Make your writing blow people away.
Schmidt opens the chapter with these mouth-watering (for me, anyway) words: "Some kids love to write. The verbal/linguistic region of their brain is positively teeming with polysyllables and highly polished phrases snatched from the radio, pilfered from adult conversations, or hoovered up during your last read-aloud session. These kids have an insatiable appetite for paper, as long as there's a pencil nearby. You know who they are - the ones who linger in the room at recess time, pouring intense, secret thoughts into their journals. Or write a class play, even though you're not in the market for one" (113).
Skinny to Steroids When we begin a new Spelling unit, we do a 'Stretch It' exercise that runs along the same lines as this exercise. This week's sample sentence is "They observed it." We normally do this on the board together as a class. I ask the students to answer five questions: who? what/which? when? where? and how? Here is an example of how the exercise goes:
- Who? The twins, Bobby and Billy, observed it.
- What/Which? The twins, Bobby and Billy, observed the bats.
- When? Late last night, the twins, Bobby and Billy, observed the vampire bats.
- Where? Late last night, the twins, Bobby and Billy, observed the vampire bats from the observatory deck at Brookfield Zoo.
- Why? Late last night, the twins, Bobby and Billy, observed the vampire bats from the observatory deck at Brookfield Zoo because they had won an exclusive all-night pass to spend the night in the Bat House.
This is a really great exercise that I use quite frequently in class. The students also have a great time completing it. Some students choose to write an additional sentence on their own, which is great.
There's a Jewel While I always try to compliment and encourage my students, there is always room for more. I really like this exercise because if I call students' work out, two things happen: first, the writer feels like what he or she is doing is wonderilf, and second, the other members in the class see that if a classmate can write so well, so can they. It is also my goal to maintain a safe writing environment for my students. If I can not only teach but show my students that their writing is welcome in our classroom, I feel that my Hemingway's, Gaimon's, Shakespeare's, and [fill in the blank] will come into the light.
I have bookmarked this chapter and intend to use as many of the writing activities as I can throughout the remainder of the semester!
Great post Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteYou are a descriptive writer and I can see your passion for it. I'm so glad Schmidt gave you ideas which you hope to use this semester.
I look forward to reading about which ideas you used and how successful they are!
Dr. Meyer
Professor,
DeleteThank you for your comment. On Monday, we did the Skinny to Steroids activity. In one class, I put this sentence on the board: "She created the original." We completed this exercise together as a class. Here is what the students came up with:
"On October 20, 1942, Princess Rainicora created the original Coach purse in the movie theater because Princess Bubblegum was desperately in need for a new purse."
I'm not sure if I told you this, but I have been visiting Professor Boerman-Cornell since I was a junior in high school. We would meet once a week to work on my creative writing and to read stories together. I will always remember the constant effort and encouragement he gave me, and I feel it is my duty to do the same for my students. I've found that if I show compassion toward something we are doing in class, my students will tend to take the lessons more to heart. It's simply wonderful watching my students throw themselves into assignments.