Pete rewrote an excerpt from The Black Stallion from the perspective of the horse. Check out his clever use of figurative language. 

The Boy

As I was swimming to shore, I saw another struggling life form. By the time I reached the other life form, it has stopped struggling. Its eyes were closed and it’s sinking beneath the choppy, pitch-black waves. I pull it to shore.

When it wakes up I find out that it is a boy. And I eventually find out that his name is Alec. For some strange reason I don’t understand, Alec intimidates me. It makes no sense! I’m bigger and more commanding than that little twerp. He’s so small and weak.

The next day, I see a yellowish-black snake in front of Alec, about to bite him. Now, I don’t like Alec or especially care for the boy. But, I realized that if Alec gets bitten by a venomous snake, he will torture me with his horrible screeches of torment and agony. Humans are so selfish. So I scream my loudest scream ever and tare across the shore, my body becomes a blur. The humid but refreshing air streaks across my face, but I continue to charge down the shore. I’m right in front of Alec and the snake. I pound the Earth, brittle as butterscotch in the heat, it cracks.

When I stop, the snake is nothing but a shriveled head, with dark, crimson blood spurting out from behind the shiny yellow scales. Then I run away from Alec. One hundred yards away, I stopped and turn around and see Alec. Standing there alone. He shouts something out to me but I couldn’t quite make out the words.

Later, I’m looking out over the enormous cliffs as the wind whips at my mane. I have decided to come when Alec calls me, and I have accepted the name Black. As I’m walking beside a crystalline-looking pool of water, I start to eat some dry, dirty and tasteless carragheen.  I hate carragheen. It’s the most tasteless seaweed I’ve ever eaten. It’s brown and usually floppy. It’s salty as fresh sea-water and coated in sand from when it washes up on the shore.

The next morning, I ran farther inland on the island. I no longer could see Alec. But then I see a little person on the top of a hill. It’s Alec. He whistles and I trot over to him. When I look up at Alec, his face was as pale as a crisp, new piece of paper. And it’s so hot out that he’s pouring sweat like a garden hose. He grabs my mane and starts to climb on me! I’m appalled that he would think, much less try, to ride me! I stiffen myself and whip him off my back, and he crashes into a nearby sand dune. I nudge his head. But he doesn’t move.

After many hours, he wakes up. I’m guessing he was unconscious. He tries to get back on me, whispering softly in my ear. I whip him to the ground again. Now his body is covered in little black and purple dots that humans call bruises. But this time he gets right back up. And I must admire his perseverance, but I will be reluctant to let him ride me. No matter what. . .

I’ve decided to concede to Alec’s wantings. I will let Alec ride me tomorrow...

. . .I sort of reared into the air. I tested his horsemanship by rocketing down the shore. I felt like I was flying because my strides were so long. The wind hurt my ears and eyes, yet I kept on running. I ran in a wide circle, my speed never getting lower. I saw a deep gully ahead of me and I immediately knew that I could jump it. But could Alec hold on? Hopefully not. So I jumped it. And unfortunately, Alec stayed alive. He just proved he could take fine care of me. And as I landed, I felt the Earth beneath me rumble as if the entire Earth just cracked. I made a rhythm on the pure white sand.

A Ms. Moll original math game, "Roll A Quotient". Students practiced dividing fractions by playing this fun dice rolling game.

Inspired by The Black Stallion by Walter Farley.


My Life as a Horse

His life is filled with lots of pride,
Swiftly he comes-faster with every magnificent stride.
The sun blazed down and sweat ran from the stallions face,
The sweat racing down with a quick a pace.
When the stallion halted he saw a boy,
Laying by a tree with not a bit of joy.
There the boy sat on the grassy ground,
He was just sitting there not making a sound.
The stallion galloped over to the tree,
The boy looked up and said “I am free”.
The boy got up and jumped on the stallions back,
The stallion quivered then made a crack.
The stallion reared then the boy fell off the stallions back,
The boy laid on the ground and just saw black.
The boy woke up and got to his knees,
When the stallion reared then suddenly freezed.
The stallion didn’t move he just remained calm,
The boy got up as fast as a bomb.
The boy got up on the stallions back,
But this time the stallion didn’t crack.
The stallion galloped through the pathway,
The stallion and the boy were on their way.

For reading workshop, students read an except from Andrew Clements' fun novel Lunch Money, about a boy named Greg who draws, publishes, and sells his own comics called, "Chunky Comics". Students also learned about the history of comic books and how to make their own mini comic.

RAFT Writing: Students wrote a persuasive letter from the perspective of Greg. They needed to persuade the principal to let them sell their comics at a booth in the cafeteria during lunch time. Check out some of those clever letters under RAFT Writing.