Ms. O'Meara's Class
 4th grade
 Mesquite Elementary School
Tucson, Arizona

Cinderella
 by Melanie

Once upon a time in the city of Paris, there was a girl named Cinderella. Cinderella lived with her stepmother and two stepsisters. Her stepmother treated her very poorly but treated the sisters kindly. One day an invitation came and it said that there was going to be a rollerblading party at the rink. The stepsisters were so excited and told Cinderella to start making their outfits. For two days Cinderella worked on the outfits and was finally done. The sisters tried on their outfits and posed in front of their looking glasses.

 The next day was the day of the party. The stepmother and sisters put their outfits on and got in the carriage and left. Cinderella started sweeping the floor and she had tears in her eyes. Then, all of a sudden, a cloud of fairy dust fell on the floor and when Cinderella looked up, there was a fairy. Then Cinderella asked the fairy who she was and the fairy said, "Why, I'm you fairy godmother!"  The fairy asked Cinderella why she was crying and Cinderella said that she couldn't go to the rollerblading party.

 Then the fairy godmother told Cinderella to go get an olive and a lizard. When Cinderella came back, she gave the fairy the things. The fairy took the olive and tapped it three times and the olive turned into a limo. Then she tapped the lizard three times and it turned into a limo driver. Then she tapped on Cinderella. Cinderella's ragged clothes turned into a nice rollerblading outfit and then she was given a pair of rollerblades. She warned her that she had to be home by 10:00 p.m. Cinderella promised and got in the limo and drove off to the rollerblading rink.

When she got there, the prince asked her to dance with him. They danced and danced but then Cinderella looked at the clock and took off her rollerblades to put on her shoes. She picked up her rollerblades and ran off. On her way to the limo she dropped one of her rollerblades, but she didn't stop.

 The next day, the prince went around the kingdom and asked every lady in the house to try on the rollerblade, but it didn't fit anyone. Finally, he came to Cinderella's house. The sisters pushed and shoved to get the rollerblade on but it wouldn't fit. Then Cinderella came in the room and tried it on. The rollerblade slipped on in a snap. The sisters gasped and then the fairy godmother came and Cinderella was in the same outfit as last night. The prince asked Cinderella to marry him and Cinderella said, "Yes." 

They were married Saturday and everyone lived happily ever after. Well, I wouldn't say everyone, because while Cinderella and the prince lived happily in the castle, the stepmother and stepsisters didn't live so happily. They lived in the castle but they became servants.

Skaterfella
by Vance

Once upon yesterday, a biker (bmx rider) got an invitation to a skate party. It said, "Dear Vance, the Purple Heart Skatepark. NO BIKES!!! There will be a contest. If you win, you get to skate with the prettiest and best female skater." Vance really wanted to go so he got all ready, then his mom said, "Let me read that invitation." Then she noticed it said, "NO BIKES!!!"  "AHHHHHH!" yelled Vance. "I can't go." "Well, maybe a miracle will happen and you will hop onto a skateboard," said his mom. Vance went outside and Deawon Song skated up and said, "Try my skateboard." Deawon stuck a helmet on Vance's head. Vance did and he was great. So he skated off to the party. Luckily, he won the contest and skated with the best and unknown female skater. They skated till quarter to nine. He skated out of there so fast his helmet fell off. The next day the girl said, "I will marry whoever this helmet belongs to."  On the inside it said,"DEAWON SONG." So that's who she married and Vance was glad because he's only nine.

Cinderbroccoli
by Caitlin

Once upon a time, there was a young broccoli named Cinderella. She lived with two pickles that were her stepsisters. A red tomato was her step mom. Cinderella was nice to everyone. Her step mom and stepsisters were really mean to her. They made her clean their rooms, wash their sheets, and do all their chores. She had to cook dinner and she only got the scraps from whatever was left over. She only wore rags but her stepsisters and step mom wore very pretty dresses.

 One day when Cinderella was making dinner, someone from the royal palace came and gave an invitation to a dance. At the end the prince would pick out his wife. So the next day, they were picking out their best dresses to wear. The next day they were picking out their best shoes and they told Cinderella to polish their shoes extra well. Then the next day, they were picking out their favorite hairstyles and Cinderella was combing their hair and brushing it and curling it. The day of the dance, she ironed their dresses, polished their shoes again and did their hair till they were all ready. Then she went up to her step mom and asked if she could go to the dance. Her step mom laughed so hard she almost had a tomato attack.

