Writing Portfolio

I used a website called Weebly to make my writing portfolio. I hope you enjoy it. Click the link below:

Liz Cronin's Writing Portfolio

Stanley

Click on this link to view my picture book. I will use this when we are reading/writing realistic fiction.

Modeling Opinion Writing for My Students (Rough Draft)

Cats Rule, Dogs Drool

          Should you get a cute little puppy or a cuddly kitten? Many people have pets in their homes. Two of the most popular pets are cats and dogs. Some people say that a dog is man's best friend, but I just might be able to convince you otherwise. Cats make better pets for several reasons. 

          Cats are far more easier to take care of than dogs, especially when it comes to grooming. Dogs require regular baths, clipping their nails, cleaning their ears, and frequent brushing. Cats do all of this on their own. They bathe themselves and most cats do not even need to be brushed.  As you can see cats are very low maintenance. 

          A great thing about cats is that they help take care of themselves is the way they get exercise. Cats and dogs both need exercise to stay healthy. Dogs need to be walked at least two times a day, no matter what the weather is like outside. It would be no fun to walk a dog in bad weather or when it is really hot or cold out. Cats require much less exercise. They would be perfectly happy to play inside. You can have them chase a ball of yarn or even a small laser light from the comfort of your own living room. 

          One of the best things about having a cat is how easy it is to train them. You can teach a cat to use it's litter box by just putting it in the box once. After that the cat uses it's instinct and will always do it's business in the little box. It can take several months to train a dog. Dogs have to be let outside every time they need to go to the bathroom. Cats will just go to the little box. The only thing you have to do is clean out the litter box every few days. You can do this whenever you want and on your own schedule. 

          Dogs also require much more training for their behavior. You have to teach them not to jump on people, how to walk on a leash, not to dig, not to bark, how to sit and stay, and the list goes on and on. Cats do not need any other training, besides how to use their littler box.  Cats are much easier to have around than dogs.

          Another wonderful thing about cats is how quiet they are. Dogs can be very noisy when they bark. Cats spend a lot of time sleeping and are much quieter than dogs. They are much less likely to disturb neighbors with their noise. Not only are dogs likely to be noisy outside, they can also can ruin your lawn and landscaping by digging and chewing. Cats are more interested in napping in the sun or chasing birds. 

          Some people might argue that dogs make better companions. This is not true. Most cats love to be with their owners. They enjoy cuddling up next to you and getting a good scratch behind their ears. Cats can be very loving and affectionate. One way they express their affection is by purring and curving their tails. 

          One of the hardest things about having a dog as a pet is what to do when you go out of town. Dogs cannot be left alone for very long. You would either need to hire someone to come to your house and take care of them or pay to put them in a kennel. Cats can be left alone for several days as long as they have a clean litter box and plenty of food and water. It saves money to have a cat. 

          As you can see, cats are very easy to take care of and they also make great pets. They can provide companionship and do not require much effort. If you are considering getting a pet, I hope you will choose a cat.

         

         

          

A Collection of Haiku Poems

My  handwriting was terrible the day I wrote these, so I thought I would spare you and just type them for your viewing enjoyment. Haiku is my favorite form of poetry to write because it doesn't have to rhyme and there are rules for each stanza (the number of syllables). So, here goes....

Breath freezes abruptly
Across chilled lips and noses
A cold winter, now

They make me crazy!
"Have kids, it's fun.", they all said
I'm tired, and I weep

At dusk, they gather
To discuss the day's events
Murderous party

Temperature dropping
Birds from the north woods return
Sharp cold bites the toes

Rattled, labored breath
You are now gone from this Earth
Loved. Forever missed

The red flower blooms
As we've waited all winter
Spring, almost is here

Working on homework
Writing haikus in my book
Yes, for my Masters

The clang of dishes
Arguments and fighting loud
"BUT MOM! IT'S HER TURN!"

I hate when you're gone
California is stupid
Please get back here soon

We are all on phones
No one looks at each other
Technology sucks

Fourth Graders learning
Working hard with lots of noise
I SO love my job

I knew when we met
That life would be good again
So I married you twice

Happy yellow bloom
Reaching tall to the blue sky
Nice to see you, friend


 

My first attempt at writing about this.

I hope you can read it. I tried to take photos of it from my journal. If it's too hard to read, please let me know and I'll type it. 

Blog Title? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Someone asked me what the deal was with the title of my blog. It's Blog, It's Blog, It's Big, It's Heavy, It's Wood. Well...as a child of the 90's it is a reference to the ever-amazing Ren and Stimpy. For your viewing pleasure...

Selfish

It was the first day of school. My teacher gave me this writing assignment: If you could have any superpower what would it be? Well, I can tell you what it would NOT be. I would not want to invisible. Who knows what people might say about me, not knowing that I am standing there. It's just like in the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio when Auggie is wearing a Halloween costume and nobody knows it is him. A kid who he thought was his friend says some pretty mean things about him, not even knowing he was listening. I would certainly not want to hear people talking about me like I'm not there.

I would also NOT want to be a shape-shifter. I would have to turn into all sorts of unpleasant things to save the day. For example, I might have to turn into a giant, gooey, green jello mold to save someone jumping out of a burning building. They would need somewhere safe to land, after all. And, what if there was a giant robot lizard taking over the city? Do you know what eats lizards? Snakes. Snakes eat lizards. I would have to turn myself into a giant snake, big enough to unhinge my jaw and swallow that giant robot lizard whole. No thank you. I.Hate.Snakes.

I would NOT want night vision. How would I be able to sleep? I would guess that night vision makes everything look brighter, even the dark. I would NOT want super-strength because my friends would always be asking me to open jars and help them move and stuff. I would NOT want be able to control the weather because I would always make it a warm, sunny, spring day. We wouldn't get enough rain and that would be bad. I would not want to be all stretchy like Elastagirl from The Incredibles movie. That just looks uncomfortable. I wouldn't want to turn all green and strong like The Hulk when I got mad. I'd ruin all my clothes. There are a lot of powers I would NOT want.

What I would want to have (if I could have any super power) would be the ability to fly. Ever since I was a little girl I have been fascinated with flying. Not on an airplane though. I hate flying on airplanes. I want to feel the wind rushing over my face, whipping though my hair, the feeling of weightlessness, as I soar over the Earth. I could fly low and let the tree tops skim my toes, or fly high and poke holes in the clouds. I guess I would be using this super power for my own fun and benefit, and not really to help people. Maybe... I am selfish.