Written by Second Grade Students from Ms. Wi lliamson’s Class
University Prep Math & Science
Detroit,
i i i i i i i i i i
Elementary in
MI
Planet Rainbow was rainy and cloudy: rainbow clouds floated in the sky. Colorful rain fell down on the rainbow plants and the rainbow friends.
All around, the friends could smell rainbow
candy (sweet and sour, and bubblegum) which was hidden deep in a hole in the ground. Happy soft jazz music floated out of a magical speaker.
It sounded like glitter and sparkles.
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Hot Dog Dude, a rainbow hot dog with a red bun and a party hat, was using a green robotic microphone and a drum to make music. His friend, Jessica Palmer the Pop Star Cat, was styling in a red shirt and green pants with stripes and polka dots. Jessica
sang and danced to the music. A pigeon flew overhead, looking for a snack. Jeffrey, a hungry man, also saw the two friends: Jeffrey and the pigeon tried to eat them both! Jessica said, “Don’t eat me! Eat some crumbs instead!”
3
Hot Dog Dude yelled, “If you don’t know 5 + 5, get away!” But Jeffrey and the pigeon did not go away.
Luckily, Jessica had special powers.
To be continued…
5
inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.
Our writing and tutoring programs uphold a culture of creativity and imagination and support students in establishing strong habits of mind. Through publication and community engagement, we provide students with an authentic and enthusiastic audience for their writing.
ONLINE LEARNING LAB
In the spring of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly transitioned all of our programs online. For the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years, 826michigan programs remained online. Beginning in Spring 2022, we started moving slowly into engaging with in-person programming, and continue to offer all of our core programming virtually.
SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT
The program formerly-known as tutoring has been given an updated name, but the same great foundations remain. We organize trained volunteer tutors to work with students one-on-one with their homework after school. Schoolwork Support is available for all subjects, for students ages 8–18.
WORKSHOPS
We offer a number of free workshops taught by professional artists, writers, and our talented volunteers. From comic books to screenplays, bookmaking to radio, our wide variety of workshops are perfect for writers of all ages and interests. One of the most popular workshops we offer is our weekly Wee-bots program for elementary-aged writers.
IN-SCHOOL PROJECTS
Our trained volunteers go into local public schools every day to support teachers with their classroom writing assignments. Based on the teacher’s curriculum, assignments range from writing tales to crafting college essays to exploring poetry.
FIELD TRIPS
Students come as a class to our writing lab to join a group of volunteers, interns, and staff in order to help solve a problem through writing—whether that is our editor Dr. Blotch’s insomnia, our looming story deadline, a mystery in need of solving, or one of the many others we encounter. Our field trips always end in a finished publication of original writing that students take home.
OUR STORES
Our Robot Supply Co. stores are one-stop shops for robots, robot owners, and enthusiasts alike. They are designed to inspire creativity and bring awareness of our programs to the community. Come visit the Ann Arbor Robot Supply Co. at 115 East Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor and, hopefully again soon at the Detroit Robot Supply Co. at 1351 Winder Street in Eastern Market in Detroit. In addition, our online store is always open; visit the Robot Supply Co. at onwardrobots.com. All proceeds from our stores directly fund our free student programming. Onward robots!
WRITING IS
We create a safe place to be ourselves and try new things
We support the ways that writers work (like thinking, sketching, talking)
We study the writing we want to do so we can try it
We learn how to change our writing for genre, audience, and purpose
We work with a group of writers who help and support each other www.826michigan.org
826 National was inspired to take a stand on issues of inclusion and diversity in light of the many events that spotlighted social and racial injustices throughout the country. We as educators, volunteers, and caring adults need to be aware of the wide range of issues our students face on a day-to-day basis. We need to support these young people as they navigate through and try to make sense of the world and their own identities.
We need the support and the feedback from our community to ensure 826 is living up to these standards. Through our inclusion statement, our internal diversity and inclusion group, cultural competency resources provided to staff and volunteers, and partnerships with other organizations, we are always working towards being a more inclusive and supportive organization.
We at 826 have the privilege of working with the next generation of scholars, teachers, doctors, artists, lawyers, and writers. It's our job to make sure they are able to take their own stands.
As an organization committed to encouraging youth in their creative expression, personal growth, and academic success, 826 National and its chapters recognize the importance of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of our work. In order to build and maintain the safe, supportive 826 environment in which great leaps in learning happen, we commit ourselves to inclusion: we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status, English fluency, parental status, military service, or disability.
The 826 National network is committed to encouraging youth to express themselves and to use the written word to effectively do so. We encourage our students to write, take chances, make decisions, and finish what they start. And 826 strives to do this in an environment free from discrimination and exclusion.
by Gerald Richards, CEO
A way to figure things out by ourselves
A way to help us connect to our world
A way to help us learn who we are and who we will become
A way for us to use our power to make changes and build a better world