EXPLODE that Sentence!!!

I was chatting with one of the cute moms at Writers Workshop this week and I LOVED the mini-lesson she did w/ her kiddos! I just HAD to share! :)  

She wrote some plain sentences on the board like... The cat sat on a rug.  Then she taught her kids to EXPLODE the sentence with description and meaning! They would end up with something like.... The sleepy, fat cat lazily sat on the colorful, soft rug.  Ok- her sentences were better than THAT, lol, but you get the idea.  And telling the kids to EXPLODE the sentence, well, it's just plain fun! What a GREAT way to get them engaged and excited about the mini-lesson.  And GREAT practice with their sentences! Way to go!!!

I have jotted this idea down as a mini-lesson I'm going to do this week.  I think I'm going to put THIS thank you dynamite out to decorate the table for the mini-lesson.  Then we of course will need to have a couple after we work on our sentences!!! :)

Have fun EXPLODING your sentences! 

Tips for Writers- Part 2

3. Have fun with writing. Play with words, use your imagination, and tune your ear for language that
tickles you. One student coined the term “sizzling pickles” for pleasing words and phrases that jump out
when you read them. Look for your own “sizzling pickles” and use them in your writing. And keep your
eyes and ears peeled—ideas and inspiration for writing are lurking everywhere.

4. Don’t be shy about passing your writing around—it’s good experience to get feedback from friends,
family, and writers you respect

Journal Writing

Ok, I'm in LOVE with THIS blog post!!! She did a GREAT job breaking down journal writing  into small steps for the younger kids.  And a FANTASTIC job helping the kids know what to write about!! I may tweak a few things to personalize it for my children....but this is a GREAT place to start!!!!

It also made me think of THIS idea that I have on my TO DO list to make this weekend. I was going to make Doodle Mat #1. I think it would be great for the kids to show their dad and talk about their day over dinner. Now I'm thinking I want to tie this in with their journal!! I also LOVED Doodle Mat #4! Every once and a while we do best and worsts around the dinner table.  I LOVE that the mat does two awesome things and one not so great thing.  Hmmmm... the wheels are turning over here!!

If you come up ideas from these posts, PLEASE SHARE!!! :)  I'd love to see how you are using them to support your cute kiddo's journal writing!!

Pen Pals ARE HERE! :)

It's time for PEN PALS!!! :)  I ask that if you decide to write a pen pal, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure you are going to commit.  Several of the mom's said they had pen pals before but they would never write! :(


Here is how this works.


         I've divided up the pen pals by yahoo groups.  These are some of the yahoo group I subscribe to and it is where I advertised and found the pen pals from. I thought that would be helpful as far as to quickly see if your family has something in common with theirs.  Ambleside is one of the places I got pen pals from.  If you use their curriculum, it may be fun to have a pen pal who is doing the same thing.


          Read through the description of each child. If you find a match for your child let me know and I will send you their personal information.  Please try to drop a letter in the mail this week.  I have NOT put the child's name or address on the blog to protect their private information.  So all you will need to send me is the letter for that child.  You are MORE THAN WELCOME to have more than one pen pal!!! It might be nice to give your child those options to see which one your child will connect with.


HAVE FUN!!!!!!!


LDS HOMESCHOOL

A
Age 15
Birthday: June 28, 1996
Address: Farmington, NM 
Info: She is very bubbly and outgoing and loves to collect friends. She is very much into fashion and loves to read. She wants to be a Marine Biologist. She loves listening to music.
 

B

My daughter has been wanting a pal since we moved away from all her cousins. She would love this! And it will be great for her writing skills. Here's our info:

Age: 6
Birthday:  9/9/05
Address: Cedar City, UT 

Info: McKinley loves swimming & dolls. She loves camping & fishing. She is a really great reader & loves to read. She also loves to write & use her imagination. She loves animals - especially her 2 dogs, Tundra & Sydney.And her younger sisters - Ireland & Kezia. 

Note: My daughter has been wanting a pal since we moved away from all her cousins. She would love this! And it will be great for her writing skills.

C

Age: 4

Birthday: December 8, 2006

Address: Tooele, UT

Info: She is learning ballet. She loves camping, animals, and learning geography. She has a little brother. She's feminine and usually wears dresses or skirts instead of pants.

