Here are the recent third and fourth grade story-writing contest winners along with the writing prompt.
Cricket magazine is a literary publication for readers aged 9 to 14. During its over 30-year history, it has won numerous awards and praises. The Los Angeles Times, called Cricket “ad-free, with high-quality pages and top-notch writing and illustrations." Each 64-page monthly issue contains fiction, fantasy, folk tales, adventures, poems, history, and biography as well as cartoons, crossword puzzles, crafts, and recipes. Cricket also offers a story, poetry, art, or photography contest each month that is open to a national audience. Birchwood students regularly participate in these contests and many of them have
earned prizes and had the honor of seeing their stories and/or names published in Cricket magazine.
September 2007 Cricket Writing Contest: Students were to write an original story about a "quest." Stories and/or name were published in the December 2007 issue:
1st place: The Pirate and the Treasure by Nizar D.
3rd place: The Birthday Gift by Maya F.
Honorable Mention: Beneath the Bone by Michael "M. J." M.
Honorable Mention: The Unicorns' Quest for a Home by Haley Y.
Honorable Mention: Mother's Day Bouquet by Prathna K.
Honorable Mention: Halloween Quest by Jamie S.
Cricket magazine is a literary publication for readers aged 9 to 14. During its over 30-year history, it has won numerous awards and praises. The Los Angeles Times, called Cricket “ad-free, with high-quality pages and top-notch writing and illustrations." Each 64-page monthly issue contains fiction, fantasy, folk tales, adventures, poems, history, and biography as well as cartoons, crossword puzzles, crafts, and recipes. Cricket also offers a story, poetry, art, or photography contest each month that is open to a national audience. Birchwood students regularly participate in these contests and many of them have
earned prizes and had the honor of seeing their stories and/or names published in Cricket magazine.
September 2007 Cricket Writing Contest: Students were to write an original story about a "quest." Stories and/or name were published in the December 2007 issue:
1st place: The Pirate and the Treasure by Nizar D.
3rd place: The Birthday Gift by Maya F.
Honorable Mention: Beneath the Bone by Michael "M. J." M.
Honorable Mention: The Unicorns' Quest for a Home by Haley Y.
Honorable Mention: Mother's Day Bouquet by Prathna K.
Honorable Mention: Halloween Quest by Jamie S.
Here are more third and fourth grade winners from the November Cricket magazine writing contest. The prompt was to write a story about the origin of something. The winners were published in the February
2008 issue:
2008 issue:
First place: Faithful Sneezes by Jorgen K. This story tell about the fanciful origin of the Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park.
Second place: How Dussera Came to Be by Dhweeja D. It's about the origin of an Indian holiday.
Third place tie: How Leaves Became Green by Darius Z. and Why Humans Love Dairy Products by Alexis H.
Honorable Mention: How the Parrot Got Its Colors by Boshy D.
Fandangle Magazine. This is an online magazine for children that was published once per month for several years. Student writing and artwork were welcomed via contests that were held every few months. Birchwood students participated and were awarded prizes on several occasions. Early last fall, students were asked to write a story about Sam, a chameleon who loved to skateboard and the adventure he embarked upon. Grand prize winner ($25 gift certificate from amazon.com) 4th grader
Cameron S. Runner-up ($10 gift certificate from amazon.com) 3rd grader Pheby L.
Creative Communications sponsors a fiction and non--fiction writing contest each year as well as several poetry contests. They accept approximately 40% of the entries they receive, since their goal is to
encourage student writers by allowing them to experience the joy of seeing their work in print, while still setting a fairly high standard for good writing. Due to the quality and creativity of Birchwood students' entries, 75-80% are typically accepted for publication. About six months after each contest, the winning entries are published in a high cover book, which is available for purchase, although buying the book is not a condition for entering the contest or being recognized as a winner. The Birchwood fourth grade students entered the fall essay-writing contest on any non-fiction topic of importance to children. The following fourth graders had their entries accepted for publication in an anthology that came out this spring: (Essay titles follow student names.)
Hajira A. No Polluting!