When the three girls left she went outside to water the garden. Right out of the pea plant, sparks came out and out came a pea. Cinderella said, "Who are you?" And the pea said, " Well, I am your fairy godmother." She said, "Now if you want to go to the dance, go get me two carrots, a piece of lettuce and a green bean."

That is what Cinderella did. She brought them all back and her fairy godmother turned the carrots into horses, the piece of lettuce into a carriage and the green bean into a coachman. When she was about to get in the carriage the fairy godmother said "Wait," but it was too late; she was down the road. She finally caught up with the carriage and turned herself into a horse and went into the middle of the road. She told Cinderella to get out. Then she turned her rags into a very nice dress and told her she had to leave a one o'clock or all of it will change back.

Cinderella went to the dance and danced all night long. Then she looked at the clock and it said 12:58, so she ran out of the palace as fast as she could. Halfway there everything turned back. When she got back she began all of her chores. She did them so quickly and went to bed so her step mom and stepsisters wouldn't be suspicious. When they got back they told Cinderella about the very pretty girl. Cinderella knew they were talking about her. She didn't tell them.

The next day the prince came to their house and asked if all the girls could try on the glass slipper. Quickly, Cinderella's step mom told her to go clean the kitchen and she locked her in there. Cinderella saw the mailman and went out the back door to get the mail. The prince walked out at the same time. She asked if she could try it on and it fit her. So on the next Saturday, they got married. The stepsisters and the step mom asked to be forgiven. Since Cinderella was very nice, Cinderella forgave them.

Cinderfella, the Clefairy Story
 by Cameron

Once upon a time, small Clefairy had a single dad. Clefable married a wicked Clefable. Clefairy did odd jobs until his dad died. It was horrible. He had chores from dusk to dawn. One day the doorbell rang. A note came from outside and it said: You are invited to a party at Nido Palace. Sincerely, Princess Nidorina

The next day, Clefairy had more chores than ever. That night, his step mom and his two stepbrothers left to go to Nido Palace and left Clefairy home crying in his dirty old rags. Just then his fairy godmother showed up and asks, "Why are you crying, my dear?"  "Because I can't go to Nido Palace," muttered Clefairy. "Oh, yes, you can!" shouted Dragonair, the fairy godmother.

 Clefairy got new glittery disco shoes and an orange disco jacket with a baby blue Corvette. Clefairy was off to the Palace in the baby blue Corvette. When he got there, all the girls screamed. When he got inside, Princess Nidorina spotted him and they danced the night away. It had just struck 12. Clefairy jumped into the Corvette and drove off to his house. His Corvette turned back into his bed, his jacket turned back into his blanket, and his glittery shoes turned back into his old sandals. But one glittery shoe had fallen off in the dirt.

The next morning, the princess came to every house in the village. They came to Clefairy's house. The two stepbrothers feet were too big and too fat. When Clefairy came upstairs to ask who was at the door, they said, "GO Downstairs!" But then they said, "You must try it on, too." "O.K.," said Clefairy. The shoe slipped on as if there was a bucket of gravy on Clefairy's foot. Two days later, they got married and lived happily ever after.

Cinderella and The Ring
 by Rebecca

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Cinderella. Cinderella had four stepsisters and a stepmother. The stepsisters and her stepmother were mean to Cinderella. They made her a servant, so she could pick up after everybody. Meanwhile, her stepsisters and stepmother did nothing.

Then one day she checked the mail and gave it to her stepmother. Her stepmother threw out a few letters, because it was junk mail. Finally, she came to the last letter. "Oh, look girls, we are invited to an ice skating party! The party is tomorrow. It says every girl is invited," the stepmother said all at once. "That means I can go too!" Cinderella broke in. "Maybe, but you have lots of chores, and you don't have a dress. Maybe if you finish your chores."