WORKBOX GROUP


D
Age: 9
Birthday: 7/23/02
Address: San Antonio, Tx
Info: He loves legos, dinosaurs, and super heroes.  He likes to read and draw.  He also wants to learn to play the drums  is trying to learn to pay the guitar.


*E, F, G are siblings*


E
Age: 8
Birthday Aug. 31, 2003
Address: Summerville, SC
Info: loves to read, horses, American Girl dolls, crafts


F
Age: 5
Birthday: December 2, 2005
Address: Summerville SC
Info: learning to read and write, cars, motorcycles, coloring, sports, power tools, loves being outside, typical boy. :)


G
Age: 4
Birthday: May 2, 2007
Address: Summerville SC
Info: loves cars, motorcycles, planes, power tools, being outside, typical boy. :)


E, F, G Note: Thank you so much!!!  We have signed up for penpals many a times and we have only received one letter in return :(  Praying this time is different!!!  My 8 yo writes a letter every Wednesday ad has done so since January, but no one seems to write back :(


*H and I are siblings*

H

Age: 10, 11 on November 8

Girl

Address: Brentwood, CA

Likes horses

I

Age: 8

Boy

Address: Brentwood, CA

Loves legos

J

Hi Lori. My son would like to have a Pen Pal who is 5 or so years old. My son is learning to write and this would help make it fun. He is very interested in learning about new places and is a great swimmer. I don't know what all you want to know to pair him up with someone. Let me know.

I will need to email her and she will give me the info when he is paired up with someone.

K

Age: 11
Birthday: 08/05/00
Address: Travelers Rest, SC
Info: She LOVES animals and to read.  She is the youngest, by 10 years, of 4 girls. She is NOT a girly girl.

Notes- She will be very excited…I have tried to get her a pen-pal 3 times and it hasn’t worked out.

Ok- I can't seem to get rid of these lines on the bottom.  I'm taking a much needed break for the night and I'll post the rest on Friday! :)

Today's Mini-Lesson- American Fork

We had a lot of fun with our mini-lessons today and I wanted to share!

For the YOUNGER GROUP I covered the importance of having a beginning, middle, and end to their stories.  I had a stack of hamburgers in the center of the table.  I told the kids that I was going to tell them three stories today. I asked if they wanted a hamburger while they listened to them.  They, of course, said yes.  I gave one child the top of a hamburger, one the meat, one the pickles and onions, and one the bottom of the burger.  lol- they looked at me a little shocked! I then told them the first story.

It was a true story about something that happened to me at the zoo. I told them all about my trip and then what happened when an alligator became upset with me.  We talked about how he opened his mouth up VERY wide, every so slowly... and then all at once he came charging toward me.  And then I said, "Then End"

Now it was time for the second story. I started this story by saying, "And we were laughing and laughing because that joke was SO funny!!!! We ended up going on lots of rides at the carnival and had a great time! The End"

Then I told the third story.  I started out by telling about how excited I was when I woke up because I knew that I would be going to a party that day.  I got dressed in my cute party clothes and curled my hair.  It was such a fun party.  By then I was so tired I went to bed.  The End

HAHAHAHAHA- the sweet, cute kids looked at me as if I had lost my marbles.  I think their exact words were, "Ummm... those stories were horrible. And we really would like a whole hamburger."  HEEHEE!!! I asked them to tell my WHY they wanted the WHOLE hamburger... and WHY on earth didn't they like my stories?  They picked up on it REALLY quick and were able to articulate what was missing in each area!

Stories are like a hamburger, we want a beginning, middle, and end.... not just a PART of it. Not only do we want a WHOLE hamburger or story.... .but we want JUICY hamburgers with LOTS of yummy stuff added!! We discussed several different ways to add the JUICY details!! Sensory description, conflict/resolution, etc.

I gave each child three index cards.  They were to go and write a story putting the beginning on one, middle on the other, and end on the last.  Then they were to mix the cards up and see if their mom or friend could unscramble the story!

