Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Linda Urban
Linda Urban has enjoyed writing since she was a child. As a young child, she loved writing fiction stories. A bad experience in school changed who she was as a writer. Urban stopped writing fiction and began writing nonfiction. She later found a career in writing, but it was still nonfiction writing in advertising. It wasn't until Urban was around authors that she finally moved back to her first love: fiction writing.
Linda Urban was born in Detroit, Michigan. She grew up in what she considers a typical suburban home. As a child, Linda liked fitting in and being like everyone else. Nevertheless, she sometimes didn't feel "normal." Living in a neighborhood like everyone else gave Linda a sense of "sameness."
There were other times, however, when Linda did not want to be like everyone else. Sometimes she liked to be different. Linda liked to shine. People treated her special when she stood out. Linda tried many things when she was a child. She tried ballet, singing, and playing different instruments. She wasn't good at these things, and she didn't like them. When Linda got older, she found something she liked. She was also good at it. Linda discovered writing.
Linda wrote many poems and stories when she attended Oakbrook Elementary School. As an adult, she recalls a special story she wrote in elementary: "Superbox." The main character in the story was a shoebox that fought crime. The enemy of Superbox was an evil potato chip. Linda won a prize for "Superbox." What she really liked was getting to read the story to her class. The other students liked the story. They cheered for Superbox. They laughed during the funny parts of the story. This experience made Linda feel special. She loved having other people enjoy a story that she had written. This made her want to write more. So Linda continued writing.
Sadly, Linda had another experience with her writing that was not fun. In fact, it made her feel bad. Linda wrote a personal story. It was about her feelings on Christmas Eve. She described how excited she felt the night before Christmas. Linda also got to read the story to her class. One boy said she used "weird" words. Then he said she was weird. He laughed at her story and at her. This hurt Linda deeply. She learned a painful lesson: People don't always like what you write.
