SmallWorld: Wordsmithery

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Thursday, October 13, 2011

SmallWorld's WordSmithery Lesson 11: Advertising

The WordSmithery is back! Yes, I know it's been a year since my last lesson, and I apologize to those of you who have been waiting patiently. But let's get started!

If you are brand new here, I recommend that you go back and start at the beginning. My goal with the WordSmithery is to make creative writing exciting for writers of all ages. Here's what we've covered so far:

As always, this lesson is loosely scripted. You might eliminate some things or add others as you go. I try to put the "speaking" parts in regular type and the answers in italics. And remember: parents/teacher: you should be doing the assignments, too! Go back and read the first couple of lessons to find out why. Here we go! (This lesson is rather long. I'd recommend doing it in a couple of days rather than all at once.) I think you can download and print the whole WordSmithery Lesson 11 here on googledocs. If that doesn't work for you, you can copy and paste the lesson below into a Word doc for ease in teaching.

Before you begin this lesson, you will need to find examples of advertising in magazines, coupon flyers, etc. You can do a google image search for "magazine advertisements" and find all kinds of examples if you don't have any magazines at home.

You might also wish to preview TV ads on youtube and pick out a few appropriate ones for your kids to watch. This page lists the most popular TV commercials, but please preview before you show your kids!

Lesson 11: Advertising

Up to this point we have been concentrating on various tools that writers: metaphor, simile, strong verbs, exciting adjectives. Language and words are the building blocks for all writing. Any good writer of fiction or nonfiction knows how to use words—to make words do the work for them.

We are going to move now into writing nonfiction. We talked in the last lesson about different types of nonfiction like biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, newspaper articles, etc. Today we are going to talk about a special kind of creative writing that should be nonfiction but often borders on fiction!

Where can advertising can be found? (Allow for discussion: TV, radio, newspaper, magazines, internet, etc.) What about more subtle forms of advertising? (discuss things like t-shirts, backpacks, shopping bags, buses, cars, billboards)

• Do you enjoy TV commercials? What are you favorite TV commercials? Why? (allow for discussion) What about your least favorite TV commercial? Why? (allow for discussion)

• Do you like reading ads in magazines and newspapers? (discuss)

What about the ads that pop up on the computer when you are playing games (or Facebook for older students)? Are you ever tempted to click on them?

What is the purpose of advertising? (to sell something). Is everyone going to be attracted to the same kind of ad? (No. Briefly discuss how ads are targeted differently according to age groups, gender, etc.)

• What does poetry—words— have to do with advertising? (You have to get people to FEEL in order to want to buy.)

Advertisements that trigger an emotional response can grab an audience by the heart, hold their attention, and leave them with a warm and cozy feeling about the company, product or service. Warm feelings can translate into money.

This handout describes the different kinds of techniques used in the advertising world. (The link should take you to the handout in google docs. But here is another hand-out in case that one doesn't work for you.) Let’s go over these and see if you can find examples or think of examples. (Provide copies of magazine, newspaper, etc ads. Talk about what you see in them and how the techniques are used in them.) • Look particularly for words that might trigger an emotional response in the reader. (Together, make a list of those words in a journal or on your white board.)

The next lesson will include more about advertising. Until then, encourage your students to pay attention to the persuasive words and techniques used in advertising, especially to print ads.

Journal Writing

Day 1: Describe a food that you had today as if you were advertising it in a magazine geared toward parents.

(Example: Cheerios. What parent doesn’t want simply the best? )

Day 2: Describe the same food in Day 1 or choose a different one and describe it as if you were advertising it in a magazine geared toward kids.

(Example: Cheerios. Eat a bowl for breakfast and your mom will let you eat a treat later! And they taste great, too!)

Day 3: Describe a current TV or radio commercial that you really like or dislike. Be specific!

Day 4: Describe your dream vacation in a few short sentences.

(Example: My dream vacation would be a summertime tour through the UK and Germany. I’d like to visit castles, cathedrals, and every famous building. I would want a lot of money and my whole family with me.)

