Briana's Paragraph

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

I love literature. I love the way reading good books makes us think. I love the way good writing challenges us, makes us evaluate ourselves, and becomes a part of who we are. We've been reading CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series in our literature classes this year, and we're finally on the last book of the series. I don't know if you've read these books, but they have many thought-provoking lessons embedded within the storyline. Yesterday the children were to compare and contrast the friendships between Terian and Jewel and Shift and Puzzle in one paragraph. Here is Briana's first draft (I corrected some spelling, but otherwise this is just what she wrote before any revision, so excuse the polishing she needs to do): The friendship between Terian and Jewel is both similar to and different from the friendship between Shift and Puzzle. The friendships were similar in that both had no friends closer to them than that individual and they had been friends for a long time. The friendships are also very different because in Terian and Jewel's friendship they both sacrificed for each other and saved each other's lives, whereas Puzzle gave his all in the relationship and Shift didn't give anything, he just took. In Terian and Jewel's relationship they were honest with each other and were always on the same page and of the same mind, however Shift was very deceitful and wheedlesome with Puzzle and was always trying to manipulate him into doing what he wanted. Personally, I think that being open and on the same page with my friends and also having us both working at the relationship is important and I would rather have friendships like Terian and Jewel's. I think she got it.