and pull up to a wooden desk at which I can draw. My guitar is connected to an amplifier that has effects that make the sound different. When I am in my room, I can relax.
ReplyDeleteAlexander Lukacs LASS 4/5
I walk out onto the nice grass field. Lace up my cleats. Stretch. Then I focus on the game and start to warm-up with something nice and easy. The whole team is there now, and ready to go. We get checked in and start the final warm-up before the game begins. The whistle blows. I am excited to be playing up top: the striker. In the first half we get very unlucky and hit the posts, and crossbar a lot. Half time comes, we are tied 0-0, but deep down I know we are going to win. In the beginning of the second half, the game gets more intense and we start working harder. I decide we need a goal, and I am determined to make it happen. In a few minutes someone plays it between two of the opposing teams players and I smack it into the corner. We win 1-0. The fans at Westlake Park are going crazy, I love this place.
ReplyDeleteGreat details and moment. Thank you for sharing. I was cheering you on as I read this.
DeleteMy favorite place is in my room. I love to be in my room because after a long day of school i just want to lay down on my bead and sleep.I can just be to my self and relax.I always go to my room to study and do homework.I collect my self after a long day and my room helps me in all sercumstances.LA/SS 4/5 Allan JT Morris
ReplyDeleteWhen I get home from school/volleyball I enjoy watching TV. The warm and comfy chair is always there waiting for me. When I pick up the remote and get comfortable I turn on the TV. When watching my shows my dog Layla will sometimes come and sit next to me. She loves to watch my shows with me. Then when I am done with my comfort time I say goodbye to my warm comfy and leave to do my homework.
ReplyDeleteAnnie Rodgers
9/27/12
LASS 4/5
My favorite place would have to be my house in general. My house is such a great place to read, sleep, work, and play. It's so relaxing and cozy. I can just be myself, do pretty much whatever I want. There are no rules, and many rooms to horse around in. It's so nice to come into the house, plop into a soft chair, and pick up a good book. I've fallen asleep on the carpet, it's so soft. After a long day, my home is just what I need to regenerate myself.
ReplyDeleteAlex Li
LA/SS 4/5
My favorite place is near where I live, but when I go there, I feel like I couldn't be farther away. But that is usually the point of going there.
ReplyDeleteAnytime I feel like I need to get away from everything, I go there. The place is basically some trees and grass outlining a trail by my apartment. That is what most people see it as. But I see it as a lot more. It is where I can go to escape and get away. Some days, I'll read on a rock by the trail, and sometimes, I'll just walk around.
The way the grass is outlined by the sun and the trees move with the breeze. How the birds are constantly chirping. The one thing that I like the most is the hummingbird. I sometimes see it but what I like about it is that I will first feel it. How it's wings vibrate so you can almost sense it's presence. That is one of the most amazing things I have experienced.
Nature will always be amazing there.
Whitley Pleas
LA/SS 4/5
Thank you for sharing this special place. I loved the details about the trees and birds. It reminds me of a special place where I grew up and used to walk.
DeleteAs my aunt's car pulls up in the driveway, I hear the gravel hit the tires. I jump out of the car and run into her backyard. The first one to greet me is her cat, Ottis. He begins nuzzling my legs and purring as I run around. I look up at her old blue barn that stands proud and tall in her backyard. I like to run around and explore inside its old doors and hallways. She uses the barn as a painting room since she is an artist. I love to sketch in her drawing notebooks while she paints or makes sculptures out of clay. When I get tired, I climb or walk on the huge moss covered rocks she has under her large oak tree. Ottis comes and joins me on a nearby rock in the sun and my aunt comes out and we talk and laugh and I couldn't feel more at peace.
ReplyDeleteThat's why my aunt's house is my favorite place in the world.
Emily Meyer
LA/SS 1/2
Beautiful. Thank you for the details emphasizing the sights and sounds. I can understand why you like this place.