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I'd love to see what you're writing! Leave us a sample in the comments, or share your writing here. (Be sure to include which lesson you are sharing!)

Hope you enjoyed this week's WordSmithery! One more thing: if you are enjoying SmallWorld's WordSmithery, help me spread the word by copying the button below and putting it on your own blog post or your sidebar, and/or pin me on Pinterest! Thanks!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

WordSmithery Week 10: Writing About Self

As always, this lesson is loosely scripted. You might eliminate some things or add others as you go. As you know if you are a regular here, I try to put the "speaking" parts in regular type and the answers in italics. And remember: parents/teacher: you should be doing the assignments, too! Go back and read the first couple of lessons to find out why. Here we go! (This lesson is rather long. I'd recommend doing it in a couple of days rather than all at once.)

Week 10: Writing About Self

Up until now we have mostly been writing poetry and learning how to make exciting sentences and descriptions. Now we are going to talk about another kind of creative writing: nonfiction. What does nonfiction mean? (something that is true)

What are some types of nonfiction? (biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, newspaper articles, research papers, etc.) What about advertising? Is that a kind of writing? Would you call that fiction or nonfiction? (wait for answers and discuss)

When we think of non-fiction, we often think of writing that deals with facts, sometimes with almost nothing besides the facts. Nonfiction doesn't have to be only facts, however. You can be as creative in writing nonfiction as you are in writing fiction or poetry. In fact, writers have come up with a special category for this kind of non-fiction: creative non-fiction. You are mostly going to write about yourself, actually.

What are the first things that we need when we write? (words) Over the next few weeks I want you to be really good observers. I want to you to really look at people and places and try to form descriptive phrases in your head.

This week you are going to do a self-portrait. Back in Week 4, you wrote a poem called Self-Portrait.

You are going to really observe yourself this week, and you are going to describe yourself in writing. You are going to write more than just FACTS about yourself. More than just: my hair is black, my eyes are blue. Instead, you are going to write a creative self-portrait.

Listen to the difference between these two:

I am 12 years old. I have black hair and brown eyes. I am 5 feet tall. I like to read and hike. I like to eat pasta. My am wearing blue. My name is Kelly.

What does that tell you? (Facts about this person.)

Now listen to this.

Everyone says I look like my mother, except my mother, who says I look like my father. I suppose like most people I am a blend of both my parents, a little of my mother in the eyes (those hers are blue and mine brown) and face, and some of my father in the mouth and nose. I like to wear jeans, a sweatshirt and my hiking boots. My wear my long hair in braids. I always wear a gold cross necklace. My grandparents gave me the necklace when I was five-year-old when I visited them, and it's one of my prized possessions. My favorite meal is my mom’s spaghetti and meatballs, with garlic bread and broccoli. I’d top off that meal with a creamy cheesecake and chocolate sauce.

Do you get the idea? Instead of just reporting the facts, we add interesting bits of information when we write creative nonfiction. We tell a story while we tell the facts.

Let's do a little exercise to help you get to know yourself better. You are going to work on comparing yourself today with your “old” self. Think about what you used to look like, or what you used to like to do, hobbies, beliefs, fears, preferences, etc.

Then write in this form:

I used to be…

But now I am…

I used to be…

But now I am…

For instance

I used wear glasses… but now I wear contacts.

I used to wear braces… but now my teeth are straight

I used to ride a bike… but now I drive a car.

I used to sleep with 22 stuffed animals…But now I just sleep with my bear.

(Do these until they can't think of any more.)

We’re going to do another exercise here to get you started. Here is a portrait of a person. This is a self portrait by the artist Pablo Picasso. Let’s look at this person and describe him:

Look at his hair: What does it look like? What color is it? How is it combed? Is it curly, straight? Does it look as if it needs washing? (Write as they say it)

Eyes:

Nose:

Mouth:

Shape of face:

So what can you tell about this man from his face? Does he look happy? Is he scared of something? Is he mad? I think his eyes hold great sadness. (Let them talk about this for awhile.)

