Tips Archive » Content » Writing

• Journaling (5 tips)
• Young Playwrights (1 tip)
• Topic/Idea Generators (6 tips)
• Letter Writing (4 tips)
• Poetry (1 tip)
• Student Autobiographies (1 tip)
• Learning Parts of Speech (9 tips)
• Writing from Literature (1 tip)
• Writing Across the Curriculum (7 tips)
• Handwriting Skills (4 tips)
• Interviewing (3 tips)
• Good Writing Habits (8 tips)

Journaling

Postcard Prompts

From Mary Comstock, an adult ESL teacher at Alhambra Community Adult School in Alhambra, California:

"I get postcards whenever I travel and use them as a warm up when I'm doing small group reading. Students look up the words they don't know and the group explains the postcard to the class. After the postcards have been discussed, I put them on the bulletin board for my students to use as prompts for their journals. Their writing is typed and duplicated to use as a LEA (Language Experience Approach) reading book for the class."

Kindergarten Journaling

From Jess Tucker, a kindergarten teacher at Huddleston Elementary:

"Kindergarten journal writing can be a challenge! To stimulate both interest and writing skills, I have my students build the structure of their own design during center time. Then I have them draw their work in their journal and, skills permitting, write a sentence about it. Their work is 'saved' when centers are put away and the students have a record of all they have made."

Morning Journaling - Kindergarten

From Lisa M. Radtke, a kindergarten teacher at La Causa, Inc. (a partnership school) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin:

"I manage the morning rush of information by having my students do their journals first thing in the morning, after signing in. This works really well, we always have time for journaling, and are never rushed. It is a change from end of the day journaling, but the students are still as eager to write. While the students are journaling I can speak with parents, collect homework, take attendance, and attend to any other issues. On days when I am not as in demand I can sit down with students and transcribe stories for them."

Morning Journaling - High School

From Kathleen Nega, a ninth through twelfth grade French teacher at Gateway High School in Monroeville, Pennsylvania:

"Every day as students come into the room, they immediately attend to writing a journal entry that is on the overhead projector. One student in each class has the responsibility of distributing and collecting the journals every day. This activity permits me to take roll, talk to students about individual problems, and to give a mind-set to the classroom activities for the day. Journal entries may involve use of new vocabulary or key questions. This activity can be used in any class as a warm-up activity or preparation for class activities."

Journaling about Bear

From Sandra Thomas, a kindergarten teacher at Irving Elementary School in Pueblo, Colorado:

"I purchase a stuffed bear and parent volunteers make take-home cloth bags for Bear. Students take Bear for one night and are told to keep Bear safe, clean, and fed pretend bear food. A writing journal is included to document the 'sleep-over adventure.' The following day when Bear is returned the student sits in our special miniature recliner chair holding Bear. When the student's adventure with Bear is read there is such enjoyment by the entire class and also by the student getting to hear his/her very own story from the journal. I then ask the students if they would like to add anything that was not included in the story. I reinforce the concept of writing and reading of the story and oral sharing to students. This is one of their favorite times of the day. Anticipation is at an all-time high when a name is drawn at the end of the activity to take Bear home next."

Young Playwrights

Writing a Play

From Mary Ann Herring, a third grade teacher at the Missouri School for the Deaf in Fulton, Missouri:

"I divide my class into two groups and give each group the assignment of creating a short play. I tell them they must use all the props in a bag I give them. The groups have 15 minutes to think of their play. At the end of that time, each group presents their play to the rest of the class."

Topic/Idea Generators

Let It Snow

From Wendy Rios, a language arts teacher at Eastern Avenue/Perry Alternative School in Davenport, Iowa:

"My students were quite excited about our first measurable snowfall. In order to capture that excitement, I scattered window clings of snowflakes and snowmen on my easel dry erase board with the title "Let it Snow'. I read several poems about snow to the students and we brainstormed words that could be used to describe snow. Words that told how snow looks, feels, falls, etc were written on the board. The students then wrote snow stories, descriptive paragraphs or poems about snow. They enjoyed the visual aid and came up with quite original writings. I plan on using the window clings again as they are inexpensive and can be found on a variety of themes."

Prop Writing Prompt

From Bobbie Brister, an English teacher at Socorro High School in El Paso, Texas:

"Here's a good writing prompt to use for almost any reading: 'Imagine that you are prop master for a play based on the piece we just read. What props would you bring on stage? Whose prop would it be and why is it important to the play?' Props must be explained and examples might need to be given. Kids love doing this as it gives them the opportunity to be creative."

