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Practice your writing skills during t he surr.mer!

Remember ... / Start with a strong topic sentence.

/ Use interesting details. / Use vivid verbs, adjectives, and simi Jes .

../ End with a strong closing sentence that ties all the

ideas from your write together.

Beat the Block

- observe your surroundings

- listen to music

- begin on a fresh read page

- think of books you like to read

- SWBST

- BME

- Take a break or a walk

- Doodle or sketch

- Use old ideas from your notebook

- Rely on your own experiences

- Make connections

- Ask questions/ask for help

- Use tools you have learned to sharpen

Why Writer's Write

- To express feelings and thoughts

- To teach

- To entertain

- To inform

- To persuade

- To share fantasies

- To remember

- To communicate

- To share opinions

- To ask questions

- To share ideas

- Because you -want something

Important Elements of Narrative Writing

- Alliteration

- Passage of time

- TAD (thought, action, dialogue)

- SAD (setting, action, dialogue)

- Show, don't tell

- Characters wants and needs

- $100 words (adjectives)

- Adverbs

- Similes

- Interjections

- Oxymoron

- Hyperbole

- Metaphor

- Transitions

- Sequences

- Rgurative language

- Hook

- Voice

- Personification

Story Elements

Characters: (main and supporting)

Setting: (time and place)

ConfHct: (problem-who caused it?)

Resolution: solution, form an opinion

Persuasive Essays

Persuasive writer's think about things they love deeply or

dislike deeply and write long about them. They persuade by

appealing to their reader's emotions-.

Use Box and Bullets as a graphic organizer.

1. State your claim clearly

-back it up

-give examples

-prove your point

-choose your audience

2. Counterclaims

- acknowledge the good parts about one side but the

better parts of the other

3. Appeal to the reader's emotions

-make your reader feel good

-tug at their "heart strings"

4. Back up opinions with facts

-prove to your reader that your opinions are well thought

out

- use data and information from experts to defend your

thesis statement

Rising Time line/ Story Arc

Writers put the story events in order to

show a sequence of events.

- The outside of the arc is for external

feelings occurring in the story.

- The inside of the arc is for internal

feelings occurring in the story.

The 11heart" of the story is the most

important part. Place a heart around

that spot on your rising timeline.

Prompt 1 (narrative)

Writers add "thought" to show what is going on in the

character's -head. For this prompt, focus on including

"THOUGHT" into your story.

Exam-ple 1: Samant-ha thought to herself, "I wonder when the

cookies will be finished baking."

Example 2: John wondered why he was not invited to-the

birthday party.

Example 3: I sat at my desk pondering about all the home-work

. I would have to make up this weekend.

Prompt #1: What if You and Your Dog Traded Places for a Day?

You wake up one morning. You notice that you are sleeping on the floor and scratching your ear with your foot You try to say something and a "woof' comes out of your mouth! You can still read, though . . A note is on th~ floor by your head. It says: "Dear Master, I think I'm going to have fun today as a human! Sincerely, your dog, Rex. Write a story about your adventu_res as a dog for a day! Remember to use vivid verbs and adjectives to make your story exciting.

Prompt 2 (narrative) Writers use "dialogue" as a tool to share the character's feelings,

opinions, and statements.

When using dialogue, the punctuation mark goes in front of or

"hugged" by quotation marks.

Example 1: "Mom, when will we be boarding out flight to San

Francisco?"

Example 2: Mary yelled over to Alex, "I'll help y-ou unpack your bags

from camp."

Prompt #2: Your Trip Through Time!

You have invented the world's first time machine. You can now go to any time in . history that you would like to visit. Think about where you would go. Think about what things in that time would be like! Write the tale of your adventures in the time of your choice. Remember to write interesting details and descriptions of things that you see, hear, smell and touch on your journey.

Prom-pt 3 {narrative) Writers use {{action" to d-escribe what is going on in the story,

such as time and place (setting). Fo-r this prompt, focus on

including 11ACTIO-N" into your story.

Example 1: Zipping through the multicolored playground,

Wesley chased Michael all the way up the silver slide.

Example 2: I race-d home down Hillsdale Avenue to see if my

stellar report card was waiting in our m_ailbox.

Prompt #3: VVhat was the Best Day You Ever Spent \Nith a Special Frie-nd?

Everyone has had a great day with a speCial friend. Think about the best day that you ever spent with your favorite friend. \A/here did you do? What did you do? How did you feel? Tell the story of what you and your friend did on the best day you can remember. Use vivid verbs, adjectives and specific details to make your story exciting for your reader!

Prompt 4 (narrative)

Writers use thought, action, dialogue (TAD) to enhance their

stories. For this prompt, focus on including "TAD" into your

story.

Example 1: uwow", I thought to myself as I cruised up the

street in my bike. ({Hey Danny, do you think Ella remembered

to meet us at the ice cream shop?"

Example 2: Mary thought for a moment. "Today is my

birthday," she exclaimed. She ran down to ber parents' room

and swung the door open.

Prompt # 4: If You Had Your Own Personal Rocket Where Would You Go?