I’m going to give you all your writing assignment now for next week. Try to write at least 5 sentences, but write as much as you can! (Have students work on this all week.)

Nonfiction Self-Portrait Assignment, Week 10

Describe yourself in writing.

Remember to write more than just the facts. Try to use metaphors and/or similes. You might describe how you look, your favorite clothes, how you feel today, your favorite activity, etc. Try looking at yourself in a mirror while you do this assignment!

Example: My eyes are as brown as an M&M. My hair is the color of straw and feels soft as cat’s fur. My forehead is creased because I have a headache, and my eyebrows look kind of mad. When I laugh, my cheeks bunch up like crabapples or plums. I am wearing a pair of jeans that is too stiff, but my sweater is warm as an afghan. When I awoke this morning, I found that the dog had eaten my whole pack of Juicy Fruit gum, and this has made me cranky. I live in a brick house that has room for many.

Week 10 Journal Assignment: Observing Details

Day 1: Describe what you see when you look out your bedroom window. Use at least one complete sentence.

(Example: The leaves are brown and falling off the trees. The neighbor, dressed in a sweatsuit and slippers, is getting his newspaper.)

Day 2: Describe what you are wearing right now. Are you comfortable or uncomfortable? Is there an article of clothing you wish you could change?

(Example: I am wearing my oldest sweats: an old blue sweatshirt and my paint-stained gray sweatpants. The only problem is that my socks have bumps in the toes. I wish I could find the perfect pair of socks!)

Day 3: Describe your mother or father in a few short sentences.

(Example: My mother is tired this evening. She has been busy all day, packing to go on a trip. I can see by her heavy-lidded eyes that she wants nothing more than to crawl into bed.)

Day 4: Describe your dream vacation in a few short sentences.

Friday, March 12, 2010

SmallWorld's WordSmithery: Lesson 9: Poetry Collage

I apologize that many of the PDF files can't be downloaded. I don't know what's up with this, but I'll try to go back and fix them when I remember (which will be challenging). In the meantime, you can always cut and past the lessons into your own Word file.

This lesson will be a bit different from the regular ones. I'm not really a huge fan of form poetry, but I think it deserves more than just one lesson. Also, I think form poetry is a great way to get kids writing. There is something satisfying about counting out 17 syllables or finding all the words that rhyme with "banana."

So in this lesson we'll continue to explore various types of form poetry but with an artistic twist. You'll need a construction paper, markers or crayons, scissors, and glue or tape for this lesson. To begin with, go back to Lesson 8 and review various types of Form Poetry. Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of Lesson 8 to read some fun poems. Giggle Poetry has an especially good selection.

Now, pick a theme. I think it is the most fun to do one collage together and then have each child (and you, parent) do a separate collage. When I teach this in a class, I divide students up into groups of about four and have them pick a theme. Some ideas: the current season, an upcoming holiday, any sort of animal, food—the possibilities are endless. After you pick your theme, compose several different poems in a variety of forms. Be creative! Use lots of colors, paper, etc.

My nine-year-old did the poem collage below. He picked his favorite topic, candy. (Yes, I know that "candy's" should be "candies" but we don't worry about spelling errors at this point in the game, remember?) His forms include an acrostic, a haiku, an ode, and a simple ABAB rhyme scheme.

The next two were done in my creative writing classes. The first is a series of haiku done by mostly nine-year-old girls…

And this group chose "nature" as its theme:

You will, of course, want to frame these when they are done and treasure them forever.

So that's it for Lesson 9! Get out the paper, scissors and glue and have fun! Journal writings are included below. As always, do them alone or do them together, but keep writing!

Lesson 9 Journal Writings: Just Imagine

Day 1: Imagine you owned your own store. What would you call it and what would you sell?

Day 2: Imagine you had a round trip ticket to anywhere in the world. Where would you go? How long would you stay? Why did you choose this place?

Day 3: Imagine you won a $1000 shopping spree to any store. Which store would it be and what would you buy?

Day 4: Imagine you are accidentally locked in the library at night. What will you do?

