kids' writing

the 4th graders are taking their end of unit writing assessment which has them write an article for the school newspaper describing a medical condition and the ways that homeopathic and modern medicines can be used to treat the illness. here are some funny things kids wrote (unedited for spelling):

• "Kids over 5 and under 18 are onerable" - i think he meant vulnerable.
• "German chamomile is originally from Germany, as you can tell by the name. This remedy is commonly used by peole with chicken pox in Germany."
• "...but some signess are if you are coughing, and also if seenzing or if your weak and also if you have bugers..." - we're working on his spelling, as well as his long run-on sentences...
• "Also you can use yago to exesice breathing." - i don't know yago, but i do know yoga...
• "You could alose use chines herds like digehantang or put a bag over your moth." - writing a letter backwards can change "herbs" to "herds" and then change the whole message of the sentence
• "When you take all of the stuff like take a good, dring tylenol, and drink Dimtop you feel better and you could do fun stuff, go out to partty's." - sometimes it's like deciphering a new language. what kind of parties do kids think we're going to while they're sick anyway?
• writing about a sore throat - "It hurts cause everytime you swallow something it's like somebody very little on your tonsole hitting it every time you swallow something." - a very apt description of a sore throat

students' writing ranges from tragicomedy (unintentionally funny, and sad that they're writing this way at 4th grade) to hilariously brilliant. reading their thoughts on paper never ceases to surprise us with what they misunderstood and what they very clearly understood and later framed into their own articulate wording.