Writing Tip

From Margie Steinberg, a seventh grade communications teacher at Roosevelt Middle School in Mason City, Iowa:

"Many teachers say they have problems getting students to write. Sometimes students have difficulties coming up with ideas. I tell my students to write about what they know. I find that when they do, their writing is the best because they have made a personal connection. I give my students '5 Line Themes' at the beginning of the class period. On an overhead, I tell students to write five lines using the word you chose as a subject. Then, I list five words such as imagination, success, failure, responsibility, and video. The words do not need any connection with each other. After giving the students a few minutes to write, I ask them to share."

Power Writing

From Margie Steinberg, a seventh grade communications teacher at Roosevelt Middle School in Mason City, Iowa:

"I ask students to choose one of two words from an overhead. I time them for one minute and ask that they quickly jot down any words that they can associate with the given word. At the end of the time, I ask them to count up the number of words they have and write the number in the margin. This procedure is repeated three or four times. Students find that they are challenged to think and write quickly so they write more each time. This activity gives students ideas on which they can expand later as we look for pieces to publish."

Story Map

From Erik Nielsen, a fifth grade teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, Maine:

"Many students have difficulty coming up with writing topics. A memory nudge idea I use to great success is called a 'Story Map.' I model this for my students by drawing a bird's eye view of a place that holds many memories. I usually choose our summer family cottage on a local lake. As I draw this map I label various events that have happened to me over the years there. As I label each one I tell the students a little bit about what happened there. When I am done I have five or six areas labeled and by that point the students want to hear about each one in detail. I tell them that I have written stories about some of these places and will read to them later so they can see how I progressed from a simple idea to a story. Now it is their turn. Some draw neighborhoods, some draw a floor plan of a house, and some draw a yard. This labeled map then goes into their rough draft folder where they can take it out and remember all over again the time that..."

The Eyeballs Have It

From Linda Hollingshead, a teacher of students with severe needs at Johnson Elementary School in Montrose, Colorado:

"I use the eye balls that you can get on the straws from Taco Bell at Halloween in several ways after taking them out of the straw. I cut construction paper or tag board to make a book. The students cut holes in the sheets the size of the eyes and glue the eyes on the inside [back] cover so they show [through] on each page. Then they write stories using the eyes as the center point to draw a picture around each set of eyes. I have found this is great for creative writing and idea generating for the lower level student. I also paint numbers on the eyes and play math games with them and roll them as with marbles."

Letter Writing

Notes of Thanks

From Ruby Jewel Smith, a computer applications teacher at Bryan Station High School in Lexington, Kentucky:

"It's sometimes difficult for high school students to express love and appreciation to the adults in their lives so I developed an assignment to help. Just before Thanksgiving, I instruct my students to write an expression of thanks to a parent, guardian, or other adult caregiver. The expression can be in the form of a letter, poem, card or other form of their preference. The only requirement is that the content has to be in their own words. They are encouraged to use graphics and a variety of fonts to compliment their choice of expression. Finally, a portion of the grade requires students to present the 'Note of Thanks' to the adult and have them acknowledge receipt. Some parents write notes to their children in response to the expression. Other students share their parents' responses to the assignment with the class. This assignment can be done for any or even no occasion!"

Sharing with Soldiers and Sailors

From Christy Goodney, a US history teacher at Dripping Springs High School:

"Just before the holidays, I had my students collect and mail out generic 'Happy Holiday' cards to soldiers in the Navy and Army. They signed and wrote a note in the cards but no personal information was given. We then sent a package of cards to 'Any Soldier' for the soldier to share with his/her friends. We found the mailing addresses on the Naval Fleet official web site. Some of my kids wanted to send more cards so I took the cards to our local VA hospital for the staff to distribute. The staff was thrilled beyond belief that a group of high school kids were so considerate and caring. We used the school mailing address as our return address and have already received several letters from the sailors. This is a project that can be done at any time of the year, even for no 'holiday' reason. It's a great feeling to pass on good cheer to those who protect our freedom. Write to:

Any Soldier --- Germany
Eco 51st Inf (LRS) (ABN)
CMR 440
Apo AE 09175

Letters to the Editor

From Shelly Clausen, a high school teacher:

"My writing students send letters to the editor which we submit to local city papers, larger publications and even our high school newspaper. Each quarter, at least four students are published and usually many more! The seriousness with which this assignment is done is amazing as they have a real audience and love to see their names in print!"

Letters to and from Students

From Dr. Barbara J. Rosso, a second grade teacher at Oakdale Elementary School in Rock Hill, South Carolina:

"To encourage any age student to communicate in writing, I have a small rural mailbox in my classroom in which the children can 'mail' a letter to me. The letters can be about anything, for example: a problem, what they like or don't like about school, a happy note. At the end of the day I check to see if the mailbox flag is up, indicating that I have mail. I answer all mail that night and give each correspondent a special delivery letter the next morning. I usually ask a question in my letter that prompts further writing on the child's part. I also recycle fronts of greeting cards and note cards to respond to children. They love receiving a personal note from their teacher."