Day 5: Imagine you are a cat or a dog. What would you look like and what kind of cat/dog would you be?

One more thing: if you are enjoying SmallWorld's WordSmithery, help me spread the word by copying the button below and putting it on your own blog post or your sidebar! Thanks!

Friday, January 8, 2010

SmallWorld's WordSmithery: Form Poetry

It's time for another WordSmithery lesson!

If you are brand new here, I recommend that you go back and start at the beginning. My goal with the WordSmithery is to make creative writing exciting for writers of all ages. Here's what we've covered so far:

Lesson #1: Introduction and Journals
Lesson #2: Introduction to Creative Writing, Featuring Good Words
Lesson #3: Using Powerful Words to Create More Interesting Writing
Lesson #4: Similes
Lesson #5: Metaphors and Strong Verbs
Lesson #6: Alliteration and Spring Flowers (or Fall Leaves)

Lesson #7: Writing About the Weather

I also have a place for you to share your kids' writing and read other kids' writing to your children: Share Your Writing! I encourage you to share there or link back to your own blog. My kids love to read what your kids have written!

One more thing: if you are enjoying SmallWorld's WordSmithery, help me spread the word by copying the button on my sidebar and putting it on your own! Thanks!

And now for Lesson #8: Form Poetry. As always, this lesson is loosely scripted. You might eliminate some things or add others as you go.

As you know if you are a regular here, I try to put the "speaking" parts in regular type and the answers in italics. And remember: parents/teacher: you should be doing the assignments, too! Go back and read the first couple of lessons to find out why. Here we go!

Lesson 8: Form Poetry

We’re going to look at some form poems this week. Most poets do not use form poetry, but some write only in form poetry. What do I mean by form poetry? Poetry that follows a particular pattern. Do you know the names of any forms? (Cinquain, haiku, tanka, couplet, ode, limerick, sonnet, ballad, senryu, tanka, etc.)

Here are a few patterns for form poetry and a sample of each on. (Try out each one on the board as you go.)

Cinquain

Title

Line 1: One word (noun or name)

Line 2: Two adjectives describing Line 1

Line 3: Three verbs telling what Line 1 does

Line 4: Four words telling more about Line 1

Line 5: Word that means the same as Line 1

Frosty

White, cold

Sitting, smiling, melting

On the snowy hillside

Snowman.

Haiku

Title

Line 1: five syllables

Line 2: seven syllables

Line 3: five syllables

Reaching to lilacs

Memories of a backyard

Spring sun warms my neck.

Lovely butterfly

Fluttering above the earth

How fragile you are.

Tanka

Line 1: Five syllables

Line 2: Seven syllables

Line 3: Five syllables

Line 4: Seven Syllables

Line 5: Seven Syllables

This brittle winter

Trees stand stark as old soldiers

Determined and glum

Embarrassed to be caught stripped

Of their summer uniforms.

Couplet

Line 1: Begin with descriptive word and add two items that fit description

Line 2: Something that rhymes with Line 1.

Little daffodil, popping up its yellow head,

Better hide from the snow or it will soon be dead.

(You can put lots of couplets together, and they can be a long poem.)

Limerick

Line 1: Three accented syllables

Line 2: Three accented syllables; rhyme with Line 1

Line 3: Two accented syllables

Line 4: Two accented syllables; rhyme with Line 3

Line 5: Three accented syllables; rhyme with Line 1

There was a young man from Alcoa

Whose best friend was a six-foot boa.

It never did bite

But it hugged him so tight

That the young man is now no mo-ah.

Ode

A poem in honor of someone or something very important to you.

Ode to My Favorite Jeans

Oh, my lovely blue jeans!

How happy I am when you are clean

Folded soft and smooth at the top

Of the laundry basket,

Waiting for me to wear you.

Write some of the above poems together, and then read some poems together. Giggle Poetry has perhaps hundreds of poems that kids will love, from food poems to mushy poems to scary ones. Here are some limericks created by kids (carefully screen any limerick sites—sometimes limericks can be a little racy!), and the Children's Haiku Garden has loads of haiku written by both Japanese and American kids. For a great book of limericks for kids, I recommend John Ciardi's The Hopeful Trout.

