Lake stories from different animals: Styles Brainstorming

Topic:
My storybook will be about different animals adventures at the lake. After researching there seems to be a lot of great stories that include lakes, even stories with animals as the characters. I found two stories that I believe I would like to include: How Raven stole the lake and How the Turtle saved his own life. The untextbook has so many great stories, especially when you search "lake". There were also many results on sacred texts. The story does not have to have an animal to begin with, that is the fun with storytelling. Being able to change a human character into an animal.

(Turtles)

Bibliography:
How Raven Stole the Lake
This story is part of the Alaskan Legends unit. Story source:Myths and Legends of Alaska, edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1911).

How the Turtle Saved his own life
This story is part of the Jataka Tales unit. Story source: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt, illustrated by Ellsworth Young (1912).

Possible Styles: Wow, there are so many styles to chose from. This was the most difficult part for me. 
Adventure: This is of course one of the main topics, the adventure that the animals are on. A possible adventure would be to find a new house, to meet new friends, or even just an adventure to see what is going on around them. There are many ideas of adventures, I think I will stick to something basic like relocating their home or just an adventure to see the nature (lake).

Animal Storytellers: This is more than likely the style that I will chose. It is the most practical, that the animals tell the story about their adventures at the lake. There would be dialogue between the animals, so you know how the animals are feeling. I would want the main animal from each story be the storyteller. This animal would tell the story in first person. 

The lake as the storyteller: This would be an interesting point of view. It would be how the lake sees, feels, and even hears the animals adventures. I think that the lake would be talking in third person about each of the animals, or could even tell it in first person to tell its point of view. For example, the lake could tell a story about how it saw the transformation of a tadpole to a turtle, then that story could be continued with the turtles point of view on how he convinced the mean people to bring him back to the lake (reference from story above).

Reality show of the animals: The stories could be turned into drama between all of the animals at the lake. They could talk about their love life, friendship, and enemies that they have in their world. The lake could be the main setting of the show and the animals would be the stars of the show. 

Famous Last Words Week 3

This week has been a great week. The weather has been gorgeous! Wednesday was beautiful outside and I was stuck inside all day in classes. With that being said, I am not looking forward to the cold and rain tomorrow (Saturday). I am looking forward to the super bowl on Sunday. If you have not seen the new puppy Budweiser commercial you have watch it! Puppy commercial  I only had one class on Monday, which kind of threw me off since I am still not used to my new schedule. I went from having Tuesday and Thursday class to Monday and Wednesday class.

(Budweiser Puppy)

I am trying to get ahead in this class, especially since I get my wisdom teeth out next week. I am not looking forward to having a swollen mouth. I am still working on this week’s project of brainstorming styles for our storybook. I did however, figure out my topic. This week I really enjoyed the unit I read. I chose to read Aesop fables. They were easy to follow along and read. The theme/lessons of each story were very practical and could be used in everyday life. I hope I can read more units like this one as the semester goes on.

I am still overly impressed with how well my classmates are at storytelling. I cannot wait to see what everyone chose for their storybooks. I have a feeling that everyone is going be so creative.  I have noticed that people are even improving. Maybe the comments from other students are really helpful I also have enjoyed how people have changed the color and font of their blog. This makes it more unique. I have, myself, changed the color of my own blog. I need to change the font as well.

Kind of a random thought, but I finally watched the movie The Fault in our Stars. I highly recommend it. Yes, it is sad but it has a great story-line. I enjoyed watching it and would watch it again. 

Storytelling Week 3: The Two Best Friends (The Monkey and the cat)

The Two Best Friends

(The cutest best friends)

Once upon a time there were two best friends. They happened to both be dogs that lived at a house in the city. Their names were Shadow and Lucy. They were always playing with each other, tearing things up, digging holes, and getting in trouble. They both loved their morning treats. In fact, they would go to any measure to get those treats. 

On a beautiful Sunday morning, their owner was out running errands. He forgot to give them both a treat before he left. The dogs sat in the laundry room, where the treats were located. They pondered on how they were going to get them from the shelf.

“I have a great idea,” said Lucy, “however; I am going to need your help.”

“Okay I will do anything that you need!” said Shadow.

“Okay, so I need you to jump onto the stool next to the washer, then walk over to the table, and then take a leap over to the shelf that the treats are on, and push the bag of treats down onto the ground,” said Lucy with a smirk on her face.

 With her eyes lit up, Shadow agreed.

Then Shadow with all the courage she had, took the first jump onto the stool. The stool shook a little bit, but Shadow made it safe and sound. Once the stool was sturdy, she then jumped to the washer. Shadow felt like the queen of the laundry room. She then pranced on over to the table that was closer to the treats. 

Shadow then asked Lucy, “Okay, now what is next, I cannot remember.” 

Lucy was so excited that Shadow actually got onto the table and shouted, “Now jump to the shelves!” 

As Shadow was jumping the shelves, they both heard the garage door open.

 Lucy shouted, “HURRY, knock the treats down to the floor!” 