Poetry

Poetry Reading

From Jan Fogel, a literature teacher at De Pere High School in De Pere, Wisconsin:

"I never mention the word poetry when I start this unit. We start with prescription poetry. Everyone must write their name, two adjectives, two adverbs and then their name again. Everyone is a poet as they have written a poem that is uniquely theirs. Next, we write about family members, we find poetry in the library that high school students can relate to, we study poetic musical lyrics and then we move into the classics of Frost, Whitman, Emerson and others. After the students have gained a real understanding of poetry, we set up the library with refreshments, candles, and a microphone to have our own poetry reading. All of my students get the chance to read some of their poetry, and I invite some music students to join in the fun. Our poetry reading really excites my students. Poetry becomes palatable and enjoyable."

Student Autobiographies

Writing about Self

From Richard Poole, a language arts teacher at Hines Middle School in Newport News, Virginia:

"I like to tell my students something about me the first day of school. I make a list of 20 things about me including age, where I went to school, where I have lived, etc. This becomes my prewriting. I also bring in a picture of me when I was in sixth grade. I then ask them to write 30 facts about their lives. Their assignment is to go home and write a personal narrative with a picture for them to share with the class if they like. I read them all. This helps me to remember names and know something about my students. I post the essays and pictures for back to school night for parents to see their child's work."

Learning Parts of Speech

Teaching Parts of Speech

From Patricia B. Gill, a secondary level at Virginia Randolph Special Education Center in Richmond, Virginia:

"I make three columns on the board entitled People, Places, Things and ask the kids for nouns to put under the headings as I write them. We continue with the list as students take turns sitting at the computer typing in the words. We use a large font size so two words fill one line. When we have a list with enough common and proper nouns, we spell check them and print the list on yellow paper. We continue the process with adjectives and print the list on bright yellow paper as adjectives 'brighten' nouns. We print verbs on blue paper and adverbs on bright blue paper. Propositions are printed on green paper. When we're finished, I laminate the pages and cut the words apart. Each part of speech is put into its own storage container. I ask the students to randomly choose a couple of words from each part of speech and create sentences. They work in small groups to make creative sentences and can trade in some of their words for others if they have trouble. They can also add any words they like. I give bonus points or prizes for the most creative sentences, the longest, etc. The students write their sentences down on paper and go back for more words. I find this activity helps with spelling, sentence structure and creativity. The groups choose their favorite sentences to read to the class."

Vocal Punctuation

From Judy Zelenda, a third grade teacher at Schuyler Grade School in Schuyler, Nebraska:

"I use vocal sounds to teach commas and other punctuation to my students. When they read a sentence from their book they have to click their tongue where they would put in a comma. When they do written work, they click their tongues throughout their writing. Other sounds can be chosen for periods, question marks and explanation points."

Newspaper Noun Activity

From Janet Olson, a seventh grade English and reading teacher at Tipton-Rosemark Academy in Millington, Tennessee:

"My students enjoy newspaper activity days. When I teach nouns, they work in groups to find the different types of nouns (common, proper, collective, compound) in the newspaper, cut them out and tape them on a large piece of construction paper divided into sections. I give points for each noun found in each category. The group that finds the most nouns in each category wins a prize. I take off points for the groups who do not clean up properly. I could not go over as many examples and non-examples as the groups do themselves. They discuss and argue over their notes and chapter explanations to make sure they find the right type of nouns. Everyone learns about nouns and has a great time."

Grammatical Paper Balls

From Julie Keller, a writing teacher at Perry Middle School in Perry, Ohio:

"Who would have thought a paper ball fight would be a useful technique for reviewing grammar? Have the students write one of the four types of sentences (imperative, declarative, interrogative and exclamatory) on a piece of paper and crumble it into a ball. Before starting this activity, be sure to create safe guidelines that everyone understands. Then, have a well-structured paper ball fight for a minute or two. At the end of the fight, all the students must have a paper ball at their desk. They need to come up with five examples of the type of sentence that is written on their crumpled paper."

Teaching Parts of Speech

From Patricia Gill, a special education teacher at Douglas Wilder Middle School in Richmond, Virginia:

"To help the students with their writing, I have the children brainstorm for different parts of speech. I start by asking them to name nouns reminding them of proper and common nouns. As they call them out, I write them on the board and a student enters them on the word processor. We repeat this process for verbs, pronouns, adverbs and adjectives. I print their brainstorming ideas on colored paper, laminate them and cut them out. Each part of speech is printed on a different color paper. Adjectives are a brighter shade of the same color as nouns and adverbs are a brighter shade of the same color as verbs because these words 'brighten up' or modify. I put each part of speech into a container. The students draw words to create sentences. I start with one noun and one verb sentences and then get more difficult from there. The students must use all the words that they draw but they can add their own words to the sentences. I give prizes for the sentences that are the most creative. Sometimes the students work in small groups where each student is responsible for a different part of speech. This activity helps with sentence structure and gives the students ideas for short stories."