For the OLDER GROUP we practiced writing a first draft. We briefly spoke about what a first draft means.   We talked about how you just write, write, write to get all your ideas out on paper! After that discussion we decided to practice.  I would show a picture and each child had ONE MINUTE to write a story based on the photo.  They didn't have to finish the story... they just needed to work on it and get a much down on paper that they could in that one minute. OH. MY. GOODNESS. These kids were AMAZING!!!! We had a BLAST with this activity.  After each picture we would go around the circle and read what we had written and then we started again.  I also took SUPER FUN Halloween game cards and placed those on the table for the kids to make a story from .  SO, SO, SO, FUN!!! This kids really make this group the AMAZING group it is!!! Their assignment for the week was to pick one of the stories they started and finish the first draft. :)

Halloween Writing Game

Have you ever played the ABC game where you pretend you are going on a trip and need to think of an item to bring with you that begins with each letter of the alphabet? For example, the first person would decide an item for the letter A.  They would say, "I'm going on a camping trip and I'm going to take with me an APPLE" Then the second person would repeat what the first person said and then come up with something for the letter B.  For example, "I'm going on a camping trip and I'm going to take with me an APPLE and a BANDANNA."  You go around and around the circle trying to remember and come up with ideas for each letter of the alphabet. 

Why not change this game into a Halloween writing activity!!  Tell your kids you are going to take a trip but you need their help packing.  You can decided on a place to travel to or an activity to do. You could say that you are going on a trip and you will be sleeping in a haunted house and you need to think of items to take with you.  OR you could say that you are heading to battle to destroy all the zombies on the planet.  Have fun with this and think of things that would be most appealing to your child.  Then begin the game.  The only rule you have is that you can NOT say the item you are adding to the list, you just need to write it down.  For example, If we had been playing the game for a while and it was my turn, this is what I would do.

I would SAY..

I'm going on a camping trip to a swamp and I'm going to bring with me

A- an axe to cut though all the vines

B- baseball bat to help protect me from the SWAMP MONSTER! EEK!

C- can of silly string to spray on an alligators to blind him while I run away!

D- doll to cuddle with when I am scared

and then it's my turn to think of something and my letter is E.  I would WRITE on the paper

E- envelopes to mail a letter if I need to send for help!

Sorry- those aren't the best ideas... but it's all I've got at 2:00am! Another way to play the game is to NOT repeat the list each time.  Just pass the paper back and forth between you and your child as you work your way through the list.  

If you play this game I would LOVE to hear where you went or what adventure you had and PLEASE don't forget to post the lists!!

ENJOY! 

Tips for Writers Part 1

1.As with any skill, writing gets better the more we do it.  Let your child see you write often and encourage him/her to write often, too.  Writing might include e-mails, instant messaging, thank-you notes, scrapbook 
descriptions, diaries, and what’s-for-dinner notes. 

2.We write differently for each audience.  Encourage your child to expand his range and abilities by writing for many different audiences.  He could try a letter to the editor or to a legislator, a silly story for his younger
sister, or a “list of ten” to cheer up a sick friend. (I LOVE these ideas!)
               

                                                         --NCTE                 

Scary Story Contest at American Fork Library

Scary Story Contest

Entries accepted until October 22, 2011

Awards announced on October 27, 2011

Submission Guidelines:

- Entries must be neatly typed and double-spaced on one side of           

8 ½" X 11" white paper. Legible photocopies are acceptable. We are

encouraging you to illustrate your story with original art work if 

you desire. You may submit more than one entry.

- Submit each entry with an entry form and the required $3.00 entry 

fee.  (The attached form may be copied as necessary.)

- Author's name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript.

- Each page of the manuscript should have the title and a page 

number.

- Keep duplicates of all submitted entries. Friends of the Library is not

responsible for any lost or misdirected work.

- Judging decisions are final.

- Awards will be announced in the Children's Library on Thursday, 

Oct 27th, 2011 (7:00 P.M.) Manuscripts will be returned at that time.

- Deadline: Entries must be received no later than

Saturday, October 22th, 2011. Entries received after the 

deadline will not be judged.

- Stories may not exceed 3,000 words (approximately 12 doublespaced pages)

- We encourage clever stories that build suspense and mystery. While

scary, chilling puzzles are desirable, graphic depictions of violence are

discouraged. Humorous tales are always welcome! 

