Even though the notebook got me doing my assignments, I still had trouble doing my home work well. I learned that I could make up for that by doing reports for extra credit.
Writing several 200-word reports on subjects that interested me was a lot easier than doing a whole bunch of boring sentences in answer to some questions in the text book. I didn’t care if I had to stay up late to do reports. I found out about extra credit reports in fifth grade. I was amazed how I could improve my grade just by writing. My teacher, Miss Jones, cautioned that we couldn’t just copy our report out of the encyclopedia. Some kids did their extra credit by copying words straight from the encyclopedia. Not me. That was just another application of busy work. I read the information in the book and then produced my own sentences from it. I would read an article in the World Book Encyclopedia that explained the principles of an electron engine. It showed an experiment with some thick copper wire and drinking straws mounted on a swing-arm. The copper wire, or rods, were connected to electricity and when energized started swinging. I wrote my report, not about the experiment in the book, but in a more practical application -- a giant starship in space with electron engines two miles long powered by a nuclear fusion reactor. Lots of fun!
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