once upon a time...

For the past six weeks, I've been working on writing fantasy stories with my class. I've been especially relentless with the setting / characters / problem / solution formula. For their big test, my students had to write a story in which a friend helps a character solve a problem. Some of them are so great I have to share. (I've corrected their spelling and grammar for better understanding.)

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Luis and girl named Rosana. They both lived in Los Angeles. Their neighbor's house is kind of scary. The girl is 10 years old and the boy is 11 years old. The problem is that the dinosaur came out of nowhere.

Is that not the best beginning ever? BAM! THAT DINOSAUR CAME OUT OF NOWHERE! Sadly, it goes downhill from there. I'll spare you.

Once upon a time, there was a friend that was called Briyan and a friend of Briyan that was called Alan. The setting was in school, and in a house, and in another house. Brian's house looks blue and big and Alan's house looks big and orange. One day, they were happy but when they came back in Briyan's house, his mom said that Christmas was ruined because they didn't have money. Alan tried to find a solution. First, Alan tried to ask his mom if she can give him 200 dollars, but she said no. Next, Alan tried to tell his dad if he can give him 200 dollars, but he said no. Finally, he remembered he had 200 dollars in his bank, so he went to the bank and picked out the money. Then Alan went to Briyan's house and said, "I have money." Briyan said, "Really?" Then Briyan looked at the money and said, "Thank you. You are my best friend. I have never had a friend like you." Then Briyan showed it to his mom and she said thank you, and they celebrated Christmas and lived happily ever after.

I bet her mom and dad and little brothers all crowd around her bed on her birthday and wake her up by covering her in hugs and kisses.

Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl and they were friends. They lived in the city with a lot of skyscrapers and buildings and a lot of houses. There was a girl that was eight years old and she went to school and she has black hair and her name is Besty. There was a boy and he was seven years old and he goes to school. He has brown hair and his name is Victor. [Victor is a boy in our class.] The girl fell down because she didn't tie her shoelaces. First, they laugh at her because she fell down and she was so sad. Then, a boy came and said, "You didn't tie your shoelaces." Next, he helped her and said are you OK. She said no and he said, "You want me to take you to the nurse?" Finally, the doctor said that she broke her bone that that she was OK. He was always helping her because of her leg.

All together now, Awwwww. Also, someone has a crush on Victor!!!

Once upon a time, there was family that made a village and named it Egypt. They lived in a palace in the desert. They made a lot markets and buildings. There was a king and a queen that had a little princess and a little boy that was their maid. The boy's name was Eric. He went upstairs to make up the bed. When he started making up the bed, he saw a big sack of gold coins. When he went downstairs, he saw the king and queen talking about getting the princess her gift. Then Eric went to ask the princess what she wants for her birthday. And the princess said, "A tiger." So Eric went to go find a tiger. First, the queen got her a cat but she didn't like cats. Then, the king got her a parrot but she didn't like parrots, either. Finally, Eric got her a tiger and she was very happy. She said, "You're the best maid I ever had." So the princess and Eric lived happily ever after.

What a bratty princess. But isn't she a great writer!?

Once upon a time there were three knights who wanted to help a friend. There was a big shiny castle in the Grand Canyon. The first knight was Jose. He had brown eyes. He was the stronest and the fastest. The second knight was Troy. He was fast and strong. The third knight was Josue. He was the least fast and strong. The princess's name was Ms. *. [That's me!!!] She was sad and nice. She was alone. The dragon's name was Harley. He was mean and scary and had the princess. The knights wanted to make him feel happy. First, the 3 knights made funny jokes but it didn't work. Next, they tried to make funny faces but it didn't work. Last, they were doing funny tricks and it worked. The dragon let out the princess. The princess gave a kiss to the three knights and they lived happily ever after.

I think Jose has a crush on me.