Think about where you would choose to go if you had your own peTsonal rocket. Why would you want to go there? What would you expect to see and to do? Write a story telling about your adventures on your special trip in your own rocket!

Prompt 5 (narrative)

Writer's use setting, action, and dialogue (SAD) to make their

story more interesting. For this prompt, focus on using SAD in

your writing.

Example 1: The huge house looked dark and-gloomy as we

slowly crept towards it. "Are you sore this is the house?, Shelly

whispered."

Example: The lake was a crisp blue color and when the frogs

would jump from the lily pads, it almost looked like glass. !­

almost didn't want to disturb them so I slowly entered the cool

water. 11 1'11 ruin it's beauty if I jump right in, I explained to

mom."

Prompt #5: Take A Dragon's Point of V ievJ!

Think about what it would be like to be a dragon! Not only do you breathe fire and collect precious je,Nels and treasures to keep in your lair (cave), but you also have to deal with those pesky knights! They are always trying to prove their bravery by challenging you to a fight! Write a story telling about your battle with a knight! Remember to include vivid verbs and specific details to make your story exciting for your reader!

Prompt 6 (narrative) Writers use 11hooks" or {{leads" to begin a story in an

-interesting way and to {{grab" the reader. For this prompt,

focus on the beginning of your story. Spend time building the

setting, describing a character, or maybe even jumping right in

the middie of the action!

On the next page, read Ralph Fletcher's tips about beginning a

story.

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I recently spoke to Richard, a fifth grader, about his writing. "The hardest part for me is the beginning," Richard said. "I'm not good at it. Practically all my stories start with one day or something boring like that.''

Talking with Richard got me thinking about begin­nings: leads. By lead I mean the beginning of a piece of writing. Most leads are short, though a lead isn't limited to the first sentence, the first paragraph, or even the first page. (In Hatchet the lead lasts for several pages and involves that unforgettable ride in a bush plane when the pilot has a heart attack and Brian has to land the p1ane.) I used to thiQk that the lead was just the mustard on the hot dog or the wrapping paper on the

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present-something you rip open to get at the important stuff inside.

I no longer think that's true. While the lead may not be the most important element of writing, it does give you an opportunity to set the tone early, to establish a rhythm ·and energy for what will follow.

You get invited to a new friend's house, a place you have never before visited. You ring the doorbell. Soon you find yourself standing inside the front door. What is it like? Right away you start noticing sweet smells from the kitchen, a baby crying, music playing, the floors dirty or shining clean. All of these clues tell you about what this family is like.

Writing is the same way. A lead gives the reader importaut· clues about what to expect in the writing that

will follow. Let's lake a look at some different kinds of leads,

and how you can. make them work for you.

THE "GRABBER LEAD" William Steig's picture book Shrek! begins like this: ..

His mother wus ugly and his father was ugly, but Shrek was uglier than the two of them put together. By the time he toddled, Shrek could spit flame a full ninety yard& and vent smoke from either ear. With just a look he oowed the reptiles in the

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Squeeze me so tight Death fell on him quickly But his spirit continues I was his favorit!3 Grand child "You are as sweet a~ chocolate" He would always say . I haven't stopped singing He hasn't died in my heart Good-bye doesn't mean forever It's just a moment of tin,1e

INTRODUCING THE NARRATOR · Grabber leads are terrific, but sometimes you don't want

to begin with neon lights. There will be times when you'll want something a little calmer, a little less ambi­tious. Some leads do nothing more than establish who is telling the story. Sarah Whitley, a sixth grader, begins one story with this lead:

Driving along it felt like every other trip we take, long and boring. I was just listening to a tape on my headphones when my mom muttered some­thing which I could hardly hear to my brother and sister. I didn't think it was important until my brother said: "Cool."

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The language in this lead is ordinary, almost dull. The firNt: two sentences lull me into complacency and set up the little surprise at the end of the paragraph. The brother's comment-"Cool"-provides just enough of a hook to tnake me want to find out what will happen next.

Many professional writers begin their books in this low-key way. Will Hobbs begins his novel Changes in Latitudes with Travis, a fourteen-year-old, starting to tell the story: "We were le;:tving for a week in Mexico, all of us except my father, that is.'' This first sentence holds a small surprise about the missing father. Right away 1 want to know why the father isn't going on vacation with everyone else.

Cljff Abernathy is the narrator in my novel Fig Pud­

ding. I wanted readers to get comfortable with Cliff as ·soon as possible, so I wrote a lead that had him intro­duce him~elf, speaking directly to the reader:

My full name is Clifford Allyn Abernathy Ill, after my father and grandfather, but I leave off the Ill, the Allyn, and the ord. Call me Cliff. I'm in Mr. Beck's class at the Bradford Bridges Elementary School in Ballingsford. I've noticed lately that lots of my favorite things seem to start with "B": baseball (Baltimore is my favorite team), basketball, bacon, bluefishlng, blue slush cones. Brad.

