The Life of Lonnie Johnson

Written by: Room 22

 

Do you know the name Lonnie Johnson?  If not, then you should!  Who is Lonnie Johnson?  Lonnie Johnson is a black inventor.  He is most famous for creating the Super Soaker and the NERF gun.

Life

Lonnie Johnson is from Mobile, Alabama, U.S.A.  His family includes six siblings who all lived together in a small house.  As a child, Lonnie adored creating and building different things.  For example, he started by building toy rockets that could actually fly.  Then he created a robot named Linex that could turn and move.  Lonnie’s family was extremely supportive of his passion.

Work

When Lonnie grew up he became an engineer.  He worked at NASA to help build backup power for Galileo which travelled to Jupiter.

Inventions

Lonnie created a super cool toy in 1982 called the Super Soaker.  He created it by accident!  Lonnie was using water and air pressure to create a cooling system.  When he tested it he thought it would make an incredible water gun!  Over the years he invented many types of Super Soakers.  Lonnie also invented the NERF gun.  Lonnie quit his job at NASA to become a full time inventor. He is currently working to create power that does not harm the earth.

Did You Know?

• The Super Soaker was originally called the Drencher.
• It took 7 years before a toy company agreed to make the Super Soaker.
• The Super Soaker was a huge hit! It was the #1 selling toy in the entire world!

Lonnie did not give up.  He kept trying and trying to accomplish his goals.  Lonnie worked hard, believed in himself and was able to make his dreams come true!

Room 12 & 21 (who are learning in the Open Area)  wrote poems about our hair as part of our identity! We read poems about various types of hair to inspire us and also learned some juicy describing words to try out in our writing. Please enjoy our Spanglish creations!

 

Pelo poem

By: Ben

 

Mi pelo!

Mi pelo!

Mi pelo es rubio.

 

Mi pelo!

Mi pelo!

Mi pelo es lizo.

 

My hair soft like a pole.

My hair smells like nothing because I can’t smell.

 

My hair is like a cat’s fur.

And my hair is like ice because it is so slippery.

 

My hair is the best thing that I have.

 

Yo voy al lugar de pelo.

Mi pelo es lizo.

My hair gets short and it is blonde.

My hair is like a piece of paper.

My hair is blonde like caramel.

 

Oh, my hair, my hair!

 

My new and old hair…

By: Kamila

My hair is long like a piece of silk.

My hair sometimes feels rough and tough.

But most of the time it feels smooth and silky.

Every time after my shower, my hair feels straight and clean.

I was born bald,

So with that being said,

My hair grew and grew and my hair is long now.

My hair has always been brown.

And in ways, my hair can be thought to be black.

Okay. But, I believe it is both colors.

I braid, and I curl my hair.

So that it can be different ways.

Yo veo a mis trenzas en un espejo.

Tambien yo pienso que mi pelo no es malo.

A mi me gusta mi pelo ondulado y tambien

Es marron como mi chocolate favorito.

I have seen my braids in the mirror.

They are wavy when the braids go away. POOF!

My new hair now feels like it has no error.

The braids that my family makes

Are one hairstyle that make me feel

Strong like my dad.

My hair makes me proud.

Are you proud of yours?

Cherry pelo

By: Caitlin

 

My pink hair smells like a cherry.

My hair is pink like a flower.

My hair is long like a broom and it is fun.

Brown is the color of my hair too, it is like a string.

My hair is straight like a fork.

 

Mi pelo es lizo.

Mi pelo es rosa y marron.

Mi pelo es largo y corto.

 

Silly Blonde Hair

By: Kingston

I am blonde.

My mama is blonde.

My dad is blonde.

My brother is blonde.

I have blonde hair.

My hair feels soft.

Mi pelo es largo y mi pelo es lizo.

My hair feels silly and it feels like a furry jacket.

My hair smells like a coffee seed.

The Justice System

You are innocent till proven guilty

that is the truth.

Then why are the innocent being treated guilty?

 

Bang, Bang

Has the jury come to a decision?

Not Guilty!

Abused, hurt,

never to be the same.

Yet they will walk.

 

Bang, Bang

Not guilty, but why?

Pictures, DNA, Hair fibers

But nothing matters because,

Not Guilty!

 

Abused, hurt, evidence everywhere;

Yet they will walk.

Why, because they are not guilty.

 

We asked for a retrial

but denied.

Denied, bail set higher,

but why when they are not guilty.

– Lily

 

 

 

 

We are killing the earth,

at an alarming rate.

Dumping plastic into the ocean,

crate by crate.

Burning the earth, with our machines and tech.

But.

We can make a difference,

we can stop polluting,

we can change the world.

By doing things right.

We made these machines, let’s use them for good.

By planting trees and cleaning the air, earth and water.

We need to do something,

before it’s too late.

We need to stop.

before it’s too late.

For us.

– Nolan

 

 

Some live in the dark,

Afraid of lighting the torch,

Afraid of the fire it would erupt,

Worried that it may burn them,

And turn their skin and bones to ashes and dust,

Others light the torch and take a stand,

Preferring the light over the dark,

People like Viola,

Brave, Strong, Resilient,

Who took a stand and lit the torch,

Because it was less about tax,

And more about race,

Viewing Black as a disgrace,

But they all knew Justice meant liberty,

And segregation was oppression,

But that torch sparked a flame,

Which shone through the darkest of cannons,

Taking the oppression and ending the segregation,

Meeting the liberty and correcting the injustice.

– Olit

Have you ever seen Misty Copeland dance?

Have you ever read one of her books?

 

Misty Copeland was born in Kanas City, Missouri. Misty Copeland was 13 years old when she started dancing in California. She studied ballet. She became known as one of the most amazing dancers in L.A. and won several competitions. Her family didn’t have a lot of money and had to live in a motel for some time. She pushed through the hard times and kept on dancing.

 

Did you know that she was denied entry into different ballet schools because she was too old and her body didn’t look like a typical ballet dancer’s body? She never gave up because she was obsessed with dancing so much! It was her passion! She became a professional ballet dancer at 14 years old!  WOW!

 

She took the ballet world by storm! In 2000 she joined the American Ballet Theatre. In 2001 she became a member of the American Ballet Theatre’s Corps de Ballet. In 2007 she became the company’s 2^nd African American soloist. In 2015 she was prompted to principal dancer making her the first ever African American principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. She practiced every day to become better.

Today she is a public speaker, celebrity spokesperson and a New York Times Best Selling author. She has written two children’s booked, “Bunhead” and “Firebird”.

This is what we have learned about Misty Copeland.  Room 23