2011 Scary Story Contest Entry Form

Good luck!!!

Mini-Lesson: Adding Detail

I'm sad I didn't see this mini-lesson in action!! I heard about it second hand from my kiddo's so I hope I get it right!

One of our cute moms hid different objects in paper bags. One object to a paper bag.  She then paired each child up with a partner.  One was supposed to look inside their bag and see what they object was.  Then they needed to describe it to their partner without saying what it was.  The partner needed to guess what the object was. My son got a yellow pencil in his bag.  

What a GREAT way to help kids practice describing things and gain ideas on how to use descriptive words in their writing!!!

Mini-Lesson: Create a Character

Here is the list of questions I used with the Provo group to help them create a character.  We didn't make it through the list so I told them I would post it here!

Step 1- Create a fictional character and answer the following questions about him/her.

1. What is the character's name?
2. Where was s/he born and raised?
3. What is his/her religion and ethnicity?
4. Briefly (though don't get bogged down with cosmetics), what does s/he look like? Fat, thin, tall, short, muscular, flabby, gray, bald?
5. What does s/he believe in?
6. Where has s/he failed or triumphed?
7. Is s/he married, single, divorced?
8. What kind of work does s/he do? Is s/he happy or discontented with it?
9. What are his/her hobbies? Sports? TV?
10. Is s/he neat or is s/he a slob? In order to establish this on paper, you might wish to describe clothing, closet, a drawer of his/her desk, or the trunk of his/her car.
11. Can your mind picture your character making something? Can you see him/her using a simple tool, perhaps, to shape the hull of a mode clipper ship?
12. How do his/her hands behave? Relate them to the tangible things that surround him/her?
13. Is s/he musical? Is there one special instrument that s/he plays well or badly? Does s/he play it alone, for him/herself, or can s/he jam it up for an audience of friends or strangers?
14. What was his/her school and schooling like? Who was the teacher s/he respected and why?
15. What are the events, items, pets, pals that s/he remembers for years?
16. What are his/her idiosyncrasies? Odd habits? Quirks? Pet Peeves?
17. Other than memories, what are the tangible trinkets s/he saves and treasures from his/her past?
18. Is s/he witty? If so, you cannot tell your readers that s/he is instead, you must let the character show that s/he is witty.
19. How does s/he drive a car, tie a tie, gargle? Does s/he cough often, snore, hum, whistle?
20. Read the editorial page of your newspaper and choose which opinions s/he agrees with or disputes? Does s/he argue bitterly, silently, or to anyone who will listen?
21. What is his/her goals? Whom does s/he dream about, yearn for, hate?

Step 2- Once you have answered these questions, create a character sketch which incorporates answers to each of these questions. The answers need not appear in the order of the questions.

Step 3- Read your character sketch to someone. Have the person who is listening jot down unanswered questions and inconsistencies in the character as sketched.

Step 4- Use your character sketch to write a short scenario which focuses on one portion or segment of the character's life.  The vignette must contain narration and dialogue. It must include showing details which bring to life the chosen scene.  It must also convey a sense of the character by using a gesture or mannerism symbolizing one aspect of his/her personality.

Writing Binders

Some of the cute kids do not have their tabs filled out in their binders.  Here are some ideas for you to write on their tabs.

Journal Writing
Mini-Lessons
Writing Propts
Pre-Writing
Drafting
Revising
Editing
Publishing
Working On
Done
(the last two tabs are best for young students)

It's important that the child personalizes his binder as well.  For example, my cute son wanted to divide his writings up into categories.  He has a tab for action, mystery, humor,  etc.  He is starting to see that some of his stories overlap both the categories, which is fine, but he eventually figures out where he wants it to go! :)

So have fun personalizing your binders and the tabs.  The sky is the limit! :)  If your child writes something different on his/her tab than what we have posted above, please share in the comments!

PROVO GROUP - Oct. 6th

There will be NO mini-lesson on Oct. 6th. We are having a guest speaker..and she is AMAZING!!! :)

Make a Movie

There is a super creative boy in one of the groups that is doing the coolest project! He is writing his own movie for his family to act out and record! What a GREAT way to get a child excited about writing- and a SUPER FUN, MEMORY MAKING way to publish it! When I chatted with him this week he told me he is even working on his own commercial to advertise the movie! BRILLIANT!! I was SO EXCITED about his wonderful idea and I wanted to share!

