Below you will find informational articles and other pieces of nonfiction written by students at Pulaski Elementary.
by Justin
Ms. Sneed's 4th Grade
What grandpa did in the 1930's as a little boy is different from what I do as a little boy in the 1990's. When grandpa was a little boy he worked on the farm. When he was finished he liked to play games, such as, checkers and tag. On Sundays he would go to church.
When he worked on the farm, he helped cut and stack hay. Sometimes he fed the pigs, horses, chickens, cows, & dogs. When he fed the animals he had to carry food, and water back & fourth. He was finished when he put up the horses.
When he played checkers he beat almost anybody who came up against him. He loved checkers, that was his favorite game. The next favorite game was tag. He could get anybody at anytime. Those were his two favorite games.
He loved to go to church most of the time. He liked to walk to church with his friends. When he got there he sat with his friends in the sixth row. His dad was the preacher. He really liked the church he went too. The church was called Hill Station Baptist Church.
Now, kids do very different things in the 90's. I play basketball at my school. I really like to watch TV, but computers are my favorite thing to do in my spare time.
I love to play basketball, it's my favorite sport in the world. We play at school and our team is the Pacers. The last time we played we won 22 to 12. We played the Knicks. They are not to bad, but they have lost every game they played, this year. We (the Pacer) won 5 games.
I like to watch TV too. The shows I like are Beaves & Butthead, Ren & Stempy, M.T.V, and Disney. Beavis & Butthead are pretty stupid and I like Ren he's, cool.
I like to play on computers. My favorite game is called Oregon Trail. I beat it 7 times in 2 hours. My dad said he will get us a computer. I can't wait!
Even though what my grandpa did was very different from what I do, I think we turned out great for our day and time. We each know we did things different, but we still love each other anyway and we get to share neat stories.
by Amanda
Ms. Sneed's 4th Grade
When my mamaw was my age in the 1930's, she did many things differently than I do today. She had to make her clothes out of sacks and walk a mile to fetch a cow. When she had time for fun, she played out door games.
When Mamaw was a little girl, her mother had to make her clothes out of sacks. When her parents went to town, they bought bran sacks full of food that would make a cow give more milk. After the sacks were empty, her mother washed them on the scrub board to clean them. Mamaw told me that the sack material would have flowers on it or hearts or little yellow ducks. If her mother wanted to make Mamaw a dress, it took two sack. It took only one sack for a skirt or shirt.
Another thing that she had to do was walk at least a mile to get the cow. Everyday, in any type of weather, she would walk though the forest to get the milk cow. When she heard a "moo" or a bell that was tied around the cow's neck, she would know where the cow was. Then she would drive her to the barn to milk. Then Mamaw would put the cow in a stall, pour some bran in the trough, and milk her. The family used the milk to cook with and to drink. The cream was churned into butter for hot biscuits and cornbread.
Back then when Mamaw finished her chores, she had time to play. One of my mamaw's favorite games was Ival Over. Her brothers, sisters, and friends played with her. They divided into two teams and one team would stand in front of the house and the other team would stand in the back of the house. Then, one person on the team would throw a rubber ball over the roof. "Ival Over!" The players would scramble to catch the ball before it hit the ground. If the ball was caught, the team earned points. Mamaw remembers loving this game and playing it a lot.
What I enjoy doing in my spare time is different from what my Mamaw did in her time. One of my favorite games is jumping rope and chanting little rhymes like Hot Peppers and Cinderalla. I turn my jump rope and jump until I miss. I also enjoy throwing a baton in the air and doing stunts with it. I have more spare time than my Mamaw did when she was a girl.
But, Mamaw's chores were harder than mine. My hardest chore is cleaning the kitchen because it's so big. When the dishes are washed, I have to put them away in a really high cabinet. Sometimes I have to get a chair and stand on it. After the dishwasher is unloaded, I sweep the floor and scrub the countertop. It usually takes me about an hour to finish cleaning the kitchen.
Nowadays when I need clothes, Mommy doesn't make them out of bran sacks. She goes to Wal-Mart or J. C. Penney and buys me what I need. I'm glad I don't have to wear dresses like Mamaw's because I think it would be embarrassing.
My mamaw is different from me, but I love her very much. I guess we both have learned what we needed to learn to live in our different worlds.
by Katlyn
Ms. Sneed's 4th Grade
Grandma did many different things as a girl in the1920's than I do today. She played: hopscotch, kick the can, and jump rope.
Grandma would get with her friends and play games. Her father was a teacher, and he would give her chalk to play hopscotch. She would draw squares on the sidewalk, because she lived in the city. Then ,she would put numbers in the squares, and they would take turns hopping on one foot from one side to the other.