Shadow then pushed the treats down to the ground as fast as she could, and then jumped all the way back down to the table then to the stool and then to the floor. As soon as Shadow reached the floor their owner had walked into the laundry room. The owner however, saw Shadow jump down. Shadow was in a lot of trouble and got yelled at. Just as Shadow looked behind her, Lucy had taken off with the treats and hid them before their owner could see them. Lucy was so happy because Shadow fell for her plan. However, Shadow was disappointed because she did all of that work and did not get a treat in the end. The two best friends were now, not talking to each other. This only lasted about a week though. 

 “The flatterer seeks some benefit at your expense” The Monkey and the Cat

Author's Note:

The Monkey and the cat, are both pets who were friends that lived in the same house. They were always getting into trouble together and they both loved getting something to eat. They saw some chestnuts roasting near the fire. First thing that they wanted to do was eat them, but they were unsure how to get them. The monkey came up with the idea of the cat using her paws to get them. The monkey said that he would divide up the nuts between them after she got them out of the fire. However, the monkey would eat the nuts up as soon as she pushed them clear of the fire. Then once the cat burned her paws, their master came in. As soon as their master came in, they both ran off and the cat had little to do with the monkey from then on.

 I decided to change up the characters in the story to two dogs. I thought it would be fun to use two dogs, because we all know that dogs get into trouble together. I did however, try to use somewhat of the same story line of the original story of The Monkey and the cat. I just changed up how they got the food (treats), how the owner came home, and how the story ending. Both stories share the same theme of "The flatterer seeks some benefit at your expense."

Bibliography:

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These stories are part of the Aesop (Winter) unit. Story source:The Aesop for Children, with illustrations by Milo Winter (1919).

Extra Reading Diary: Aesop (Jacobs)

I decided to read some more Aesop fables. I enjoyed these fables and the themes that came with all of the stories. I like how the situations are between animals. I am sure that animals feel some of these situations and people can relate to how they feel.

I really enjoyed the Dogs and Cats section of the unit. The theme I liked the best on this page was "Don't be Selfish" from The Dog in The Manger. You should never just think about yourself. There are others around us at all times, we should be thinking about them and helping them out.

As stated in the Deer section of the unit, we should always "watch on all sides". This is a great lesson. There are a million things going on around us everyday. We never know what can happen. Therefore, we should be watching what is going on all around us.

Out of this unit, my favorite theme/lesson was from the section of Hares. "Things are not so bad as they seem: There is always someone worse off than yourself." In this story, it was sad that the hares would drown themselves. We need to always remember how blessed we really are. Animals and even us can have bad days, but we should never hurt ourselves or others because of it. Just like the theme, things are not as bad as they seem.

Aesop (Jacobs)
(Picture Information)

Reading Diary B: Aesop (Winter)

Aesop (Winter)

Right off the bat I read a story that I enjoyed. The Fox and the Leopard, Page 11, had a great lesson. "A fine coat is not always an indication of an attractive mind". This can be taken just like the saying, "Never judge a book by its cover". Which both are very accurate.

I can really relate to the lesson from The Goatherd and the Wild Goats, Page 13. "It is unwise to treat old friends badly for the sake of new ones". Sadly this has happened to me before and I have seen it happen many times to others. The story did a good job of explaining a situation where you need to care for the ones who you love first then help the ones in need. You should never treat your old friends bad, no matter what. This is also backed up on Page 20, in the story The Wolves and the Sheep. "Do not give up friends for foes". On page 13 as well, I enjoyed The Astrologer. It is true that the little things matter the most. They can make the biggest difference in the big picture of things.

Page 14 had some really great stories that explained the lessons in unique ways. The first story of the page was Mercury and the Woodman. Their lesson wins the best one overall. "Honest is the best policy". Honesty can go a long ways. This can be tied into the story of The Serpent and the Eagle on Page 15. Karma is real, at least I believe in it. So if you are honest and kind, it will all come back to you eventually.

I really enjoyed this unit. Every story was different and there was a huge variety of animals and people through out. This kept the stories interesting.

(Animals)

Reading Diary A: Aesop (Winter)

Aesop (Winter)

I was really impressed with these stories. There were a lot of little stories that all had great endings. Each story would end with one sentence that was a lesson to learn. Overall, they all made great points and had a good way of explaining the lessons using different animal situations.

One of my favorite lessons was, "Our best blessings are often the least appreciated." This was stated in the last story, The Plane Tree from page 3. Page 3 I believe that this holds true for just about anyone. Everyday we should be grateful for what we have, water, food, a house, and family around us.

The Plane Tree

Another lesson learned from this unit was, "One falsehood leads to another". Which is very true. If you lie once, you have to keep lying to backup your first lie. It is good to learn to never lie, even in the worst situations. You never want to lie especially if you are trying to impress someone, because you know it will always come back to you. I enjoyed the story of The Monkey and the Dolphin. This was a great way to show how lies can ruin a friendship. Page 9 I believe that I might do my storytelling on this story.

I also was very fond of, "Do not let anything turn you from your purpose". The story of The Wolf and the Kid was a great way to show that you should always be yourself. Page 1

I cannot wait to read the rest of this unit. My favorite part is all of the lessons learned and how practical they are to everyday life. I am really enjoying this unit.