Leo Ameika Sadler A2 Original Myth-Creation of Language 11/20/13

Once long ago, in the Dark Age, people lived as tyrants, using their hands and feet to move around. Many tribes fought one another, surviving the harshness of winter and the scorching summer months. They would do anything to live, stealing and ambushing each other on all fours. Living among one another was dangerous, as you could never trust anyone. Murders were common, and soon people had had enough, planning to leave and never come back. They would make their own society, and make sure they never ended up as bad as their brethren. On a particularly foggy day, a group of ambitious villagers made their move. Learning to use the fog as cover, they ventured to the mountains in search of a new life. After moons and moons of traveling, their feet and hands were worn, and they had to rest for a while. As they made camp, an old blind woman realized they didnt have any means of communication. Slowly, she developed a series of signs with her hands, and continued to add more and more symbols to represent things of life. Eventually, she had made symbols for every object imaginable. Refusing to stop there, she made even more gestures to represent emotions, and thoughts that went along with them. While the camp slept, she would stay awake practicing her signs over and over again, until she knew that they were formidable. In the short hours of sleep she allowed herself, she would dream that someday, somewhere, her signs would be used and loved by people like her. After staying at the campsite for a week, the old woman had made signs for everything she has seen or heard about. It was at that moment that she made a risky decision. She reckoned that if she were to slowly teach the signs to her fellow travelers, they would finally be able to voice their opinion and would praise her for her innovation. The next morning she approached

Leo Ameika Sadler A2 Original Myth-Creation of Language 11/20/13

the group, and called everyone's attention with a sharp clap. When every eye and ear was to her, she slowly began to stand up. When she was only on her hind legs, she began to move her fingers in elaborate ways, demonstrating the masterpiece she had created. At first everyone just stared; what was this odd action she was doing? With a final snap of her fingers, the old woman was finished, bowing her head to the crowd before her. When she finally lifted her chin, she was greeted by looks of horror, as if her people had just seen a ghost. Children running, mothers grasping their babies close, grown men cowering. The scene before her was so depressing that the woman ran down the mountain, not caring that the sharp rocks and bitter cold nipped at her bare feet. The old lady kept on running and running, not even realizing that she was sprinting on her two back legs only, her front legs pumping the air beside her as she scrambled down the rocky terrain. How could they have shamed her like that? Those looks-they thought less of her than an animal! As she replayed the previous event in her mind, her heart crashed with sorrow. With one final sprint, she let the air carry her, lifting her up and up, away from the mountain below. She closed her eyes and let herself relax, every muscle in her body loosening as she floated higher and higher. When she let her eyelids open again, she saw the mountain she was just standing on as a little dot below. Looking around, she saw trees like the ones she used to live under, water for miles and miles, and other bits of land, scattered around the world below. She slowly drifted downward again, her toes lightly brushing the ground. This time though, she felt a new sense of belonging, a sense of peace and airiness. She thought of herself as elegant as she walked back up the mountain, completely balanced and at ease. She felt superior

Leo Ameika Sadler A2 Original Myth-Creation of Language 11/20/13

as she walked back into camp, her head held high. As each person turned to look at her, their eyes grew wide at her cleanliness and beauty. No longer was she a hunched old woman, scared of the world around her, but was a tall slim figure, her mind full of everything to know in the world, every theory and possibility stored neatly in her brain. She slowly raised her left hand, pointing up at the sky, and then opened her palm to reveal a scroll of paper. Raising her other hand in the same way, she revealed a feather tipped in ink. As the people stared, the woman's eyes started to glow golden light, and symbols of every kind materialized in front of her, slowly revolving around her now blazing body. Letters and numbers, pictures and words, anything you could imagine and more-all gaining speed as they spread around the campsite. With one final, blinding flash of light, the symbols exploded throughout the world, settling in every location possible, in every person's brain. With one final glance at her old companions, she uttered the first words ever to exist on Earth; "Have faith within yourselves, for you can create great power. With that, the woman now known as Scribia, the goddess of Language and Knowledge, vanished off the face of the earth, leaving nothing but the scroll of paper, feather, and ink. Some say that she never really left, and that she lingered with her people, guiding them through their journey into communication. Others think she never even existed, that she was harvested out of the imagination of those that left. Today, a little bit of her spirit can be found residing in every book, in every sentence you write. She can even make an occasional appearance as an English teacher at Plaza Middle School, unbeknownst to her intelligent students.

Leo Ameika Sadler A2 Original Myth-Creation of Language 11/20/13

Strong Myth has an interesting plot with a definite conflict. A central conflict and resolution support a coherent, consistent series of events; story has an interesting, original plot; advanced narrative structures may be included, such as foreshadowing or flashback. Point of view is consistent throughout the story. Average A main conflict and resolution are present; story has a series of events but may lack complications or situations that create interest or suspense. Weak The story is merely a series of events; a central conflict and resolution are not integral parts of the plot.

Point of view is consistent throughout the myth. Characters are complex and representative of folklore.

Point of view is consistent throughout the majority of story.

Point of view shifts in the story.

Detail, description, and dialogue develop complex characters; characters are typical of folklore or mythology; attention to dynamic character development of a definite protagonist(s) is evident; the use of mythological features enhances character development, such as hubris, metamorphosis, or quest. Reader has clear understanding of lesson, moral, theme or phenomena; plot and characters are used to support theme.

Characters are typical of mythology or folklore; some detail and description help to develop the character but could be stronger; a definite protagonist exists but dynamic character development may not be evident.

Characters are included but arent developed through meaningful details, descriptions, or dialogue; a definite protagonist does not emerge.

A definite lesson or moral is revealed.

Story is interesting and engaging but a clear lesson, moral, phenomena, or theme may not emerge; story is developed around events in the plot, not theme. Occasional errors exist in sentence formation, such as a fragment or run-on; writing contains a variety of simple and compound sentences; occasional errors exist when using a comma with coordinating conjunctions; students are beginning to grasp the ability to distinguish between a simple sentence with a compound construction (subject, predicate, or series) and a compound sentence. Occasional errors; errors do not distract from reader from content; typical of a seventh grade student

Story is merely a series of events that may lack description; a clear lesson, moral, or theme or phenomena does not emerge. Fragments and run-ons are typical of the writing; commas are used but haphazardly; little evidence exists to show that students understand comma use with coordinating conjunctions.

Sentence construction

Few errors exist; Simple and compound sentences are punctuated correctly; commas are used correctly with coordinating conjunctions demonstrating the students ability to distinguish between a simple sentence with a compound construction (subject, predicate, or series) and a compound sentence.

Standard English grammar, usage, and

Very few errors; typical of a seventh grade student near the end

Frequent errors distract reader from content.

Leo Ameika Sadler A2 Original Myth-Creation of Language 11/20/13

mechanics of the school year. at the beginning of the school year.