She also played kick the can. This is played like soccer. The players needed two nets and a can. They would try to kick the can in the net. The only difference is they didn't bounce the can off their heads like kids do today in soccer, and they didn't have uniforms.
Grandma also played jump-rope. This is played with a rope, and they jumped over it. They usually sung a song as they jumped. Jump rope was one of her favorite things to do.
We do different things now. I play computer games, which need a t.v. and keyboard to play. I talk to my friends on the phone all the time, and I watch television.
When I play on the computer. I usually play Ski Way, it is really fun. There is a man that is controlled with a mouse, and the object of the game is not to get eaten by the monster. The man has to stay clear of obstacles. If you hit them five times each, the monster will come out and eat you.
I talk to my friends on the phone. Usually we(my mom and me) can't sit down to watch a television program without the phone ringing two or three times. I usually talk for 45 minutes. I can do this all during the week, except when I'm grounded. Then I can only talk for five minutes.
I'm not allowed to watch t.v. during the week, but I can watch it anytime on the weekend I want. Sometimes mom lets me watch a special educational program during the week or if our favorite actor or actress is on a talk show we watch that. My favorite t.v. show is Road Rules. The reason I like it is, because it is a comedy.
Eventhough, the stuff I do today is different from what Grandma did in her day. I think she had as much fun as I do now. I really like to go to Grandma's house, because she tells me stories when I'm sick.
by Kyle
Ms. Mayfield's 4th Grade
I think I am special because I am my mom's one and only son. I think I am also special because I am a little brother to my big sister.
Another reason that I am special is because am polite and nice to others around me and that makes me have lots of friends.
I have a dog named Sassy and I feed her and play with her everyday. I also groom her everyday, and take her to the vet when she needs to go. When I come home, she comes running to me wanting attention. For these reasons my dog thinks I am special.
I mostly think I am special because I am a person and everyone is special to someone, in one way or the other.
I feel very special because I have lots of relatives and friends that love me for just being myself, which is a very active and happy boy.
by Jimmy
Ms. Mayfield's 4th Grade
Have you ever wanted to know how to work on a farm? I have a grandpa who owns a farm in Somerset, Kentucky, and sometimes I help him work on it. My grandpa and I grow tomatoes, corn, and beef cows.
When we grow tomatoes, the first thing we do is put the plow on the tractor and plow the fields where we plan to grow the tomatoes.
Next, we disc the soil about three times. We go back and forth over the soil before we put on the fertilizer and cow manure. These two things are used because it helps the plants grow. Then we disc the fields again.
After the tomatoes begin to grow, we put tobacco sticks by them, so they won't get tangled up as they get ripe.
When we plant the corn, we prepare the fields the same way. Then we just let the tomatoes and corn grow.
We plant the tomatoes and corn in a different spot each year, because we don't want the soil to wear out.
Taking care of beef cattle is different than raising crops. In the summer they eat grass that's in the field and they need alot of water to drink.
In the winter it's different because you have to put hay out for the cattle to eat, so they won't starve to death. Also, you need to check their water to make sure that it doesn't freeze, so they won't die of thirst.
Working on a farm is hard ,but I enjoy it. I also enjoy working with my grandpa and helping him.
by Jennifer
Ms. Mayfield's 4th Grade
Several people think I'm special. They think this because I have imaginative ideas. I can write stories which are entertaining and fun. I enjoy writing fiction because I can make animals talk or make people do impossible things. Art is another activity where I can be creative. People tell me that I am artistic when they see my art work.
Another reason I am special is because I can speak Korean, a foreign language, and English. I feel really pleased about being bilingual. Most people I go to school with can only speak one language. I learned how to speak in Korean from my parents. They were born in Korea and spoke Korean everyday. I just naturally learned Korean. Since I was born in America, I already knew a little English, but I couldn't learn that language from my parents because they couldn't speak it fluently.
Also, I am special because I enjoy spending time with everyone that I can, especially my friends and family. I like to play with them and talk with them. They are also fun to be with when we do things together, or if something bad happens, they cheer me up by telling jokes or by acting goofy.
I have another hobby that makes me special too. I play the piano. I do the dynamics with flair. When the music tells me to play forte, I play really loud. When it tells me to play piano, I play really soft. Also, when I listen carefully to any music, I can sit down at the piano and play what I just heard. This is called "playing by ear".
Finally the last reason I am special is that I eat foods that are different from other people around here. My family usually eats American food, but sometimes we eat Korean foods like rice, meat, and different varieties of vegetables mixed with pepper.
For all of these reasons, I am special. But the main reason I am special is this . . . there is no one quite like me!
PEE WEE, OUR CLASS BUTTERFLY
By: Jessie
Ms. Fitzgerald's 4th Grade
Bye, bye Pee Wee! It was breathtaking to see a georgous monarch butterfly flutter away. I can remember the day in late autumn when Pee Wee was only a miniature egg. Miss Fitzgerald said, "Today we are going to learn about metamorphosis."
