George the Giraffe

1. It’s summer time in Africa; a time where everyone gets together with their sunglasses on and enters into a talent show. Everyone seems to have a special talent except for one little giraffe named George.

2. George doesn’t know what to do so he goes and asks his best friend Henry the Hedgehog.

3. “Hey Henry! What are you doing for the talent show?” George asks.

4. “I can curl up into a ball in under two seconds! I’ve been working on it for months and now I think I could be the fastest in the world,” Explains Henry.

5. “Wow, maybe I can do that too!” said George in an exciting tone.

6. So George tries to curl up in a tight ball but it takes him forever. “My legs are too long to do this,” George says in a sad voice. “Thanks anyways Henry.”

7. While George is on his way home, he comes across a fish in the lake.

8. “Hi little fish,” George says.

9. “Hello George! Want to see my talent for the show?”

10. “Sure!” said George hoping that he may be able to do the trick too.

11. “I can jump through this really small hoop and do a back flip!”

12. “Maybe I can do that too”. George tries to go through the hoop but it is was to small, only his ear could fit through it. He couldn’t even do a back flip because of how long his neck was.

13. “I’m sorry George but I’m sure you will find something to do for tomorrow,” says the little fish.

14. “I hope so,” says George as he starts on his journey home again.

15. Once George gets home, his mother is curious to what he decided to do. Unable to tell her what he wants to do because he hasn’t decided, he gets really upset and goes to bed.

16. The morning of the show, everyone is very excited for the talent show except for poor George. On the way to the show with no talent, a beaver practicing juggling his hula hoops loses one by mistake and it flies in the air and goes around George’s neck.

17. “Ahhh!” George yells. He tries to take it off but all it does is twirl around his neck uncontrollably.

18. “Wow George, look! You’re hula hooping that hula hoop around your neck!” Says the juggler with excitement.

19. “I never knew I could do this!”

20. Finally, George found a talent nobody else had and was able to show it to all his friends as they cheered him on. George was so happy with his newly discovered talent. They all went out for ice cream after and had a wonderful life.

Tips on Writing Stories For Children

The information I found particularly helpful was the information about having dialogue. I did not realize how important dialogue could be, I thought it was just a good adder some writers use. Dialogue can be used to increase tension and/or help explain a situation and I probably wouldn't have thought to use this technique if I didn't read this tip. Some information that is similar to what I wrote in my previous blog is the importance of dialogue. If I had done this before, I probably wouldn't  have used this excellent technique. I found the examples they put in the article helped a lot with explaining how to use dialogue properly and also showing how enthusiasm can make something sound a lot better and be much more catchy. I think being graded on how unique the story is should be a part of the rubric because children stories should be cheerful and interesting so it can keep their attention.

Analyzing Children Stories

Kitty Wants a Box
The main character in this short story is a kitty. This character is an animal with short, light brown hair. There is no dialogue in this short story but it has very simple sentences so it is easy to understand. The conflict in this story is trying to find the perfect size box for her kitties and herself. I think this can be understood by young children because it is a simple conflict but I doubt children can relate to it unless they like boxes. The conflict is resolved by finding the perfect box for the kitties and herself. The message of this story is to not settle and find the perfect fit for you.

Fruit Salad
The main character in the short story "Fruit Salad" is the apple. This character is a bright red fruit that is starting to get old. The dialogue in this story is between the fruits discussing what they want to do with their lives. This would help the children reading it understand what is going on in the story and understand what they are feeling. The problem in this story is the apple trying to figure out what it wants to do with its life. They make this conflict easy to understand by adding dialogue. I think some children could relate to this conflict because some people have a hard time making decisions. It is resolved by finding his old friends and going to a compost so it can make new friends and tell stories The lesson in this story is to eat your fruits and not let them go to waste.

The Littlest Knight
The main character in this story was a blacksmith. He was very short guy and poor with brown hair and the hopes to marry the princess of the land. There is a little bit of dialogue between him, the king and the bees. The king was making fun of him which helped identify his feelings as being embarrassed because of how short he was. Him speaking to the bees showed his kindness and generosity. The conflict is him being short and it being hard for the king to make him knight and also trying to figure out the riddle the dragon has to make it go away. I think this conflict may be hard for younger children but older children should be able to understand the conflict and able to identify it. This is resolved by the short knight winning the battle against the dragon and getting the love of his life. The message of this story is to not judge a book by its cover and to give people a chance.

These three stories are similar because they all have important messages for young kids. The writers give the kids a topic that they can relate to and is easily understand so they can understand the topic and conflict. They are all different because they have different story lines and conflicts. Also, they vary on the difficulty of reading. I think these stories would be appealing to young children because they have a lot of colourful pictures that represent what was going on. For example, the story "Kitty Wants a Box" was very short and simple but the pictures helped add characteristic and would catch a young persons eye.

The Perfect Quick Lunch; The Grilled Cheese Sandwich

A grilled cheese is a quick lunch that is very simple to make but sometimes you want more than just some bread and cheese. Adding bacon is the perfect match for this cheesy delight. It also adds a lot of taste to this lunch that can sometimes be bland. This guide will help you create the perfect bacon grilled cheese.

1. In order to make this special grilled cheese, you will need two pieces of bread, butter, a cheese slice or two, and bacon. You will also need a frying pan and a spatula.

 
2. Your first step is to cook your bacon (you will probably want 3-4 pieces). To do this, you will have to turn on the heat to medium and put a little bit of oil or butter in the frying pan to decrease the possibility of it burning (make sure it is fully cooked before you take them off).
3. While your bacon is cooking, you can start preparing your bread by buttering both sides and placing a cheese slice on the bread to speed up the process. You can put one to two slices of cheese on depending on how cheesy you want it.

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4. Once your bacon is cooked, place it on top of the cheese and place the other piece of bread on top and then it is time to cook. Be careful not to let any of the ingredients fall out so it can cook properly.

5. This is when you have to really observe your grilled cheese so you can cook it to fit your taste perfectly and not burn it (I’d suggest putting it on medium heat). Once the side touching looks cooked enough for your liking, flip it over using a spatula and cook the other side around the same time as you did before. When it is fully cooked, all that’s left is to take it off the heat, cut it in half and enjoy.




Links: 

http://www.123rf.com/photo_1726317_two-slices-of-bread-isolated.html

http://www.eatthebutter.org/eat-butter/

http://www.cheesewiki.com/american-cheese

http://concurrentaffairs.com/tag/bacon/

http://www.playbuzz.com/gregs/how-well-do-you-really-know-bacon

http://www.thegunnysack.com/grilled-macaroni-and-cheese-sandwich/

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Bacon-Grilled-Cheese-Sandwich

How to Make a Grilled Cheese Review

A characteristic that makes a good how-to article is having effective pictures and/or videos. Some people have a hard time following or understanding written instructions so having a picture will help those people follow the instructions better. Making sure that your information is in extensive detail and clear is also important because a wrong step in the process can effect the end product majorly. I feel like this was a good article because it had a lot of small steps instead of a could large and confusing steps and the pictures were very effective. This how-to article could improve by making a more catchy title so it can seem more intriguing. Its title is also its biggest weak point. Nobody would want to read this great article because the title gives it a false advertising of being bad. A statement that should be a part of the rubric is "this article contains effective pictures that help explain what is needed to do in the situation".
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Grilled-Cheese-Sandwich-in-a-George-Foreman-Grill
Final Mark- 18/20