Nate C. My Family
Dhweeja D. The Most Important Person in My Life
Sebastian D. Being Healthy
Peter A. H. Recycling
Phillip H. No Smoking: Or Pay the Price!
Jorgen K. Nature
Kavya R. Halt!
Jamie S. Chui
Cameron S. Quit Smoking
Kareem T. Soccer
Katelyn V. Trash or Treasure
Nathan W. Recycling for Our Earth
Naomi W. Saving Lives
Cameron S. Runner-up ($10 gift certificate from amazon.com) 3rd grader Pheby L.
Creative Communications sponsors a fiction and non--fiction writing contest each year as well as several poetry contests. They accept approximately 40% of the entries they receive, since their goal is to
encourage student writers by allowing them to experience the joy of seeing their work in print, while still setting a fairly high standard for good writing. Due to the quality and creativity of Birchwood students' entries, 75-80% are typically accepted for publication. About six months after each contest, the winning entries are published in a high cover book, which is available for purchase, although buying the book is not a condition for entering the contest or being recognized as a winner. The Birchwood fourth grade students entered the fall essay-writing contest on any non-fiction topic of importance to children. The following fourth graders had their entries accepted for publication in an anthology that came out this spring: (Essay titles follow student names.)
Hajira A. No Polluting!
Nate C. My Family
Dhweeja D. The Most Important Person in My Life
Sebastian D. Being Healthy
Peter A. H. Recycling
Phillip H. No Smoking: Or Pay the Price!
Jorgen K. Nature
Kavya R. Halt!
Jamie S. Chui
Cameron S. Quit Smoking
Kareem T. Soccer
Katelyn V. Trash or Treasure
Nathan W. Recycling for Our Earth
Naomi W. Saving Lives
Third grader Maya F. is a Grand Prize winner of the "Be a Good Sport" essay contest that the Birchwood third and fourth graders entered last winter. This is a national competition open to students between the
ages of eight and eleven who are legal residents of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia. NFL Players and Weekly Reader Custom Publishing teamed up with Backyard Sports, creators of the
popular Backyard Football video game, to help children recognize that good sportsmanship is just as important as winning the game. Therefore, students were asked to think about what good sportsmanship means to them and then write essays describing times when they were "good sports." This could be exhibited as fair play, courtesy, enthusiasm, and losing with pride--even if the students were not involved athletically. Maya's essay described a time when she visited her native Syria and observed a poor boy who looked at her with longing eyes as she left a store with an ice cream cone. When the store owner came out to shoo the boy away, Maya decided to give her ice cream treat and change to the boy. In so doing she experienced the joy that came from being a good sport by helping a person less fortunate than herself. As one of only five Grand Prize winners in the nation, Maya will receive a prize package that includes a Backyard Sports T-shirt and hat, a Nintendo DS console, and a free lunch party for her entire class. Her lucky teacher, Mrs. Kufahl, will receive a $1,000 grant. Maya's winning essay was chosen from almost 500 entries that the contest received.
ages of eight and eleven who are legal residents of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia. NFL Players and Weekly Reader Custom Publishing teamed up with Backyard Sports, creators of the
popular Backyard Football video game, to help children recognize that good sportsmanship is just as important as winning the game. Therefore, students were asked to think about what good sportsmanship means to them and then write essays describing times when they were "good sports." This could be exhibited as fair play, courtesy, enthusiasm, and losing with pride--even if the students were not involved athletically. Maya's essay described a time when she visited her native Syria and observed a poor boy who looked at her with longing eyes as she left a store with an ice cream cone. When the store owner came out to shoo the boy away, Maya decided to give her ice cream treat and change to the boy. In so doing she experienced the joy that came from being a good sport by helping a person less fortunate than herself. As one of only five Grand Prize winners in the nation, Maya will receive a prize package that includes a Backyard Sports T-shirt and hat, a Nintendo DS console, and a free lunch party for her entire class. Her lucky teacher, Mrs. Kufahl, will receive a $1,000 grant. Maya's winning essay was chosen from almost 500 entries that the contest received.
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