1.My first seashell hunt had a surprise ending. Early one morning my dad and I walked to the beach with a red bucket. The sand was soft and cool. We collected orange, white, and brown shells of all different shapes and sizes. When our bucket was almost filled, I spotted something black and shiny pointing out of the sand. I reached down and grabbed the object right before a wave crashed against my legs. The object felt sharp and curvy. Finally, I opened my hand. “What is this?” I asked my dad. He said, “It’s your lucky day. That’s a shark’s tooth!” 



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2. Standing on his hind legs, this rare andalucian stallion is fearless. His ears are turned back while his noble looking head is held high. His all black coat glistens in the late afternoon sun. His face displays a strong confidence with his nostrils flared, his veins bulging from his cheek bones, and his fiery black eyes burning holes into the souls of those who stare into them. His neck muscles are tensed and thickened with adrenalin. His black main is thrown into the wind like a flag rippling in the winds of a tornado. His muscular front legs are brought up to his chest displaying his flashing gray hooves that could crush a man's scull with one blow. His backbone and underbelly are held almost straight up and his hind quarters are tensed. His back legs are spread apart for balance. His back hooves are pressed into the earth; therefore, his hooves cause deep gouges from the weight of his body on the soil. His black tail is held straight down and every once in a while a burst of wind catches it and then it floats down back into place like an elegant piece of silk falling from the sky. His bravery and strength are what made his breed prized as a warhorse.

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3. In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley's reputation comes not from anything he has done, but rather from the lack of information that the community has about him. Boo Radley is virtually unknown in the community. After getting into trouble with the police, Boo “was not seen again for 15 years” (p. 9). Mr Radley ensures that Boo remains hidden and as a result, he is completely mysterious to people in Maycomb. Because of the mystery surrounding his character, the community begins to blame Boo for unexplained events. Boo gets held responsible for things he's not involved in including “any stealthy crime committed in Maycomb” (p.9). It seems that the town of Maycomb, when looking for someone to Blame, look to Boo because they know so little about him. As time goes own and the mystery increases, the children in the town start to create myths around Boo Radley. Jem claims to Dill that he “dine[s] on raw squirrels” (p.14). The children have heard the stories and so their imaginations run wild and begin to turn Boo into a kind of mythical creature. Everything about him is exaggerated. Boo Radley may well be unusual, but most of the things that people in the town of Maycomb say about are not based in fact, they are simply stories that have developed because he is unknown.

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4. People often think all planets are alike, but there are actually three types of planets in the solar system. The terrestrial planets are made of rock and metal and are closest to the sun. These include the midsize planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. They rotate slowly and don’t have many moons. Farther from the sun are the planets called gas giants, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They are called gas giants because they are formed from gases such as hydrogen and helium. Gas giants rotate fast and have many moons. Finally, planetoids are objects made up of rock and ice and are too small to be true “planets.” Planetoids sometimes even get pulled into a planet’s gravitational field and become moons themselves. Whether they are terrestrials, gas giants, or planetoids, the planets in the solar system are fascinating.

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5. Immigration contributes to the overall health of the American economy. Despite recent concerns expressed about illegal and some legal immigration to the United States, this country has largely benefited from the skills, talents, and ambition that immigrants bring with them. American businesses gain from a good source of affordable labor, while towns and cities are revitalized by immigrant families who strengthen communities through civic participation and the generation of new economic activity. The United States must continue to welcome new arrivals and help those who are already here; otherwise, the country will lose the advantages it has over other industrialized countries that compete against us in the global marketplace and seek to recruit from a vast pool of unskilled and skilled global workers.

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