Cinderella felt sad, because she knew the stepsisters would give her extra chores so she wouldn't be able to go. Finally the day of the ball came and the sisters went crazy! "Get me this, Cinderella." "Get me that, Cinderella." It went on and on and on! They were fixing their dresses and Cinderella was ironing their scarves.

 Finally, it was time to go. The stepmother and stepsisters piled into the carriage. "Let's go!" When the carriage turned the corner, Cinderella started crying. Suddenly a speck of light filled the room. "Why are you crying?" a voice said. "I can't go to the ball!" Cinderella said. "Maybe you can, just look down," said the voice. Cinderella looked down. The most beautiful shirt and skirt were on her! And on her hand was a beautiful ring! "Oh my gosh!" she said, excitedly. "There is a limo waiting outside for you. Now go to the ball but be back at one o'clock for the spell ends." "Oh, thank you!" Cinderella went outside and got into the limo.

When she got there, the prince skated right to her. They started dancing. Everyone whispered, "Who is she?" The prince and Cinderella skated all night. But when the clock struck 1:00, the prince still didn't let go of her so she pulled her hand away and lost the ring! Cinderella ran to get into the limo, but when she was halfway to her house it disappeared. Then she ran the whole way back and looked down. Her beautiful clothes were gone.

Meanwhile, the prince had picked up the ring and told the guards to try this on every girl tomorrow and, whoever it fit, he will marry. So the next day, the girls got all pretty for the ring to fit them. When the guards came they all tried on the ring but they couldn't get it over their knuckles. "How about I try it?" Cinderella said softly. The men tried it on her and the little light came back into the room. Cinderella looked down. They were the same clothes that she had on when she went to the skating party. So the guards took Cinderella to the ice skating place and the next day, Cinderella got married to the prince. They lived happily every after. The stepsisters, on the other hand, were very jealous.

The Mexican Cinderella
by Leslie

Once upon a time, a man married another woman. But she was mean. Maria was lovely. Penny, Maria's stepsister was meaner than her mama. They made Maria do all of the work. Stepmama loved Penny more than Maria. When Maria and Penny grew up, a card came to the house and it said, "Var a la Fiesta!" So Maria tended her mother and stepsister because they wanted to go to the fiesta. When Maria was done they said, "Adios!" meanly, and she did it so friendly.

 Poor Maria was all alone. But not for long. Her friend, a pescado came to her. She went to the river and gave the fish some ricecakes. When the pescado went back inside the water, some sparkles came to her and she had a lovely gown. It had lots of gold, pearls, glitter, sparkle, and she had little glass high-heels. "Thank you," said Maria.

 Maria went to the ball and saw the prince. Her sisters think they didn't know her, but they did think she was pretty. When it was 12:00 she wished she would live so she ran from the prince's arms and ran home. "Wait!" shouted the Prince, "I don't know your name!" So he went house to house for ladies to try on the high-heel. When the high-heel came to the "casa" of Maria's, Penny's foot was the size of a branch! When Maria put on the high-heel, she wore the dress that she wore the night of the fiesta. So they were married the next day. The King and his new Queen loved each other and were never parted.

Arizona State Standards Reading

]R-E2 PO 1-7 Use reading strategies such as making inferences and predictions, summarizing, paraphrasing, differentiating fact from opinion, drawing conclusions, and determining the author's purpose and perspective to comprehend written selections. R-E3 PO1-3 Analyze selections of fiction by identifying the plot line, distinguishing the main character from minor ones, describing the relationships between and motivations of characters, and making inferences about the events, setting, style, tone, mood, and meaning of the selection.
 R-E6 PO3 Compare and contrast the historical and cultural perspectives of literary selections
 R-E8 PO1, 3 Reads silently daily and is read to daily

Writing

W-F1 PO1-11 Use the writing process, including generating topics, drafting, revising, ideas, and editing to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks
W-F2 PO1-5 Use correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and word usage and good penmanship to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks
W-F2 PO2 Write a creative story that includes a plot and shows the reader what happens through well-developed characters, setting, dialog, and themes and uses figurative language, descriptive words and phrases.

 Technology Standards 1-6 3T-E2
 Use technology tools for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.

Assessment

Student writing is assessed using the 6 Traits Writing Rubric on Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions.