Totally Tockington Edition 77

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by Isabel Browning

How Writers Write by Georgina Loring

All writers write with different styles and Ive

picked a few to tell you about:

Jacqueline Wilson

Jacqueline Wilson is my all time favourite author

and I love her writing style. Its very funny, yet

serious and it draws you in. She twists her plots

a lot but it is rarely confusing. Even if you dont

love her characters at first, you will always grow

to. She mostly writes about things that could

actually happen, except in one book called the

Dinosaurs Packed Lunch and I dont think I

need to tell you why that couldnt happen!

Jacqueline likes to write about disadvantaged

children.

Enid Blyton

Unlike Jacqueline Wilson, Enid likes to write

about pretty well off children. Her writing style is

unlike many modern authors but it is very

exciting and unique. She mostly writes

adventure stories like The Magic Faraway Tree,

The Famous Five or The Secret Seven. I love

the way her writing makes you turn the page,

and the only downside to her work is sometimes

it can become a bit confusing and hard to read.

Michael Morpurgo

Michael writes about a variety of topics, but quite

a few of his books involve animals. His writing

style is quite wide spread, but like Enid he writes

a lot of adventure books. Michaels novels are so

gripping and once you read one you have to

read more. There is nothing bad I could say

about his work, except like many authors, I wish

some of his books (especially Shadow) were

longer!

.

So now I have told you about how authors

write in different styles, I wonder

what your style is. I write in lots of

Team B Edition 77 February 26th

2015

Founded by Ben Owen 2011

Editorial

Hello and welcome to another issue of Totally

Tockington, the paper written BY students FOR

students. Sadly, this is my last editorial, as I have

agreed to share my role with Tabitha who Im sure

will do an excellent job. This weeks theme is

writing - my favourite hobby. First of all there is

Tobys great article about one of the best childrens

writers: Michael Morpurgo. Then Isabelle Ps

amazing article about the one and only captain

Slugpace. Next Isabel Bs brilliant article on the

inspirational Alan Turing. And last but not least

Lilys exceptional article on the top ten writing tips.

All this and more in this weeks edition of TOTALLY

TOCKINGTON!!!

Georgina Loring

Editor Team B

by Isabelle Preston

Jeanette Winterson

Even though Jeanette has only written two

books for children, (Tanglewreck and The

Battle of The Sun her way of writing is so

different from anybody elses and her

imagination is amazing. Her style of writing is

definitely mythical adventure. The only thing

that is bad is, like Enid, her writing does

sometimes get confusing.

David Walliams

Davids speciality is most certainly humour. His

books are so funny and easy to read, real

page turners. No bad comments here! My

favourite book written by him is The Boy in the

Dress.

So now I have told you about how authors

write in different styles, I wonder what your

style is. I write in lots of different ways because

I still havent really found mine.

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Tabithas Entry to the 500 Words Competition

By Tabitha Huby

First exam: English. One whole hour of writing an essay on

'Strange Things' and I can't think of anything. I don't think I

can count my brother but he definitely is strange. I look

around...

I scream silently, there is a huge purple monster in front of

me, with blue spots, pointed ears and a green swollen

nose. I look around for help but everybody is writing. I

realize that I should be doing the same, and look back at

the paper. Wondering if the monster is still there, I look

around the room again.

No monsters. I feel brave enough to look out of the

window for inspiration.

Aaaah!!!, I scream, this time out loud.

Shut that mouth of yours, Eliza Matthews! This is an

exam!, screeches the elderly invigilator. But I cant move

my mouth anyway, as there is a giant beast staring at me

through the glass. It is a dragon perching on the ground, its

mammoth body still like a statue. I glance at the clock. Half

an hour gone. Help, I thought.

I look again to see if the dragon is still there, but it is gone.

Annoyingly I have forgotten what the dragon looked like

with all the shock, so I still need inspiration. I accidentally

drop my pen on the floor. Feeling very brave, my hand

reaches down to the darkness of the carpet and feels

around. Something taps my little finger. I look for what has

tapped me but nothing is there, only the pen. Reaching a

little further, I topple off my chair.

Eliza Matthews! screeches the teacher. Ive spoken to

you already. Get back on that chair this instant!

