David's first essay of 5th grade

David turned in his first essay this year. It was on courage. I really like the curriculum we are using this year for writing composition because it outlines the writing process very well. According to the directions, he did pretty well at his intro, body, and conclusion; or I should say he answered the questions well that they prompted him to put in his essay. This particular essay only allowed for a first draft and one revision. (Mafutu is a character in a book he just read. And "Courage, the Cowardly Dog" is a cartoon character!)

What is courage?

Courage. The quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger or hardships.
It is a brave action. It is also is a hard action. It is known to defend against great odds.

You may ask,” Is it a good deed? What does it mean? What or how is it used?”
It can be used as a good deed or a bad deed. An evil person can win a battle and be courageous. In the book “Call it Courage” Mafutu’s village understood courage to be extreme hardship, separation from the village, and killing a hammerhead shark or a wild boar. It can be used as a name as in “Courage the Cowardly Dog.” He is not always courageous.

I leaned that people think it is a high honor to be known to be courageous. It can be used in a good and bad way, and that it doesn’t always mean you’re brave.

David Rivera