The Movies in Our Minds
When we read and think at the same time, we make a movie in our minds. It helps us remember the story. If the movie stops in our brains, we may have forgotten something in the story, or possibly there’s missing information because the story isn’t finished yet. If the story isn’t finished in the book, then the movie in our minds helps us imagine what happens next. It helps us learn to know what we’re reading in a story.
When we look at pictures, we make movies in our minds, too. We write to create stories about the pictures. That’s what this newsletter is about. The stories that we write sometimes make us think we are in that picture. Often, we become the characters in the movies in our mind. People in groups helped each other create the stories based on those pictures. The tutors helped too. People can make ideas to create a story.
Estelle’s Sea Shells 
By Alicia, Mae, and Gary
There is a lady on a salt-water beach near San Diego. Her name is Estelle. Estelle is walking up and down the bay looking for sea shells. She wants sea shells to put in her aquarium at home. She has a little bag in her hand for the shells. There are 20 sea shells in the bag.
It’s a beautiful day or Estelle wouldn’t be out there. The weather is nice, and not too hot. It’s not foggy, either. The walk on the beach is a part of her daily routine. She’s wearing shorts and a little sun hat and a red shirt. She has a camera around her neck and a big purse on her back. Her lunch and water are in the purse. She leaves her house around seven each morning to pick up shells on her way to school. She teaches English to third-grade children. In school she will talk about the sea shells—about how you can hear the beautiful sound of the ocean in the sea shells.
And then she will go home and show the sea shells to her grandkids. She has four grandkids. The youngest one is in kindergarten, and Elliott will show off the shells in Show-and-Tell. Another grandkid, named Esther, is in first grade, and she is so happy to see the shells that she wants her grandmother to take her to the beach where she got them. The third grandchild, Suzanne, is in second grade and wants to eat breakfast before she goes to school. She is not very interested in sea shells. Troy is the oldest grandchild and is fifteen years old and a surfer. He lets his grandma know when the big waves come in. The waves push the shells to the shore where Estelle can go to gather them while Elliott and Esther catch frogs.
Llama Lunch 
Once upon a time, there were two persons who went to Peru to visit the llamas at lunchtime to feed them. There were two black llamas, one brown, and one white. There was a photographer taking pictures of his wife feeding the llamas. The lady, when she saw the llamas, tried to feed them. She called her husband for help. He kept taking pictures. She was feeding them carrots, and said, “Oh, my arm is so tired. I want to put it down.”
Her husband said, “Just wait a little more time.”
The brown llama in the back said, “I’ve eaten already. The white llama said, “Get out of the way so I can have lunch too.”
The little llama in the back said, “I want the big one to move so I can have some lunch, too.”
Llamas often grab for food. If the lady puts her arms down by her
sides, all the food would be eaten by the big llamas.
Alaska Gardens of Upside-down Trees 
By Lina
Once upon a time, there was an upside-down tree in a forest. It had beautiful flowers with different colors. There are many living hummingbirds, butterflies, lady bugs and many more insects that like to come in the early morning and eat from the upside- down tree flowers.
While other insects eat, the hummingbirds like to sing to call other birds to come and eat.
By Rania
Rihana and I walked through a forest and we saw a lot of beautiful trees and flowers. The colors were green, yellow, gray, and purple.
I talked to Rihana. I liked the way the trees grow upside down. On top were flowers with different colors and there were fat branches. Rihana started laughing at me. She said, “You, Rania, are so funny. Why do you call the tree fat. You think it’s a human being.”
By Alicia
I see a tree with a lot of colors of flowers and branches which are roots upside down. I wonder how long flowers can stay alive. It looks like a big pig with four feet and hair sticking up on the top. The hairs are dry branches sticking out from the tree.
A Canoe in New York 
By Rania, Rihana, and Savantay
Once there were two ladies in a canoe. Their names were Rania and Rihana. They were fishing and talking. Their canoe was in a small lake in Central Park in New York City. They were using fishing rods to catch fish. They have been watching the beautiful green trees and the nice, still water. The water had reflections of the canoe, the ladies, and the trees. The sky was beautiful because it was sunny and was reflected in the water.
They had been talking about what kind of fish they will eat. They were having a great time talking about what they wanted to do when they were finished fishing. Rihana said she had to leave to go back to Arizona on Sunday. Rania had a cup of green tea in the canoe. They also had cookies. They ate cookies and they drank tea.
Later, they paddled the canoe to the shore where there was a restaurant. After they had dinner, they went to watch a movie called “The Lion King,” which was two blocks away. The next day, they went to Times Square and saw Broadway. There were a lot of people walking and shopping. There were a lot of cars and skyscrapers. There was a big TV screen showing ads on the side of a building.
