Math Magic -- Blogmeister

I got 6th on the State Championships!☺Our team didn't make it though.☹

The fire engines that were in Old Sacramento have pretty good stories. Some of them are:

My class and I went to a field trip to Old Sacramento. We had a guided tour from our teacher, Mr. LaMarr, and he was great! We learned a lot, and one of the things we learned was about the fire companies.
There were 14 fire companies in Old Sacramento. Before California’s government said there would be taxes to pay the fire companies, the buildings would have to donate money to keep them running. If the owner didn’t and the owner’s building caught on fire, the fire stations would let the building burn down.
Once, in Old Sacramento, a fire was raging in a building. Two fire “wagons” were coming to a narrow bridge. Neither of them was going to stop, and they crashed into each other, flipping both wagons upside-down. When they got their wagons back up, the building was just a pile of black ashes.
California’s government saw this in Old Sacramento; they made all the citizens of Old Sacramento to pay taxes for the fire companies. A motto for Fire Company #3 was “Always Ready!”
The field trip to Old Sacramento was fun. We learned a lot about the history of Old Sacramento. It was absolutely amazing.

Tide Pools

Living creatures in the tide pools
The crashing waves on the high rocks
The rough rocks under my feet
The salty water
The squishy sea anemone under my fingers

A Redwood Tree

Like a tower that’s reaching for the sky
Like a giant ready to stomp on me
Like a suspended net waiting to tangle me
Like a radio tower sending out signals
Like a telephone pole towering over me
Like a red skyscraper waving in the wind
Like a masterpiece wanting to be looked at
Like a package of beauty for me to admire

Woods
Dark, creepy
Logging, living, flowing
Trees everywhere
Forest

Cabin, at Night

Everyone sleeping, tossing, and turning
The rhythmical hooting of owls
A warm, happy feeling blossoming in my heart
The crisp air of the blackened sky
The soft sponginess of my sleeping bag

I got first place in a math contest today against the sixth graders. The prize was a Motorola XOOM tablet. :-)

I have been reading The Terrible Wave, and I like how the author, Marden Dahlstedt, uses descriptive language and personification. This is a fictional story about a horrible disaster of the Johnstown flood; Megan Maxwell gets to experience that catastrophic event.
Dahlstedt’s writing is a blend of excitement and mystery. It’s a little bit mysterious, as in these couple sentences, “Why that must have been Mr. Horace Fitch, she said in amazement. This is his watch. Tom’s face grew tight.” The reason this sentence are so mysterious is when Tom’s face grows tight, the reader is to wonder why he grew nervous. These sentences explain, in great detail, what Megan saw when she was in the terrible wave,“ … the air was full of flying objects. Trunks whirled by, wicked-looking boards splintered with nails, showers of broken glass …” This is exciting because things are whirling by and Megan is trying not to be hit. This is the cause of the excitement.
Marden Dahlstedt makes such a terrible disaster very exciting by using descriptive phrases. This following example is when Megan is in the wave. An example of a descriptive phrase is, ‘…being pushed, as if by a mighty hand, through the crack of darkness and light.’ This makes the reader feel anxiety and want to read on.
Marden Dahlstedt writes The Terrible Wave beautifully. Her highly descriptive words make up the exciting story. My opinion of Dahlstedt’s writing is that it makes The Terrible Wave the best book ever!

California’s history was very important for the forming of California. The Bear Flag Revolt was the most important event in our state’s history. It helped form the Mexican War that gave California the United States for $15,000,000 dollars. It gave the United States a helping hand of capturing one of the most important citizens in California, Colonel Vallejo, the military leader of the Californios, who was brought to Sutter’s Fort. It was the start of the war.
The Mexican War generated the most change. It made the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in which the United States bought California for $15,000,000 from Mexico. Even though the United States lost many battles, they won the whole war. The United States was granted their wish, their destiny, their Manifest Destiny, to stretch the United States from coast to coast.
California’s history is very important. The Bear Flag Revolt and the Mexican War are part of California history and are two of the most important. The United States would not have gained California without the Mexican War. Californians, as people now call them, would have been ruled by Mexico for a while longer. If none of these important events happened Californians would not be as they are today.

Conditions of Use • Privacy Policy

Return to Blogmeister