February 16 and 17-Begin Note to College Roommate

We are going to be working on organizing our writing, so we began with a short, easy "Note to a Future College Roommate." 

Here is an example of what their writing will end up looking like:

In a Note to my Future College Roommate

          I get along with most people, but please don’t tell me you have a harmless pet snake named Fangs.  I hate spiders, lizards, and anything else that goes bump in the night.  Now wait! Before you beg the housing office for a new roommate, let me also say that I can be counted on to protect you should the need arise.

          I first stayed in the dorm as a fourteen-year-old summer ballet student.  About halfway through the session, my roommate woke me very late one night.  For a change, I woke up right away.  Even without my glasses I could see her big eyes as she pointed to the door.  There was a scratching sound outside.  “Grab something,” I whispered.  She snatched a pair of scissors while I reached for a bottle of 409.  If our visitor succeeded in entering, I planned on squirting some cleaner in his eyes.  Suddenly I remembered…dial 2222 for the campus police.  I crept to the phone while the intruder yelled and banged at the door.  When the police arrived, they took him away, and we slept happily ever after.

          I don’t have a black belt in karate, but I did manage to stay calm under pressure.  (That’s strange, considering I’m not that calm when I’m not under pressure.)  Anyway…remember your bottle of 409, and we’ll be just fine.

Students then brainstormed five reasons why they would make a good roommate.

Next, they picked one reason and wrote an 8-10 sentence story of one time they exhibited this quality.