In fact, while doing personal scripture study with one of my own children I realized that many of the stories and teachings were not sticking with him.  I thought back to this wonderful idea and I asked my sweet child if he would like to do that with one of  his stories-- and he jumped all over the idea and has already begun the project!  I know he will learn the stories so much better using this idea!

Monster Cafe

Have you ever wondered what a monster would eat? What about Frankenstein or a witch? What would they LOVE to eat for dinner? Monster Cafe is a SUPER FUN activity for young kids or a reluctant writer, and with Halloween right around the corner it's the PERFECT time for this activity! Have your child(ren) design a menu for the Monster Cafe- or Frankenstein's Diner, etc.  Have them design and write the menu which needs to include two appetizers, two main courses, two desserts, and two beverages. You can take it even one step further and decided what you would really serve for those dishes.. and then eat it on Halloween night!!! :D

Example:
Appetizers- Monster Toes (Cocktail Wieners w/ a Red Ketchup Finger Nail)
Beverages- Poison Ivy Sap (Apples Cider with Gummy Worms)

lol- ok, so my creative juices are not flowing right now!! But there is no doubt that a child could come up with some AMAZING ideas!!!

Have FUN creating your menu's! If you do this activity with your child(ren), PLEASE post your menus in the comments!! I'd love to see what you came up with!

Blog Posts

Parents,

      I would LOVE to see you post your mini-lessons on here if possible. They can be mini-lessons from class or ones that you are using at home with your own kids. I would love to have lots of ideas put together for future writers workshops! :)  THANKS for all your work and CREATIVE ideas!! We've already had many FANTASTIC mini-lessons already!

End-of-Semester Workshop Book

I would like to put together a class book for the end of our semester.  Please help your kids select ONE writing that they would like published for all to take home.  I will need ALL writings submitted to me by the first week in November. THANKS for all your help with this!!! Your kids are FANTASTIC and I'm glad we can work together!

Word for Word Game

This game came from a woman named Peggy Kaye. I LOVE the games and ideas she has! We've had a lot of fun with them!

Word for Word Game
     
                You first choose a title of a story for your game.  It should describe a little about what the story will be about. An idea for a title would be, The Mad Scientist Strikes Again or Hunting for Dinosaurs.

                Once you decide on your title you are ready to begin! Both you and your child will write this story together.  So, how do you decide who will write what? DICE! lol! Mom, you roll the dice first.  If you roll a four, that means you write the first for words of the story.  Not three words or five words, FOUR! :) For example,
                 
                      This morning I went

                  Now, hand the die to your child and let them roll.  If they roll a one they are only allowed to write ONE word.  For example,

                      This morning I went FOR

                   Then you roll again.  Continue through the game to the end of the story.  Make sure you put the focus on the writing and the fun of the game, NOT spelling, handwriting, etc.  You don't want to kill the fun! :) (trust me, I made that mistake once. :S) Make sure you do not let you or your child write more than the number on the dice.... it can be tough when you have lots of ideas, but it adds to the fun and keeps everyone excited!!!

Have some writing fun!!! :)


                                         

Great Website!

Writing Fix is one of my favorite websites for mini-lessons. I also love the Two Writing Teachers blog.  They always inspire me! I have several other writing ideas that I would love to share with you-- but that will not happen until this weekend! :)

Schedule

This Fall we are discussing the writing process and then in Spring we will cover the six traits.  Below you will find the Fall schedule and your mini-lesson topic

AF
9-7 Lori Willard
9-14 Christy- pre-writing
9-21 Haley Lewis- pre-writing
9-28 Karen Erickson- drafting
10-5 Michele Baird- drafting
10-12 Annette Keeler- revising
10-19 Kendra Hales-revising
10-26 Heleen Wittusen-editing
11-2 Penny Chinchay-editing
11-9 Cheri Schulzke- publishing- or your choice
11-16 Writing Games and Party- Pass out class books!