I noiselessly get back on my chair and look at the clock. Oh

no! Only fifteen minutes left!

An essay always starts with a title and a title needs to be

underlined, so I need a ruler from my pencil case. As I

reach into my pencil case, I hear a voice. Wanting to know

Top Ten Tips on How

to Write a Story By Lily Edwards

This week the theme is writing so I thought I would look

into top ten tips on how to write a story. We actually all

tell stories all the time even if you dont think you are!

Whenever you are re- telling a funny thing that

happened or that great goal at rugby or hockey, you are

actually telling a short story! Amazing!

So, when you are actually writing a story down, here are

some things to help you.

1. Look for ideas. Try using the things you see around

you.

2. Come up with a rough plan this can be hard so you

can jot down any words or ideas that pop into your

head.

3. Think about your characters. (E.g a Gromit, or a

dinosaur). Are they good or bad? What are they like?

4. Think about your plot. (Start, middle and end). And

make sure you have used everything in the introduction

and that the end finishes things off properly.

5. Do a rough draft of your story. You can do this a few

times.

6. Check your spellings carefully. If at school ask a

teacher. Or use a dictionary or thesaurus.

7. Check you have everything from your plan.

8. Copy your corrected story into your neat and final

copy. .

9. Then share it with friends and family if you want to.

10. Now you can write a story!!!!

Good luck maybe you could send in some of your

stories to TT and share them with us?

I used coreygreen.com/storytips.url to help me with

some ideas for this article.

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Continued from page 2

the owner of the voice, I peer at all the children in the

room, none of whom are talking. I think I am going mad

but then I hear it again. It is trying to say things to me.

I can help you

It is a dictionary. Write about me, it whispers in the

same voice as before. A talking dictionary? I feel so

staggered by it, that I take a full ten minutes to recover, by

which time the exam comes to an end.

Everybody put your pens down the exam is over!

shouts the teacher, whilst collecting everyones papers.

It looks like you are going to get told off her voice drifts

away, as she looks at my sheet. I look as well. A miracle

has happened! My sheet is full of writing! I read the first

line. It says, I scream silently. There is a huge, purple

monster in front of me

Hieroglyphics by Otis Walker

Hieroglyphics is a form of writing that made from

symbols which are pictures. They were invented

by the Ancient Egyptians who used them to write

stories, writing, and for marking gods and

pharaoh names down.

The symbols remain on pyramids and the sphinx

But we do not use them anymore. The writing has

been around for 5,500 years - thats older than our

mums and dads! Wow!

The Egyptians didn't always spell from left to

right. Sometimes they stacked things. They also used

cartouches. A cartouche is sort of like a

nametag. Ancient Egyptians made cartouches for

kings, queens, and other high-ranking people in the

kingdom. Cartouches were oval shaped like the

picture below.

Since writing in

Since writing in hieroglyphics was so

complicated, it took years of education and

practice to be able to do it. The people who

trained to write were called scribes. They

would start training at a very young age of

six or seven. Being a scribe was a good job in Ancient

Egypt. Scribes didn't have to pay taxes or

enter the army. They were very well taught.

Only the children of the wealthy got the

chance to be a scribe

.I do not think I would like to learn

hieroglyphs it would be way to complicated

Michael Morpurgo By Toby Gaulton.

Michael Morpurgo is a childrens and adults author. He

has written lots of books including SHADOW,

RUNNING WILD and LITTLE FOXES. Here are some

facts about him.

Born. October 5, 1943, St Albans.

Now aged . 71.

Spouse . Clare Morpurgo.

Children. Sebastian Morpurgo, Rosalind Morpurgo

and Horatio Morpurgo.

Awards. Childrens Laureate, Nestle Smarties Book

Prize, Hampshire Book Award and Prix Sorcieres for

picture books.

Parents. Tony Van Bridge and Kippe Cammaets.

Michael Morpurgos books are enjoyed by nearly

everyone who reads them.

Harry Mather ( Year 4) loves the Michael Morpurgo

range. Harry reads a lot. All his reading books at the

minute are Michael Morpurgo. I have got some at

home. If you cant find them in shops, I would borrow

them from the library.

