Author's Note:
This is an essay describing koalas and there environment. I am using a repot type voice and am focusing on formatting.
Climbing through tall soft trees, eating eucalyptus leaves straight off the branches, having fun all by yourself and taking in all of the wind that blows by, you can barely feel the branches on top of your fur. The warm, sunny days are ideal for your lifestyle and the tree's. Your light, round body lets you wonder around the tree with ease and leisure. Taking naps for hours upon hours on end all through the daytime. This is just an average day for a normal koala. Since they just lie around and eat, koalas obtain one of the easiest lifestyles you could ask for.
Koalas have a soft, wool-like coat that has gray hair on top and white hair on the bottom. Their fur is mostly white below their necks and their ears have some white hairs on the tips. The koala resembles a bear, but it's actually a marsupial. Marsupials are a special kind of mammal which carries its young in a pouch. Koalas can live to be seventeen years old, though high death rates for males lower their life expectancy to between two and ten years. Most koalas are small, pudgy animals that normally weigh about 30 pounds and grow to be 2 feet tall. Overall, koalas are basically stuffed animals that breathe.
These plush creatures prefer to live in eucalyptus forests, coastal islands, and low woodlands. Countries that koalas can be found in include Australia or New Zealand. Koalas consume eucalyptus leaves and bark from several different eucalyptus tree species. Being nocturnal mammals, koalas sleep for up to 16 hours a day. Also, they are arboreal, which means that they live in trees. Lastly, they do not live in large packs or groups but rather prefer to live alone.
Conserving koalas is becoming more and more important. Once numbering in the millions, koalas suffered major declines in population during the 1920's when they were hunted for their fur. Today, habitat destruction, attacks by dogs, and natural disasters kill an estimated 4,000 koalas yearly. Laws in Australia protect koalas, but each city is responsible for the animal's conservation. Right now, there are fewer than 100,000 koalas in the entire world.
Destroying koalas and their homes can leave harmful impacts on our planet. Taking away koala’s homes don’t just endanger koalas, but it would also endanger the 600 other species that live there. Another reason is that killing and hunting koalas could effect one of the rarest habitats in the world, eucalyptus forests. Which might lead to other problems such as holes in the ozone and lack of fresh air. None of this would happen if everyone stopped hunting and started protecting the harmless and peaceful koalas.
Sources:
- "Koalas: Photos, Video, Facts, E-card, Map -- National Geographic Kids." Kids' Games, Animals, Photos, Stories, and More -- National Geographic Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/koala/>.
- weeks, 13, and the young has attained a body weight of about 50 g. "Koala Information." koalas .org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://koalas.org/koala-info.html>.
Names
Author's Note:
This is a haiku about names.
We're all called something
We all have our own labels
We all know our names
Llamas and Alpacas
- Brown, Dur. Personal interview. 21 Feb. 2011.
- "Alpaca Facts." Alpacas of Cedar Wind. Cedar Wind Products.. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.alpacasofcedarwind.com/Alpaca%20Facts.htm>.
- Graham, Dale. "LlamaWeb: About llama colors." LlamaWeb: Llamas on the Internet!. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.llamaweb.com/about/colors.html>.
- "History." Llama Lifestyle Marketing Association and Llama Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.llama.org/history.htm>.
Author's Note:
This content essay is based on the differences and similarities between llamas and alpacas. My voice is pointed more toward and essay tone of voice. I am focusing on organization.
Alpacas are barely half the size of llamas. A lot of people don't know that there are actually important differences between llamas and alpacas. The two have totally different coats, one is rough and the other is fluffy. Also, they have mostly the same personalities. A majority of people think that llamas spit, but not alpacas. The truth is that they both do. Finally, the main difference is that alpacas are a billion times more cute and interesting.
There are some distinct differences between llamas and alpacas. The main is that alpacas are half the size of llamas. A llama weighs roughly 300 pounds while alpacas weighs about 150-160. There coats are different too. A llamas coat is while an alpacas coat is more . Those are the two main differences between llamas and alpacas.
While there are differences between the two animals, there are some similarities. Both of them have just about the same personality. A myth about llamas is that they spit when they get angry, but alpacas don't. The reality is that they both spit when they're angry, agitated, or bored. Finally, their overall appearances are almost identical in every way besides size.
Some other facts that most people don't know about these animals are that they both live about twenty years. Also, both of them originated in Peru. Another cool fact is that alpacas were just brought to America about twenty five years. While llamas have been in America since the early 1800's. Lastly, both of them come in the same colors, browns, blacks, and reds.
The color similarity is one of the reasons people think that alpacas and llamas are basically the same. There are other reasons too such as the overall appearance and that they both have the same attitudes. A difference is that their coats are different from each other and that alpacas are half the size of llamas. Finally, alpacas are easily more interesting, but llamas are alright too.
Sources:
Picasso
Author's Note:
I chose to write about Picasso because his life interested me as I got more and more into my research. I am focusing on conventions.
A young boy, sitting right next to his father, is on the edge of his seat. Watching as the riders enter the arena; the crowd cheering and standing on their toes. The bullfight began. Little did observers know that the little boy would start what's known today as one of the greatest art forms ever. That boy was Pablo Picasso.
Pablo Picasso was inspired by anything he saw or felt. He was a natural painter from the start and had family helping him move forward. His father was an art teacher himself and taught Pablo. As a teenager, Picasso went to great places to see art and to be inspired with. He went to Barcelonan cafés, Paris, anywhere he could find art. When he was only fourteen, he started to study at the School of Fine Art in La Coruna, Spain. When his family moved to Barcelona, Spain, in 1896, Picasso easily gained entrance to the School of Fine Arts. A year later he was admitted as an advanced student at the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid, Spain. He demonstrated his remarkable ability by completing in one day an entrance examination for which an entire month was permitted. Everyone then noticed how truly amazing Picasso was.
Once Pablo left the school, he began to study on his own about historical and contemporary art. Between 1900 and 1903, Picasso lived in Paris, Barcelona, and France. Picasso used many different pallets through his life, but is remembered for his Rose Period and the Blue Period. The Rose Period consisted of pinks, beiges, reds, and other light tones. While the Blue Period were colors such as blue, tan, and black. He tried many other styles and forms such as realism and caricature before he started cubism.
The art form of Cubism was created by Picasso. Cubism changed the way people sculpted, drew, painted, and even how they wrote! In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form. Instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints. Often the surfaces intersect at seemingly random angles. The background and object planes interpenetrate one another to create the shallow space, this is one of cubism's distinct characteristics.
Pablo Picasso was an artistic legend and his name will probably live on forever. He started the great form of cubism, new pallets, and several great pieces of artwork in his lifetime. Picasso traveled through Europe for inspiration and knowledge, though had a dad who taught him too. Through his life he was creative and inspired by many thoughts around him. This great artist didn't make or mold, create or design, no, Pablo Picasso dreamed.