Provo

9-8 Lori Willard
9-15 Nickie Alan- pre-writing
9-22 Melanie Vaughn- pre-writing
9-29 Rebecca Davidson- drafting
10-6 Kelley Atwood- drafting
10-13 Dee Dee Forward- revising
10-20 Nickie Alan- revising
10-27 Melanie Vaughn- editing
11-3 Rebecca Davidson- editing
11-10 Kelley Atwood- publishing- or your choice
11-17 Writing Games and Party- Pass out class books!

fun blank books

http://www.barebooks.com/
This site has really fun, blank books for kids to put their writing & stories in.  Lined, & unlined pages, templates to add lines on just the pages you want, board books, tons of stuff.  Very reasonably priced too!

Color Coordinated Traits!

I found this FANTASTIC idea for when you are revising and editing a piece of work! ENJOY!!! :)

Color Coordinated Traits! by LaRae Kendrick

Online Creative Writers Workshop ON SALE

I ran across an online CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP while browsing the other day. We have NEVER taken one of these classes so I can't give a review.  It does seem to be well thought out though, so I thought I would pass it along! :D  ENJOY!

Fanciful Fiction! Creative Writing Workshop

Ages 10-14

$55 in two payments

Second Payment Due By October 15th

9 sessions

September 20 - November 8

Tuesdays - 11:00 am Central

This is a writing workshop that will inspire your children's imagination and creativity.   Students will be writing four short stories based on the same "Fanciful Fiction Challenges" and will have the opportunity to then read what other students have written and offer feedback during workshop sessions. 

What is a Fanciful Fiction Challenge?

The challenge is made up of a theme for the story, the "Cardinal Cast" (person/people), the "Whimsical Whereabouts" (location) and the "Groovy Gadget" (thing/things.)  

For example:

Theme - Traveling

Cardinal Cast - a ship's captain

Whimsical Whereabouts - Egypt

Groovy Gadget - chewing gum

Students will aim to write the most creative and entertaining story that includes the elements of the challenge while keeping to 800 words or less.  Specific guidelines will be given during our first workshop session.

Workshop Sessions:  Students will meet in a CurrClick Live classroom approximately 60 minutes.

We will have a lesson focus and small group activity, followed by the students helping to choose the next story challenge. The club sessions following a completed story will include the reading of 2-4 student stories (with permission) to the class and the class offering their praise of what the author did well.

Lesson Focus:

Week 1 - Character Development

Week 2 - Revising Session

Week 3 - Setting

Week 4 - Revising Session

Week 5 - Plot

Week 6 - Revising Session

Week 7 - Dialogue

Week 8 - Revising Session

Week 9 - Author Celebration!

The revising sessions will consist of 3-4 students working together in a breakout room.  These small groups will read through each other's stories, offering feedback and constructive criticism. Students will then have until the following Monday to make changes on their stories before submitting a final version to me for review.

I will review the final version of each story (four total) in Microsoft Word with constructive comments, editing and lots of compliments. This is an opportunity to have your child's writing reviewed by another person to help them gain confidence in their strengths and become aware of the areas for growth.  I take a lot of time going over each individual story so that I can encourage and yet motivate the author toward continual improvement.

Upon the completion of the fourth and final story, students will submit their favorite story of the four they have written.  The stories will then be sent out to the class in a pdf file for the class to vote for their favorite overall, as well as their favorite in each of these four categories: best character development, best setting, best plot and best dialogue.  The winners of the vote will be announced during our final class session where will we have an Author's Celebration honoring the creativity and hard work of each of our fabulous authors.

***Following the class, the students will each have a story of their choice compiled in an eBook format that will be made available for download on CurrClick.  They will be published authors!

Each student will receive a Certificate of Achievement for their participation in this workshop.

Class size is limited to 20 students.

The live workshop sessions* will be held in the CurrClickLive Virtual Classroom.  A computer, headset/speakers and a high-speed internet connection are required. Instructions for using the virtual classroom will be provided upon purchase.

*The large group workshop sessions will be recorded with the link to the recording emailed to all club members following the meeting.  However, small group sessions are not able to be recorded.

If you have any questions about the class, please feel free to email me atdina@applesofgoldonlineacademy.com.