DeleteMy favorite place in the world is none other than Paris France. There is so much history and new things to learn. It's full of beautiful buildings and perfect fairy tale houses on cobblestone streets that seem to only exist in stories. The smell of pastries and hot chocolate lures you inside to the little cafes that Paris is famous for. It's so fun to learn about the different cultures of the world and hear the different languages. Some day I hope to go back with my family and experience the trip one more time.
ReplyDeleteMills, Amber
LA/SS 4/5
After a long day of school, I go straight to my bedroom when I get home. You usually find me in my bedroom when I want some alone time or I want to curl up on my bed and read the next thrilling chapter in my book. My room is important to me because it is a place where I can chill out and be myself. But when I start to read my book, nothing can stop me; not even the sound of a scream can stop me. I always curl up on my bed and surrender my full attention to my epic and attention-seeking novel.
ReplyDeleteLija Jones
LASS 1/2
My favorite place is my fuzzy chair in the corner of my room under the window. I like to read and do homework there. When I settle down into the chair I begin to relax and reflect on my day. Then I might do homework or read a good book. When I finish. I don't want to get up and when I finally bring myself to do it, I can't get out. I smile to myself and finally succeed.
ReplyDeleteAnna Sieber
4/5 Allan
My favorite place is a weird one i LOVE Durango colorado not just any were in Durango our house there. A specific place in that house the gazebo. I love being with my cousins and sisters and all of our neighborhood friends huddling together in sleeping bags playing truth or dare when its raining hard out side. but still getting a light spray of the water. Constatnly screaming when ever a big boom of thunder comes. Even though when we all know were safe. For some reason that feels like the best thing in the world.
ReplyDeleteLottie Bauer
1/2
This sounds like so much fun! Thank you for sharing
DeleteWhen I'm in my room I escape from the outside world. There is nothing to disturb me. The bed, computer and the desk all make my room wonderful. Without it it wouldn't be much fun. I spend lots of my time on the computer after I do my homework and on weekends. The bed in my room is very comforting. There is no better place to take a long nap after a exhausting day. I do all my homework on my desk and it is well made. My desk is very spacious and I can do many activities on it. My room is a good place to do crafts, play games, sleep and to just relax with friends. It is the most relaxing , comforting place for me and that is why it is my favorite place.
ReplyDeleteAditya Bagchi
LA/SS 4/5
The place I love the most to relax and ‘chill’ is dance practice. I feel like it is my time to let my thoughts flow freely and to have the most fun and to be silly! We have a lot of fun at dance, and even though it isn’t one of those ‘sit down reading a book on the couch’ things, it still makes me feel at home and settled. Stretching isn’t the best part, but I kinda have to deal with it because I know that I’m progressing in my flexibility.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading,
Leilani Lilly
Period ½ LASS
9/27/12
There is no place like home! I always feel calm and relaxed at home. My family is there with me and I can always feel safe. It is where I eat my mom's delicious food. It is where I get to read a great book. It is where I get to watch TV and play with my electronics. It is where my friends and I hang out. It is where I study and do my homework. It is where I can get some good rest. There truly is no place like home!
ReplyDeleteAjay Pallekonda,
LA/SS, Period 1/2
Nice use of repetition to emphasize a feeling and emotion. Lovely!
DeleteMy favorite place in the whole world is probably la Quinta in California.There a many reasons i like it there but the main ones are because the weather is always hot, there is a pool in the back yard, and we live right next to a golf course.Some people don't really like 90 degree weather but me i love it, the hotter the better.The pool is probably my favorite part because on a 90 degree day it is very refreshing to swim in. Last is the golf course the reason i like it is because I love golfing and its one of my favorite sports to play.In all la Quinta is the best place to relax and have fun.