That autum day in September was when she brought Pee Wee into the classroom for the first time. She said we would learn about the life cycle of a butterfly by watching it happen in our classroom! Oh boy!
Robin was the leader that day, so Miss Fitzgerald put the milkweed leaf with the egg on it onto Robin's desk. I sat nearby Robin so I could see Pee Wee. Pee Wee was a tiny little pea yellow egg.
One day soon after that when I came back to school, I saw a miniature little caterpillar eating it's egg shell!
I T WAS PEE WEE! I could not believe it!
A week later I came back to school, and I found Pee Wee munching on a milkweed leaf. He was getting larger and fatter from all the milkweed leaves he was eating! He had black, white, and yellow. As he grew his stripes seemed to stretch! We even saw him molt, or shed his skin as he grew larger and larger. (He molted more than once.)
A few weeks later the caterpillar had hung upside down in a ''J" shape on the lid of his cage. Miss Fitzgerald set the cage on Robin's desk.
We knew something was about to happen!
One day soon after that when Miss Fitzgerald was teaching, the caterpillar had started to split! I told Miss Fitzgerald and everyone came to Robin's desk. It was so extraordinary to see a caterpillar split into a chrysalis! The skin just fell of as we watched it appear to turn inside out! Soon it was a mint green chrysalis with bright gold sparkled dots around the top.
Just about two weeks later, the chrysalis was transparent. We could see the shape of a butterfly and wings inside the chrysalis!
Then two days later, I came into school and Pee Wee wasn't green any more, he was black. We knew that meant the chrysalis was about to be a butterfly! That very same day he came out of the chrysalis shell.
We saw his wings while they were still soft and wet and wrinkled.
That same afternoon, his wings were smooth and he sat moving them gently back and forth. Was he ready to fly yet? Soon we would know.
Then, it was time to set him free. It was unbearably sad just to think about letting Pee Wee go. We knew there were dangers ahead as he began his migration south to a warmer climate.
Finally, we had to take him outside to let him go. It was really exciting to see him take his first flight. He fluttered up into thebright blue sky as we watched.
Well, I hope that Pee Wee has a great trip to Mexico!
Thank you Pee Wee, for all you taught me.
by Jason
Ms. Fitzgerald's 4th Grade
I am a computer nut! When I first get to school every morning, I usually go straight to the computer. I usually play games or get on the Internet.
My favorite way to use the computers is to go on the Internet. There are a lot of things to explore on the Internet! I have noticed that when you are using the Internet you sometimes have to wait a long time!So, if you use the Internet you need to be patient.
In my classroom we mostly use the computers for word processing,to do our fourth grade writing portfolios. Word processing means typing.
I would like to tell you many more ways that computers are used. Computers are great for many many things, and here are some of them!
First , they can be used for .... Automobiles. Cars use computers to control the flow of gas to the engine for one thing. This gives better gas mileage. Also, many cars have computers that have control displays such as the temperature, speed and gas gauges that are run by computer.
Banks ... Computers in banks can transfer money from one account to another. People can go to ATM machines and get money twenty-four hours a day.
Cartoons .... Computers can be used to organize thousands of single pictures used to make cartoons. Newspapers use computers to print cartoons and other things in the newspaper.
Drawings... Engineers can use computers to create designs. For example, at the Olympics, some of the stadiums were designed by computer.
Games... Some games such as chess can be played with a computer. The computer can analyze and decide which move would be best. Many games on the computer are very popular.
Hospitals... Hospitals can use a computer to record a patient's heart rate. The computer can even warn nurses if a patient is in danger.
Industrial Robots... Some companies use computer-controlled robots to do such things as weld parts, work on assembly lines, or to deliver parts. They save people a lot of work!
There are many ways to use the computer, but I have only told you some of them.
Respiratory System
Nose, mouth and lungs
They carry air
Help us breathe
Respiratory System.
Written by Tessa
Mrs. Adkins' Primary Class
Skeletal System
Bones and joints
Joints hold your bones, lets you twist, bend, move
Bones keep you strong
Skeletal System.
Written by Lindsay
Mrs. Adkins' Primary Class
Nervous System
Brain and nerves
Helps you think
Helps you play
Tells you what to do
Nervous System.
Written by Patrick
Mrs. Adkins' Primary Class
First you get a pencil, white paper, scissors, and something round that is not bigger than the white paper. Put the round thing on the paper. Trace the round thing on the paper. Fold the paper like a taco. Then fold it in half. When it is folded in half it will look like a piece of pizza. After that cut cool designs in the piece of paper that looks like a piece of pizza. Then unfold the paper. Then you will have a paper snowflake.