Prose
Prose is spoken or written language that follows regular speech patterns. It is made up of sentences and paragraphs, as opposed to poetry which is made up of lines and stanzas. The term “prose” is often used to describe writings such as novels, short stories, and narratives.
Eli walked to school every day. When the final bell rang, he walked home, too. His trip took him across the playground, past the t-shirt factory, and across the main street. From there, Eli often cut through a vacant lot where a house used to be. The house burned down years…
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Crocodile was the biggest animal in the swamp. He spent most of his time in the cool, shady parts of a green pool. When he was hungry, he slithered into the sunshine towards the drinking hole where all the animals gathered to sip the clear water on hot days. Crocodile was…
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One April day, after a long, soaking rain, Cardinal poked his head out from under the evergreen branches to see if he would get wet or stay dry. When he didn’t feel any drips, he hopped down to the ground, using the tree branches like a spiral staircase. Cardinal ordinarily…
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One day, Ella opened her back door and looked out. She wanted to go to play outside, but there was a large bumblebee flying around. He was bigger than her thumb, and very fuzzy. She could hear the humming of his wings as he made large figure-eights across the patio. Carefully,…
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Ella never liked to take naps. When she was a baby, she would stay wide away all afternoon, playing with toys in her crib. Her mother told her that Ella could only sleep when it was dark outside, no matter how dark and thick the curtains were in her room.…
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Jeremy likes to help his family with chores. He spends time playing with his baby sister while Mom cooks dinner. After supper, he dries the dishes for Dad. But Jeremy’s favorite job is feeding Fletch. Fletch is the family cat. He is brown and black, with tiger stripes across his back.…
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Jimmy loved ice cream. It was his favorite dessert. He wanted to eat ice cream all the time. His parents let him have a small dish each night after dinner, if he ate all of his vegetables. At home, Jimmy usually had chocolate or vanilla. His mother scooped it out…
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Katie was six years old. She was part of a big family. She lived with her mom, dad and three older brothers. Her older brothers all played sports. They rode their bikes around town. Katie wanted to be just like them when she got bigger. One summer day, the boys…
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One morning Eric’s teacher began the day with an announcement. “Today we have a new student joining our class,” she said. “Please welcome Akiko to second grade and to America.” Everyone said hello. Akiko smiled and looked down at the floor. “Akiko is from Japan. She is still learning English, and…
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Every night, Caroline ate dinner with her mom, dad, and older brother Graham. When they sat at the table, they each told a story about their day at work or school. Then they each told about something new they had learned that day. Sometimes the stories were serious, and other…
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