Journal Writings, Week 8

(Refer to the poetry patterns in Lesson 8)

Day 1:

Write an ode to a stuffy or runny nose.

[For example: Oh, stuffy nose, how I long to relieve you of your disease! How I wish to give you one good blow and suddenly free you! But stuffy nose, you continue to plague me, wear me down, torture me. Free me, oh nose!]

Day 2

Write 4 couplets about your favorite animal.

[For example:

A koala looks so very sweet

From his fuzzy head to his sharp-clawed feet. ]

Day 3

Write a haiku about whatever month it is.

[For example:

March comes in chilly

and grows warm in the middle.

Bringing greens and blues.

Day 4:

Write an exaggeration that begins: One time I was SO cold…

[For example: One time I was SO cold that my arms turned to popsicles and my brains froze into a solid block of ice.]

Day 5:

Describe a perfect winter day.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

SmallWorld's WordSmithery Week 7: Writing About the Weather

SmallWorld's WordSmithery is back after an e-x-t-e-n-d-e-d summer vacation. Yes, I know it's October.

If you are brand new here, I recommend that you go back and start at the beginning. My goal with the WordSmithery is to make creative writing exciting for writers of all ages. Here's what we've covered so far:

Lesson #1: Introduction and Journals
Lesson #2: Introduction to Creative Writing, Featuring Good Words
Lesson #3: Using Powerful Words to Create More Interesting Writing
Lesson #4: Similes
Lesson #5: Metaphors and Strong Verbs
Lesson #6: Alliteration and Spring Flowers (or Fall Leaves)

I also have a place for you to share your kids' writing and read other kids' writing to your children: Share Your Writing! I encourage you to share there or link back to your own blog. My kids love to read what your kids have written!

And now for Lesson #7: Writing About the Weather. As always, this lesson is loosely scripted. You might eliminate some things or add others as you go.

As you know if you are a regular here, I try to put the "speaking" parts in regular type and the answers in italics. And remember: parents/teacher: you should be doing the assignments, too! Go back and read the first couple of lessons to find out why. Here we go!

Writing About the Weather (beginning poetry)

(Note: if you don't go through your journal assignments from the previous lesson on a regular basis, this is the time to share your journals! Remember: we only use encouraging words!)

In the past several lessons, we’ve talked about many different tools that writers can use, so we’re going to spend more time writing in the next few weeks. We’re going to start with some weather poems. Weather is great because people react in so many different ways to different kinds of weather. Weather is always with us! Listen to how much people talk about the weather. What are some different kinds of weather? (blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoon, flood, earthquake, etc.) Note: You may want to read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at this point, if you have a copy or can get one from the library. This gets them thinking about all kinds of weather!

Listen to these poems about different kinds of weather:

Fog
by Carl Sandburg

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

(Ask questions, like: to what is the author comparing fog? what would fog look like if it were a cat?)

Hurricane
by Lilian Moore

All night
The wind
Poured
Through the trees,
Roared
Like a waterfall,
Tugged and Tore.
In the morning light
The stunned
Trees
Looked down on
Tattered leaves
Heaped in
Brown
Hills
Torn twigs
Flung
In barbed wired
Tangles
Battered
Branches
Crossed like
Swords.

Listen to the strong words that the author used in this poem: poured, roared, tugged (go through and read list). The author didn't just say, "There was a big hurricane last night." She chose very strong words to give you the feeling of a powerful storm coming through.

Rain
by Eve Merriam

Dot a dot dot dot a dot dot
Spotting the windowpane.
Spack a spack speck flick a flack fleck
Freckling the windowpane.
A spatter a scatter a wet cat a clatter
A splatter a rumble outside.
Umbrella umbrella umbrella umbrella
Bumbershoot barrel of rain.
Slosh a galosh slosh a galosh
Slither and slather a glide
A puddle a jump a puddle a jump
A puddle a jump puddle splosh
A juddle a pump a luddle a dump
A pudmuddle jump in and slide!

