Grade 5 Contest

Choose one writing prompt from the items below. Do not answer all four. Email your final version in Microsoft Word to your reading or science teacher no later than Friday, December 8. Winners will be selected based on content, conventions of writing, and originality. Artificial Intelligence (AI) sources may not be used for your entry.

1. Write a creative story about a snowman that shows you understand the states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
2. Write a nonfiction explanation of the water cycle. You must include evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
3. In your opinion, is an ice-skating rink part of the water cycle? Why or why not?
4. Pretend you are a snowflake that lands on the branch of an evergreen tree. Share what your experience is like. The entry is fiction but should demonstrate your understanding of the water cycle.

Winners will receive one year digital and print subscription to magazine and be entered in a drawing for an iPad.

Grade 8 Contest

Choose one writing prompt from the items below. Do not answer all 4. Email your final version in Microsoft Word to your English or science teacher no later than Friday, December 8. Winners will be selected based on content, conventions of writing, and originality. Artificial Intelligence (AI) sources may not be used for your entry.

1. Write a nonfiction explanation that demonstrates your understanding of a pure substance. Be sure to include physical and chemical properties used to describe pure substances.
2. Write a creative story that is set in winter and involves energy transfer and transformation. Although your story is creative, it should demonstrate your knowledge of energy.
3. Describe what the atmosphere looks like when it is about to rain. Your entry should use imagery and reflect your knowledge of the water cycle.
4. Pretend you are a particle of oxygen that is becoming water. What are your experiences? This may be fiction or nonfiction and should demonstrate your knowledge of atoms.

Winners will receive a one-year digital and print subscription to Nat Geo Kids magazine and be entered in a drawing for an iPad.

Items to Consider:

1. Does your entry demonstrate your understanding of the science topic included in the writing prompt?
2. Have you edited your entry for grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, tone, style, and intended audience?
3. Does your entry show originality?