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• Disturbing fact or statistic: "By the time you finish reading this article, a thousand acres of rain forest ... "

• Sentence fragments: Grammatically incorrect, true. But sentence fragments can be a startlingly effective way to intrigue the reader. Alex Woods, a fourth grader in Ohio, wrote a short essay that begins like this:

When I Grow Up

In the lab. Peaceful silence. And then, machines clanking. Me. Inventing. Ever sinpe age three I knew I wanted to be a scientist . . .

A few final things to consider as you craft your lead: This chapter makes a big fuss over the lead, but don't

get hung up on it while you're writing your first draft. You don't even have to write the leatl first. With Fig Pudding I had to finish· the whole novel before I could go back and decide what kind of lead I wanted. The last thing I did was take out some paper and try out five or six leads until I found the right one. If the lead isn't coming the way you want, skip ahead into the meat of the writing. You can always come back to it. It will be the first thing your reader reads, but it doesn't have to be the first thing you write.

Remember that all your leads won't be showstoppers,

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and they shouldn't be. You're not trying to win the OlymtJic gold medal of lead-writing. The goal is simply to come up with the right lead to the writing on which you're working.

Don't despair if all your leads tend to sound alike at some time. All writers get stuck in ruts. Experiment! Think of it this way: As a writer, you've got one of those enonnous boxes of crayons with a hundred and twenty-eight colors, hues that range from burnt sienna to jelly-bean pink. With so many to choose from, why color with the same old green every time?

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Prompt # 6: Vvhat if You Were a Car for a Day?

Think about what it would be like to be a car. People are always getting in you and going places. What do you eat and drink? What do you think is fun? What is boring? You have to follovv a lot of rules, too. Fsr example, in your world red means stop and green means go! You communicate by beeping ·and by using lights to show what you are going to" do, like turn or stop. Pretend you are a car for a day. Would you try to change things and do them your own way? Write the story of your day as a car.

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Prompt 7 (Essay) Writers write about times in their lives that a-re special to

them.

When- writing about a special time you've experienced

remember to add specific details that help the reader feel the

same way you did.

Use your five senses to helt:> describe this special time.

Example 1: -1 can remember feeling like I was all alone in a big

world. I iooked at all the girls standing together, laughing and

giggling about something I knew nothing about. My mind

raced, and my heart hurt.

Example 2: It was a Friday in June ... Friday afternoon at 3:09 to

be exact. I was like a firecracker ready to go off, tapping my

fingers feverishly on my empty desk. 11Goodbye school, hello

summer" was playing through my head.

Prompt# 7: What VVas the Best Surprise You Fver Had?

Everyone has been surprised by something that someone has done for him or her. Sometimes people plan surprises so that you will be excited and happy when the "surprise" happens. Think of a time when someone planned a nice surprise for you. What was the surprise? How did you feel when you found out it was happening? Why was it fun and exciting? Tell about the best surprise you ever had and how it happened. Remember to use vivid verbs, adjectives, and interesting details to help your reader experienc-e your usurprise day'J with you!

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Prompt 8 (Na-rrative)

A good story is developed by using the story elements-.

Every good story has characters, at least one s_etting, problems

or conflicts, and solutions.

Try to build a SWBST or Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then list

before you write your story. Then tell where and where the

story takes place.

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Prompt 9 (Essay)

Write an essay persuading your parents to give you something

or allow you to do something.

Rem-ember to build your essay with Box and Bullets.

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Prompt 10: (Poetry Response)

Read the poem on the following page respond to the prompt.

**Remember to respond to the poem. Do not write your own

poem.**

Directiens: Yo_u will._~o a ·writing task. Read the poem "An Ea-sy Pet (The Common GOldfish)."

An Easy Pet (The Common Goldfish)

If you are thinking_ about getting an easy to care for pet,

I think the common goldfish would be a good bet.

If you like the flash of bright colors, the goldfish is right for you­

bronze, red,. gold, orange and a multi-colored hue.

If you are wondering about th:cf.u C"are, there are few things you will neeQ.:

a clean bowl filled with water, worms -and plants to feed.

-If you consider their origin, -itis ·China..and Japan,

from just an-ordinary fish no long fins or fan.

If you are-curious about their iertgl.h, you ar.e in fer a surpris-e, from one to tiiree :inchR

to a-foot-lung prize.

If you:are thinking crbout life span., goldfish live a long, long ti:rrre~

longer in ponds and rivers, where they sparkle and shirie.

If you ar~ thinking about getting an easy to care for pet, 'a comet or a fantail would be a good bet

-Glenn G. C6ats

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Writing Task: Imagine that you are an ani­mal who wants~to be adopted. You may use actual facts about your animaL However, you may choose to be a fictional animal and make up things about that animaL Write your story to try to persuade someone to adopt you.

Your story should include the following information:

• Tell what animal you are. • Describe what you look like. ~ • Tell the k:ind of place -in which you live.

or would like to live. • Include some kinds of things you can or

would like to do. • Give reasons why you should be adopted.

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-Prompt 11 {Informational Essay)

Writers write about things they know a lot about.

Write an essay about something you are an expert about.

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