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Alan Turing and the Enigma Machine.

By Isabel Browning

Alan Turing was born in London, in 1912. At school, Turing could solve complex problems and equations without having been taught how to do them. One time, Turing cycled almost 100km from his home to school because a General Strike was on. Turing is most famous for working at Bletchley Park and solving the Enigma Machine. The Enigma Machine was a German advanced coding machine which the Germans thought that the Allies would not be able to break. The machine was used to send top-secret messages. The system consisted of replacing one letter with another, being sent by a normal Morse code transmitter. Turing, amongst many other code breakers, mathematicians and electronic experts were set up to crack the codes. Turing was awarded an OBE by King George VI in 1945.Turings knowledge then led to the Allies preparing for the D-Day invasion which shortened the Second World War by several years. What helped Turing in solving the Enigma Machine was the German Submarine U-505. It contained codebooks, an Enigma Machine and other things which helped code breaking operations.

UNUSUAL FACTS Turing often ran over 60km to London for meetings. Also, at Bletchley Park, he chained his coffee mug to the radiator to stop other people from using it! Now, Bletchley Park is a museum and holds fewEnigma Machines. At the moment there is a film out called The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch which is based on Alan Turings life.

How to Make

Invisible Ink by Carmen Rey-Jones

You will need:

Lemon juice (no pips)

A bowl

A cotton bud

White paper

A light source with a 100-watt light bulb

Steps

1. Pour your lemon juice into the bowl, then dip your cotton bud into it.

2. Write your secret message using the cotton bud, and let the writing dry completely. The message will be invisible by the time it dries.

3. Hold the paper near the light bulb to expose it to the heat, but dont rest the paper on the light bulb.

4. Now just watch for your secret to appear - it will show up in brown or tan colour.

Monkeys

by Ben Jacobi

There are more than 260 species of Monkeys found in

the world today. Primates have been around for millions

of years.

You would think that all monkeys swing from trees but

not all of them do. Different monkey species eat a variety

of foods, such as fruit, insects, flowers, leaves and even

reptiles. Monkeys can be divided into two groups, Old

World monkeys that live in Africa and Asia, and New

World monkeys that live in South America. Most species

of monkey have tails. Apes are not a type of monkey.

There are lots of different monkeys. My favourite are

Baboons, Blue Monkey and Squirrel Monkey. Spider

monkeys get their name because of their long arms, legs

and tail. The Pygmy Marmoset is the smallest type of monkey, with adults weighing between 120 and 140 grams. Groups of

monkeys are known as a tribe, troop or mission. Unlike

any other animal they have thumbs!

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Hand-writing; is it a dying art?

by Ryan Hann

I have been finding out and reading articles about handwriting for this article and have

found that this is a popular topic having received coverage in the Guardian newspaper and

by the BBC. It is pretty interesting stuff so I would like to tell you some of what I have

found out so here goes:

This article is telling you about the writing of

language such as the English Language.

This is important because (lesson one)

writing also refers to writing numbers and

drawings which was invented many, many,

many years before language writing.

Secondly, (and for a bit of modern history) children used to be forced to write

with their right hands when learning in school, as it was thought that writing with the left

hand is a sign of black magic or magic for evil or selfish purposes.

Third lesson is that some people can write with both hands

which is called ambidexterity. My granddad can do this but

his handwriting is still impossible to read!

Despite all of the good work our teachers do in

reminding us to write neatly, well, and reward our efforts

with our own pen licence, we are a lot less reliant on

handwriting than our parents were and their parents

too which people think is because computers are more

popular and more people can now afford them. Since computers have been

invented people havent done as much handwriting as they used to. Who knows, in the

future we might not have to write with a pen anymore?

Did you know

that a persons

handwriting is

as unique as

their

fingerprint?

Apparently there is

a school in Surrey

where the pupils do

all of their work on

computers no

need for pens

there, if it is true!

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QUIZ

Can you guess what the signs are? by Jacob Browning

Answers:

A = Dont bump your head at the adventure

B = Wear your seatbelt

C = Dont fall into the pool

D = This was to the fine English room

E = Dont fall off that step!

F = A teacher is angry run away!

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