On Sunday, they drove to the airport to fly home to Arizona. When they got to Arizona, it was much hotter than in New York. They saw a movie at home after they ate lobster. Then they went to sleep.
The Costumes 
By Mae
I see Albert talking to Rosa. He likes her very much and he wants to take her out for the night. When the sun goes down, they will go to movies and dinner. Albert will eat tamales, refried beans, and rice. Rosa will eat tamales, too. After dinner, Albert will ask Rosa if she wants beer. She says, “No, I’ll take a margarita.”
About 11:00 he will go to her house and they will read a book.
By Gary
I saw a picture of a Joker talking to the Devil. I think the Devil asks him, “Do you need work?” The Joker said, “Yeah, and how much money will you pay me?”
The Devil replied, “$5,000!” The Joker did the work, fixing the houses. The Devil lied about the money plan and tried to kill the Joker with a screwdriver. Then he used the same tool to steal a truck to find people to corrupt their minds by destroying their businesses like he did with the Joker. The Devil acted crazy because of all the money that he had.
By Alicia
They are two persons talking. They are having fun in the snow. The man is in black. He is a ninja. The lady is in a red, yellow, and blue suit. She is a clown.
They are saying, “Let’s go to the school and make kids laugh before they go home. “
By Savantay
The joker and the clown were performing in the circus. Their act is called Paris. The joker and the clown want to star in a movie but they need other actors for their company.
They said, “We need money to hire actors for the roles in the movie. It is awesome because it will be the best movie of all time.”
By Rihana
He is wearing a mask on his face. She is wearing a clown hat. Her
shirt is colorful, and her hat as well. They are jokers. They look scary.
Picnic on a River 
By Rania
Those people in the picture, I think they’re family and friends. They went to the river park and had a picnic. They made a lot of food, BBQ, soda, and water. They had fun together. They laughed and talked. There were two girls who were walking and saw the family. The two girls said, “Hello guys, how are you doing? You guys made a good picnic. You didn’t invite us!”
The other friends said, “Sorry, next time we will invite you. Have a seat and join us.”
The girls replied, “Thank you. We are going to the movies. We’ll see you guys next time. Have a fun picnic!”
By Rihana
The people in the picture are in Paris. They have a picnic and also eat an apple. They sit on the sidewalk. One of the women talks about her friends. “It is a nice day in Paris.” They drink wine.
When I go to Paris I will drink champagne. I would like to say to them, “I miss you guys so much,” and I kiss them. After that, I will go to the shopping centers and outlets. I will take photos at the Eiffel Tower.
By Savantay
The people went to Paris after they graduated from high school and they were going to college and are going to be finished with school, but they have to pay money to get their degree and to get a college fund so we are graduating in May 2019 because our parents want us to go to college so they need to save money for college.
By Alicia
This is a picnic. There are two girls and one boy. They have sodas and wine and fruits. They are friends. The other two girls are going to the park to walk the dog.
“Let’s get up to go to class,” said the boy. “It’s almost time for class. We need a lot of reading and writing so we don’t have too much homework.”
By Mae
People are gathering next to the river. They look like they are having fun talking about school. They will be out for summer break in two months.
They will go with their friends to dance and play golf. They will make a day of it. They’re saying to each other, “Let’s get dressed up.”
We’ll Miss You, Dennis
Dennis Ritchie, one of three tutors for the current Writers Workshop for the past three years, has another class to teach. It’s the new GED prep course at Palo Verde High School at 22nd and Kolb. It’s a new area for Literacy Connects. The students will be parents and grandparents of students in the Palo Verde attendance area.
They will be amazed at how much they learn from Dennis. He’s a good teacher. Mae said, “I can’t wait to see him come around the corner.” He’s really understanding and patient. He understands the words we want to use and explains them to us. He makes class exciting for us.
We enjoyed seeing Dennis’ pictures from Alaska, especially the fish he caught and upside-down flower tree. Dennis and the other tutors took us to the San Xavier Mission and the Habitat for Humanity development. He also taught us word games such as Boggle and Freerice. We learned so much from him.
Thank you for the time you spent with us. Thank you for being our teacher. We hope you’ll come back to visit us. We wish you good luck. Congratulations on your new classroom and students. We hope they will be a joy to you because you deserve it.
– Jesus, Lina, Mae, and Rihana
Learning and teaching at any age can be challenging. It’s a whole lot easier when both are mixed with fun. This writing class made being a tutor fun for me. I know the class over these three years will always stay with me in my mind and my heart. As long as I can smile, I’ll remember you all. I hope to see you again and again.
– Dennis Ritchie