ReplyDeleteNick, Chambers
LASS 4/5
My favorite place I can be is my own house. When my brother and my dad are out doing something me and my mom can just relax and enjoy the TV, computer, or just the atmosphere. The best part is my room. With the baby blue walls and light green bed, you just can’t say no. The green bed topped with floral green covers and coordinating pillows. There is a soft green throw blanket that matches the bed and night stands exactly, I wear this almost 24/7 in the house… in fact, I’m wearing it right now! Hanging above the bed there are 9 cutout flower squares arranged in one giant square that the wall shows through. Next to the bed two night stands sit so perfectly with little drawers and little plastic baskets on the right side the drawer contains nothing (at least nothing yet) but the basket holds my pajamas. On the other side nightstand we are still searching for a basket to sit inside, but the drawer holds all kinds of things like my old iPods. Hanging from my ceiling is a big abstract cutout white light fixture. But I still have band night stands with lack of table lamps. When you’re in the right environment you feel as if you can do anything. My room is defiantly that environment, we are still not done with redoing it, but since it already looks so great I can tell it’s going to be awesome!
ReplyDeleteSophia Mantell, LASS 4/5
Great details. I can picture your room in my head. Did you "defiantly" or "definitely"
DeleteMy favorite place is my farm house where I used to live but still own. Its a speical place to me because of the view that goes on forever and the endless forst behind. It also is where I could always find a place to excape problems and just be free swinging back and forth on the rope swing over the pond and waiting for a fish to jump out of the water. It makes me feel special as if im the queen of my own little world and can just be me forever. I also love the excitment of my farm and everything else about it but who wounld not.
ReplyDeleteMathany,Leslie, LA/SS 4/5
My favorite place in the world is Hawaii. It is so calming laying down in a hammock and hearing the ocean waves crash. Hawaii's weather is also very warm. I am very fond of warm weather. i feel like i could just live in Hawaii for the rest of my life. just lay there with no worries, and everything would be calm. I would go down to the beach everyday and stick my feet in the warm sand. that is my happy place.
ReplyDeleteTyler Voelzke LA/SS
As I walk out the back French doors I catch the breeze. it feels so good to have summer again. I walk over to the green and white striped hammock with my bowl of coffee ice cream, with some chocolate and caramel syrup. I go to sit in the hammock and eat my ice cream, I sway back and forth feeling the wind play with my hair and the birds singing to each other, oh how I missed summer, and now it’s back and this is my place to be. This is my favorite place.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn Miller LASS 1/2
A couple years ago I vacationed to a magical island seventeen nautical miles off the coast of Venezuela called Aruba. Imagine my surprise as I looked around the pool area and noticed dozens of magnificent, full sized iguanas walking around people's feet. This place had it all, sun, a pool, and even loyal iguanas. My favorite place is laying in a cozy hammock on a sunny day in Aruba with many iguana's crawling under me, I also have a good book and a hot plate of nachos.
ReplyDeleteSpencer Brown LA/SS 1/2
Yes, iguanas. I love iguanas! They are so much fun to watch!
DeleteMy favorite place in the world is Aruba. It is a small country off the coast of Venezuela with very white sandy beaches, and it has water so blue that it looks exactly like the color of pool water! It is my favorite because it is the pefect temperature and a very fun place for a vacation!
ReplyDeleteKaitlyn Coder, Period 4/5
My favorite place is a city called San Francisco. I really like San fran because For starters, i was born there have. I lots of family in the bay area, so I also visit a lot of family when I am there. It has perfect weather: A mixture of Fogy and chilly, and Warm and sunny. It also has great sports teams, My brother, My dad and me go to Giants games at at&t park. Another reason I like San fran, Is because of all the different parts and neighborhood. any where from china town( Generally Chinese part) And the mission ( the Latino the part
ReplyDeleteFinn Michener
10/02/12
LASS
4-5
I agree with your assessment of San Francisco. It is one of my favorite cities in the U.S.
DeleteMy favorite place is in my room,reading. I love to read, and it occupies most of my free time. I love relaxing my bed with a good book. That is my favorite place.
ReplyDeleteMac roberts period 1/2
My favorite place is my bingbag chair in my room. It is big and comfertable. I like to sit in it and read, or watch tv.
ReplyDeleteShane Weaver
LA/SS
Period 4/5
My favorite place is my bed. I LOVE my bed. Its so comfy. I love to read as much as I can, then go to sleep.
ReplyDeleteMarcus Taylor
LA/SS
Period 1/2