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We tell students to ‘show, not tell’ — but that advice is useless until they experience the difference. This lesson makes it click.
‘Add more variety!’ teachers say. But how? This lesson gives students actual techniques instead of vague advice.
Blow up a paragraph into individual sentences. Now reassemble it. The clues hiding in each sentence will surprise you.
We’ll start with the cliché “as cold as ice” and go somewhere much more interesting.
Let’s write a summary. A very short summary. With VERY strict rules.
An intriguing passage from Anne of Green Gables to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
These sentences about Washington, DC got scrambled. Can you put them back in order using nothing but context clues?
How would real people feel about the legends that have been created about them?
Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?
A passage from The Wind in the Willows to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Can your students come up with a one-syllable word to sum up their time away from school? And then rewrite The Beatles’ song Help!?
What if an inanimate object could express thanks for a special person in your life? What would it write?
A typical student narrative includes plot and characters but lacks a larger idea to hold it all together. This is where a lesson on themes comes in…
Every fantasy story has patterns hiding underneath the magic. Once your students see the elements, they’ll spot them everywhere — and use them in their own writing.
Let’s take a starting phrase about St. Patrick’s Day and get specific. No, even more specific!
Starting with an old-timey photo, students will write from a particular item’s point of view.
Three paragraphs about wolverines. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about The Great Sphinx back into the correct order?
Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place at school.
Look closely at Impression, Sunrise. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Have students mastered the art of anadiplosis: ending one sentence with the beginning of the next? Now it’s time to take it to the next level!
An old photograph. A holiday scene. Pick one object in the picture and write from its point of view.
Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place in at a magical school.
Let’s start with “As cold as fire.”
A passage from “Peter Pan” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Is your students’ use of repetition limited to, “The girl was very, very, very fast.”? Let’s borrow some ideas from Shakespeare!
Are students’ characters a bit flat? Archetypes give them a strong foundation on which to build their own characters as well as a tool to analyze existing stories.
A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We’ll be contrasting two ideas using synonyms.
Wouldn’t some holidays be better on a certain day of the week? Should Thanksgiving have a set date?
Look closely at Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Start with a basic simile. Now make it more specific. Now even more. Watch how much better writing gets with each round.
If your students’ stories are packed with endless ninja fights or arguments between frenemies, it’s time to expose them to a wider range of conflicts.
Look closely at Twilight in the Wilderness. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Want something to do during the holiday season that is both fun and involves thinking? Get students writing about what a snowman would think about Halloween or what a ghost would think about Thanksgiving.
What if we rewrote a story’s climax into a totally different genre?
How does a drink’s packaging affect us emotionally and logically?
