Writer's Workshop #7: Lights! Camera! Action!

Tool #7: Lights! Camera! Action!

Good writers show the action of the story.

Non-example: Patrick acted mad.

Example: Patrick kicked the chair and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Non-example: Molly feels sad.

Example: Molly’s face crumpled and a tear slid down her cheek.

Non-example: The teacher is irritable.

Example: My teacher, Shauna, was so mad she roared at the class, “Go put your heads down!”

Non-example: The class was in an uproar

Non-example: King snakes suffocate their prey.

Non-example: Speedy is keen to escape.

Writter's Workshop Lesson #6: Show, Don't Tell

Yesterday, we practiced a new skill in Writer's Workshop. We added the tool "Show, Don't Tell!" to our Writer's Toolbox. This was a fun one to work on!

Writer’s Workshop Lesson # 6

Show – Don’t Tell!

Good writers show the reader what they want him or her to understand.

Non-example	Example (1 of these!)
It’s a rainy day.	Rain dashed against the window. Rain drops splashed in the puddles on the street.
The principal is angry.	Megan’s eyes flashed as she roared at the kids sliding on the ice.
Kaleigh is a happy girl.	It’s Kaleigh’s birthday today, she is bouncing up and down, she is so excited. Kaleigh is so excited, the whole class stares as a huge smile spreads across her face. Kaleigh is jumping up and down with joy.
The degus are naughty.	The degus escaped and destroyed the computer mice. The degus are so naughty that they chewed through the wires of their cage and ran around the classroom all weekend. The degus darted around wildly with computer mice dangling from their jaws all weekend.

Now, your turn to practice:

Non-example: There was a big storm this weekend.

Non-example: Madi is funny when she plays our new Gym game.

Non-example: They found the treasure.

DRC-W Due Friiday

We have been hard at work on our December Restrictive Creative Writing tasks in class. Students used their ideas from Free Write to create a piece of creative writing which will be added to their anthologies (once our Draw Your World books arrive in the new year!).

The students decided to call this task the DRC-W "December Restrictive Creative Writing" because, together, we decided on some restrictions for our writing.

Students and I put together a rubric with a list of criteria (or restrictions) for the writing.

The rough draft is due tomorrow (Wednesday) in class. All students will revise and edit in class and the good copy is due on Friday.

Students who did not finish in class today will be bringing their Language books (decorated with graffitti duct tape) home tonight to work.

The criteria on the class-generated rubric:
-3 Writer's Workshop Tools (Tell It All, Say What You Mean, Put Muscles in Your Verbs, Pain Vivid Word Pictures)
-2 homonyms (words that are spelled the same and have different meanings)
-2 homophones (words that sound that same, have different meanings and are spelled differently)
-1 metaphor/simile
-4 Word Wall/Spelling Box words
-Revised: ARMS
-Edited: CUPS
-Good copy is clean
-Length - 1/2 page double spaced or longer
-Creative

Revise and Edit - Think ARMS and CUPS

Revise

Think ARMS

Add – sentences, words +

Remove – unneeded words, sentences -

Move – change a sentence or word placement

Substitute – trade words or sentences for others

Edit

Think CUPS

Capitalization – beginning of every sentence, proper nouns (specific names, titles), I

Usage – match nouns/verbs correctly (past, present or future, BE CONSISTENT!)

Punctuation – periods, quotes, commas, question marks, exclamation

            points

Spelling – check all words, use dictionary if needed

Writer's Workshop Lesson #5: Paint Vivid Word Pictures

Writer's Workshop Lesson #4: Invigorate Your Verbs

Today, we had our fourth Writer's Workshop lesson. Students did a remarkable job turning passive verbs into active verbs. They got this lesson WAY faster than I thought they would. They also used their other Writer's Workshop tools to make their sentences very interesting and make me, as a reader, want to read more!

Writer’s Workshop Lesson #4

Invigorate Your Verbs

Good writers use the active voice

Identify the passive verb form and use the active verb form, which will energize and give immediacy to your writing.

The “to be” verbs (is, are, was, were) often take us far away from the action.

Pay attention to who is doing the action and write the verb about that.

Non-example: The building was on fire.

Example: Fire tore through the burning building.

Non-example: We were kept awake by the barking dogs.

Non-example: “No Detective” was played by the band.

Non-example: Ants are eaten by nematodes.

Non-example: The students are lectured all day by the teacher.

Writer's Workshop Lesson #1: Put Muscles in Your Verbs

Writer's Workshop Lesson #2: Say What You Mean

Writer's Workshop Lesson #3: Tell It All!

The students of Room 209 continue to develop their writing in Writer's Workshop. Today, they added to their Writer's Toolboxes with a Writer's Workshop lesson about adding details to stories. I told a story from the point of view of a little boy at the first birthday party he ever attended. It was very exciting for him and I described what he saw, smelled, heard, felt and thought and then at the end, he was picked up and his mom asked what he did. He said, "Nothing." All the students could relate to the story and it helped get their own creative juices flowing!