Does this poem remind you of rain? Do you hear how Eve Merriam carefully chose words that sound like rain: spick, spack, fleck, dot, etc. Can't you just hear the rain falling on a roof or on a window?

Let’s try writing a weather poem together. We are going to follow a certain formula. Writing a poem with a specific formula, or pattern, is one fun way to write. Here is the example:

Thunder

Thunder comes in roaring
And rattles your bones
Like a heavy chain
Clanking across the sky
And then stalks back into the clouds,
Rumbling still.

Let's talk about this poem first. How does the thunder come in? (Roaring.) Does that make you think of an animal? What other strong words has the author used to help us really feel the thunder? (rattle, roaring, heavy, clanking, stalks, rumbling) Now let's brainstorm about different kinds of weather. (Write as they say types, such as: tornado, monsoon, earthquake, flood, tsunami, snow, blizzard, ice storm, etc.)

Now let's pick one type of weather and write a poem about it. Here is the formula we are going to follow. (As you go through each line, help them to come up with strong words that describe this kind of weather.)

Title: Form of Nature chosen

Line #1: Title plus how it arrives or begins as an animal would
Line #2: Tell what it does
Line #3: Tell how it does it
Line #4: Tell where it is
Line #5: Tell how it leaves (as an animal would leave)

After they write the poem, let them illustrate the weather.

Do one together and then give each child a form to do his or her own poem. Share these at a later time.

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Below are this week's journal writings. We do one each day and then share them with each other.

Day 1

Think of at least 5 words that, when you say them, might make someone feel thirsty.

[For example: parched]

Day 2

In the spirit of “Jabberwocky,” create at least one original word and tell what it might mean.

[For example: magniflubescent: something that glows in the dark without fading.]

Day 3

Make up a tongue twister.

[For example: a box of mixed biscuits]

Day 4

Stretch this sentence by adding or changing words to make it more specific and more interesting: She ate breakfast.

[For example: After being sick for three days, my ravenous daughter ate three helpings of biscuits and gravy.]

Day 5

List all the words you can think of which are in any way related to trees.

[For example: willow, leaf, bark]

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Hope you have a a cornucopia of creativity this week! If you enjoyed this lesson, let me know!

Missed the previous lessons? Click on the links below for the whole WordSmithery experience!

Lesson #1: Introduction and Journals
Lesson #2: Introduction to Creative Writing, Featuring Good Words
Lesson #3: Using Powerful Words to Create More Interesting Writing
Lesson #4: Similes
Lesson #5: Metaphors and Strong Verbs
Lesson #6: Alliteration and Spring Flowers/Fall Leaves

And don't forget to Share Your Writing! Also, I like link love. If you are using WordSmithery and have a blog, please take a minute copy the WordSmithery logo on my sidebar and point your readers to my blog!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

SmallWorld's WordSmithery Week 6: Alliteration and Spring Flowers (or Fall Leaves)

Welcome back to the WordSmithery! If you are brand new here, I recommend that you go back and start at the beginning. My goal with the WordSmithery is to make creative writing exciting for writers of all ages. Here's what we've covered so far:
Lesson #1: Introduction and Journals
Lesson #2: Introduction to Creative Writing, Featuring Good Words
Lesson #3: Using Powerful Words to Create More Interesting Writing
Lesson #4: Similes
Lesson #5: Metaphors and Strong Verbs

I have a new feature since our last lesson: Share Your Writing! This is a place for you to share your kids' writing and to read other kids' writing to your own children. I encourage you to share there or link back to your own blog. My kids love to read what your kids have written!

And now for Lesson #6: Alliteration and Spring Flowers (or Fall Leaves) Poetry. As always, this lesson is loosely scripted. You might eliminate some things or add others as you go.

As you know if you are a regular here, I try to put the "speaking" parts in regular type and the answers in italics. And remember: parents/teacher: you should be doing the assignments, too! Here we go!

Alliteration and Spring Flowers (or Fall Leaves) Poetry

(Note: if you don't go through your journal assignments from the previous lesson on a regular basis, this is the time to share your journals! Remember: we only use encouraging words!)

