INPUT ARTICLE: Article: For many types of ants, queens are much larger than regular worker ants. If you stumble upon an ant that appears unusually large, there's a good chance this is the queen. The ant will be noticeably bigger than the surrounding ants, or other ants you have seen. Think about the type of ants you have as well. With leaf-cutter ants, the queen is particularly likely to be bigger than the worker ants. However, with fire ants and carpenter ants, workers themselves come in many different sizes. This may make it difficult to differentiate between the queen and worker ants based on size alone. In many ant colonies, the queen is born with wings. During many parts of a queen's adult life, she will need to fly to find a new colony for mating. An ant with wings may very well be the queen ant. Some male ants do have wings, but they tend to be slightly less noticeable. The types of male ants that have wings will generally look more slender and wasp like than a queen, who will generally be larger. Queens do shed their wings at a certain point in their lifespan. If you lean down and look at the central portion of the ant's body, you may see small bumps jutting from either side of the ant's body. These are wing attachment points, a sign that the ant once had wings. As queens shed their wings, wing attachment points are a good sign you've found the queen. The thorax is the part of an ant's body that bridges the neck and abdomen. Queen ants will generally have a larger, bulkier thorax than worker ants. As a queen's thorax once supported wings, it will be much bulkier and more muscular than a worker ant's body. A queen's thorax makes up more than half its body size. This is much larger than the thorax of a regular ant.

SUMMARY: Look at the size of the ant. See if there are wings on the ant. Look for signs the ant has shed its wings. Examine the thorax.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Introducing yourself and starting a conversation with someone new can be intimidating, especially if you feel shy. Once you break the ice, however, you may find yourself in the middle of a bunch of friends. Choose someone to introduce yourself to. Smile and say hello. Talk about something related to school, such as, "We're in the same English class," or "When is the assignment due?" Rehearse your conversation by practicing with your parent, sibling or even your pet. You can also think of other ways to start up a conversation, such as complimenting someone on their clothes or noticing a cool new notebook. Making a new friend or two before school starts can be helpful so that you don't feel so alone when you go to the first day of school. Go to a park in the school neighborhood, or join a summer camp. It can be helpful to see some familiar faces in your classroom when school starts. Sign up for activities like drama, sports or chess club. This will put you into smaller groups with people who have similar interests as yours. This will also give you a chance to demonstrate your skills at a particular sport or other activity. You might even be able to teach some other kids about how to do something. It can be exhausting to pretend to be someone else in order to fit in. Try your best to just be yourself. Don't worry too much about what other people think. When you are in a new school, you have the chance to make friends with anybody. It can be tempting to try to fit in with cool kids. You should, however, spend most of your effort making friends with people that you're comfortable around. It goes back to the idea of being yourself. Who are the people that enjoy your company because of who you are? Who are the people who treat you with respect? By setting goals for yourself every day or every week, you can see how you are adjusting to your new school in very real ways. For example, you can say, "I'll attend one club meeting this week," so that when you attend the meeting, you'll know you're trying hard to adjust. Another goal is to try saying hello to 3 new people every day. Just because you've moved to a new school, that doesn't mean you can't have your old friends in your life. Talk to your old friends on the phone or send them emails.

SUMMARY: Learn how to introduce yourself. Try to meet new people before school starts. Participate in activities. Be yourself. Make good decisions about making friends. Set goals for yourself. Keep in touch with your old friends. Start a conversation with your seatmate is the best way to make a friend. Sharing your experiences during your vacation is the a good start to make your new friend feel comfortable.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: First person narrators often have a particular way of seeing the world, which is based on their backstory. Give your first person narrator a narrative voice that is distinct and particular to them. Consider the narrator's age, class, and background. Use these elements to create the voice of the first person narrator. For example, if your narrator is a Latino teenager who lives in the Bronx, they will have a distinct narrative voice that may use Spanish phrases and teenage slang as well as standard English. With a first person narrator, you want the reader to view the world of the story through their perspective. This means describing scenes, other characters, and settings from the point of the view of the narrator. Try to filter all the action in the story through the first person narrator so the reader gets a sense of their point of view. For example, rather than say, "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A killer spider skittered towards me and I thought, I'm dead," focus on describing the action straight from the viewpoint of the narrator. You may write, "This couldn't be what I was seeing. A killer spider skittered towards me. I'm dead." Try not to let the first person narrator get bogged down by backstory or long descriptions, especially if you're writing in the present tense. Keep the pace and action of the story moving forward. Focus on keeping your narrator in the action in every scene. For example, rather than write, "I tried to talk to Sara about how I felt but she didn't want to listen to what I had to say," you may put this content in a scene with dialogue and action. You may write instead, "'Sara, why won't you talk to me?' I was determined to get her to listen to what I had to say." To get a better sense of the first person point of view, read examples of this perspective in literature. Look at present and past tense examples so you can look at how other writers use it in their work. There are several well known examples of the first person point of view in writing, including: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Moby Dick by Herman Melville The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid "Shooting an Elephant," an essay by George Orwell "The Death of the Moth," an essay by Virginia Woolf

SUMMARY:
Give the narrator a distinct voice. Filter the actions of the story through the narrator. Use the "I" to keep the pace and action moving forward. Read examples of first person narratives.