Story Elements, Point of View, Types of Conflict

1. The Great Pizza Fight by Lester Peterson

Vince held the slice of pepperoni pizza in his palm as the cheese dripped through his fingers. He didn't know what to do. The cafeteria was afire with slices of pizza flying through the air. Splat! A greasy slice of sausage splattered on Vince's table. The sauce splashed up and hit his friend R.J. in the chest. "Ugh!" R.J. shouted as he fell into Vince's arms. "I'm hit, Vince!"

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Cool Breeze on a Hot Day by Amy Scott

"Ice cream! Ice cream!" I heard the street vendor shouting as he pushed his cart down the block. Ice cream sounded really tasty on a day like this. I plunged my hands into my pockets and examined the contents: one pair of house keys, a pack of gum that was almost empty, and a few coins. I pulled the coins from my pockets and counted them. It didn't take long. 46 cents. I saw a line of children from the neighborhood in front of the street vendor. Each walked away happier than the former. My mouth tasted like hot ashes.

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Growing Tomatoes by Luke Pitts

Your tomato plants may be resilient, but there are a couple things that you can do to help them grow rich and lush. First, you should water the tomato plant in the morning. Tomatoes grow best when they can aspirate, or drink water, all day in the sun. If you water them at night, they will have a harder time releasing excess water. Second, you should give them the correct amount of water. Follow the chart on page 67 to determine how much water you should give your tomato plants.

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.5

CCSS.RI.6.3

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.3

CCSS.RI.7.5

Great Dane by Wilma Walker

The dog slobbered his huge tongue up Alice's face, leaving behind a sticky trail. "Yuck!" Alice shouted while wiping the slobber from off of her brow. Alice didn't like the dog that her parents got her. She had wanted a cute little dog that could sit in her lap and wear tiny sweaters, not a great big hound that knocked over her dolls with its tail and left drool puddles everywhere. "Go away!" Alice shouted at the great hulking beast. If the dog understood what she was saying, he didn't seem to show it.

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

. Secret Agent Gomez by Pedro Jimenez

"Shhh!" Gomez silenced his companion as the car pulled into the driveway. She was only ten but she knew the ropes and stopped talking immediately. The driver got out of the car. He was a tall man in his 40s with a thin mustache. He matched the description of the man that they were looking for. "That's the target," Gomez whispered. "I'll distract him. You put this under his car," Gomez told the girl, handing her a small magnetic tracking device

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Jack of Diamonds by Perry Rigby

"Jack! Don't forget your coat," Mom shouted down the stairs. "Already wearing it, Mom! Love you!" I shouted back while stepping through the front door. The wind whipped across the street tossing a light spiral of snow through the air. My coat was already zipped, but I pulled it up as high as it would go and buttoned the top buttons. It was just that kind of day. A large snowplow came crashing down the street, sparks flying off of the steel plow as it scrapped the asphalt.

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Mary the Magnificent by Carol Dunning

"Presto chango!" I shouted as I stuffed my hand in to the tall black hat on the table and felt around for something fluffy. "Abracadabra!" I blurted out hesitantly as I continued probing around the hat for the rabbit. "Ta-da!" I said, as if hoping that the words would actually make the bunny appear in the hat, but it was all in vain. The bunny was gone and my show was over, but there I was standing on the stage mumbling pointless incantations.

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Revenge of the Mummy's Tomb by Bruce Romani

The tomb is dark and dank. Your lantern flutters on the verge of extinguishing as you walk toward the final resting place of King Ramses. As the dim light from your lantern hits the surface of the sarcophagus, the gold glints in your eyes. The handle of the sarcophagus is right in reach. Suddenly you hear the sound of footsteps. There are at least four people running toward you. If you want to hide inside of the sarcophagus, turn to page 76. If you want to run away, turn to page 114.

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Laser Commandos Part 5: Out of Orbit by Roderick Wellston

Rip flipped the switches on the booster pack. The engines roared and flared as he soared through the depths of space. "I don't know about this," Rip said into his headset. A voice dotted with static replied through the earphones, "Rip, you are the only one close enough to stop them." Rip looked at the laser cannons on the menacing alien craft, and then he spoke into his headset, "Yeah, ok, but I really don't know about this. How am I supposed to take out a Gorlak warship with a laser pistol?" He waited for a reply. After an awkward silence a single word returned through his earphones, "Improvise." Rip shook his head.

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Tips for Classroom Survival by Josh Jordan

You pretty much never want to be stuck in school during the summer months, but sometimes it happens. When it does you’ll find that staying cool becomes very important. Hopefully you go to a nice school with air conditioning, but even that breaks down sometimes. So, take a piece of paper and lay it on your desk. Turn it on its side so that the red margin line is at the top. Now fold the paper on the left side about a quarter of an inch. Flip the paper over and fold it the other direction another quarter of an inch. Flip back and fold again. If you are doing it correctly, you be giving the paper an accordion fold, so that it can grow and shrink. When you have folded the entire paper in this manner, you will have a fan that may help you stay cool. Just be careful, if the air is warmer than 98.6 degrees, you will find that the air will not cool you.

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.5

CCSS.RI.6.3

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.3

CCSS.RI.5.5