I. Alliteration
We’ve talked about a lot of different tools that writers use in the past few lessons: adjectives, synonyms, similes, metaphors, strong verbs. Here’s a new one for you today:
A. Alliteration: What is alliteration? (Answer: When words start with the same sound in a sentence.)
1. Example: The shining sun shone on the silent seashore.
2. Tongue twisters are usually alliteration. What are some examples of tongue twisters? (Here are some examples. Take plenty of time to let the kids say these; this is fun stuff!)

• Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings.
• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
• A big black bug bit a big black bear,
made the big black bear bleed blood.
• Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.

B. Now let's practice our own alliteration. I’ll start and you'll add on, and we'll see how far we can go building on a sentence. (Example: start with the word "very" and have each child add on a word. Keep going until you have at least 4-5 words. Very victoriously, Valerie vaulted.)
1. Fat 2. sneaky 3. Wanda 4. tornado

C. Individual activity: Let’s practice some alliterative sentences. I will give each of you one word, and you must add on to it. You should start each word with the same sound but you can add words likes to, on, in, a, the, etc. (You can choose your own words or here are some good ones: banana giraffe muddy concrete ship thistle neighbor) Share after they've had a chance to do this.

D. Remember, alliteration is just another tool that writers use—another way to make your writing interesting. That doesn't mean you always have to use alliteration, but making careful choices with words turns mediocre writing into exciting writing!

II. Spring Flower Poems (note: you can change this to fall leaf poems or even snowflake poems depending on the season)
[Note: This project could require some preparation on your part, depending on how you do this. You could use construction paper for each child as a background and then cut out flower petals (or leaves or snowflakes) and glue onto a flower stalk, or you could just draw or have your kids draw a simple flower—with room for writing—on paper. I like the look of the construction paper flowers the best, but see below for an example of one done on regular paper. The flower centers were done in a Word doc and the petals were added by hand.]
A. Now we are going to have a chance to make some beautiful spring (fall/winter) poems. I’m giving you each a sheet of paper with two flowers (leaves/snowflakes) on it. On one flower (leaf/snowflake), write something with alliteration about spring or flowers. Let’s work on some examples, and you can put these words together. (Brainstorm together about flowers and spring, spring colors, types of flowers, etc. (or leaves and fall, autumn, red, orange).

B. With the other flower (leaf), I’d like you to write a simile about spring (fall) or about a flower in each petal and then do another poem in the middle. Let’s brainstorm. Here are some examples you might finish: The flower is pink _________ ( as bubblegum.) The flower flutters like a butterfly. Spring smells like_________ (candy) and tastes like (cheesecake)

(At this point, let the kids take off with their own creativity. They can even write adjectives or snippets of poetry on the stems and leaves, or make clouds in the sky and use alliteration, etc. The possibilities are endless!)

That's it for this week's lesson! See below for the weekly journal writings!

Weekly Journal Writings

Day 1
Practice alliteration (same starting sounds) with these words:
• flowers
• candy
• dinosaur

[For example: Phillip gave fifteen floppy flowers to Felicia.]

Day 2
Pick one friend or family member and describe him/her using only the first letter of his/her name.

[For example, Tracy: titillating, tough, terrific, teasing, etc.]

Day 3
Draw and describe an imaginary pet that you would like (or not like) to have.

Day 4
Write about where you would go in a time machine.

Day 5
Describe today’s weather using strong, exciting verbs and adjectives.

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Missed the previous weeks? Click on the links below for the whole WordSmithery experience!
Lesson #1: Introduction and Journals
Lesson #2: Introduction to Creative Writing, Featuring Good Words
Lesson #3: Using Powerful Words to Create More Interesting Writing
Lesson #4: Similes
Lesson #5: Metaphors and Strong Verbs

And don't forget to Share Your Writing! Also, I like link love. If you are using WordSmithery and have a blog, please take a minute copy the WordSmithery logo on my sidebar and point your readers to my blog!

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