Teaching Alliteration

From Renee Heiss, a seventh grade English teacher at Northern Burlington County Regional Middle School in Columbus, New Jersey:

"I use Metric Day as an opportunity to teach alliteration. I distribute a chart to my students that has the letters M-E-T-R-I-C written across the top. Down the sides, I write the words adjective, noun, verb and adverb. The students have to think of words corresponding to the parts of speech and the assigned letter. When they complete their individual charts, we create cooperative sentences using each of the assigned letters in order to illustrate alliteration."

Love Those Verbs

From Ana I. Alicea, a tenth and eleventh grade English teacher at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School in Levittown, Puerto Rico:

"As an enrichment activity, I reviewed and taught the regular and irregular verbs to high school students by having them listen carefully to a cassette with a mix of love ballads from the 70's, 80's and 90's. They wrote a list of regular and irregular verbs which they heard."

Amazing Adjectives

From Barbara Hudnall, an eighth grade language arts teacher at United Middle School in Armagh, Pennsylvania:

"To reinforce adjective use, I place the following line on the board: 'I'm a rip-roaring, hand clapping, faithful, ______, ______, _______, United fan!' The instructions are to place as many words that students can think of to describe their 'fan'atic behavior. To put them in the mood I insert a 'Jock Jams' tape in the cassette player. Students are to imagine they are at a pep rally. Well, before long, I have the next door math teacher dancing over to my classroom, lots of smiles, some impromptu YMCA moves, and lots of adjectives!"

What's My Noun?

From Lydia Marlow, a teacher in Independence, Missouri:

"I have a game that I play with two to four teams. Each team writes five nouns for a member of the other team to describe with up to five adjectives. I can increase or decrease the number of nouns, depending on the level of the students. The guessing student's team must guess the noun, with the number of nouns guessed correctly determining who wins. The teacher must referee to be sure no verbs or adverbs are thrown in."

Nouns and Verbs

From Barbara Hyler and Patti Barns, a learning disabilities specialist and a fourth grade teacher at Bettie Weaver Elementary School in Midlothian, Virginia:

"These songs were created to teach a fourth grade collaborative language arts class. We enhance our appearance with anything we can find in the music teacher's storage closet. The top hats and sequin bow ties are among our favorite costumes. The song and costumes all make for a memorable lesson and provide the added benefit of a multi-sensory approach needed for the L.D. children."

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Noun
(To the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")
by Mrs. Barns' & Mrs. Hyler's 4th Graders

Twinkle, twinkle, little nouns,
I can see you all around.
Naming persons, places, and things,
Makes me want to smile and sing.
Twinkle, twinkle, little nouns
I can see you all around.

Verbies
(Sung to the tune of "Suwannee")

Verbies
how I love ya
how I love ya

My action verbies
I'd give the world to see
Those action verbies smilin' back at me
I love 'em

Verbies
Tellin' what those nouns are doin'
My action verbies

In sentences, they do all the work and
bring all those nouns to life.

Irregular Plural Nouns with a Bit of Holiday Spirit!

From Barbara Hyler and Patti Barns, a learning disabilities specialist and a fourth grade teacher at Bettie Weaver Elementary School in Midlothian, Virginia:

"This song was created to teach a fourth grade collaborative language arts class. We enhance our appearance with anything we can find in the music teacher's storage closet. The top hats and sequin bow ties are among our favorite costumes. The song and costumes all make for a memorable lesson and provide the added benefit of a multi-sensory approach needed for the L.D. children.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
A very noisy song to sing.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
Two tapping feet,
And a very noisy song to sing.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
Three laughing children,
Two tapping feet,
And a very noisy song to sing.

...Four hammering men...
...Five stirring women...
...Six geese a-honking...
...Seven mice a-squeaking...
...Eight reindeer playing...
...Nine teeth a-chattering...
...Ten fish a-bubbling...
...Eleven sheep a-baaing...
...Twelve moose a-calling...

Writing from Literature

Mythological Characters

From Jan Reid, a tenth grade English teacher at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, North Carolina:

"One of the most successful projects I've used to teach world literature and expand students' knowledge involves characters from Greek and Roman mythology. I ask students to choose one character from an indexed list. Our librarians pull every book connected with Greek and Roman mythology from the shelves and reserve them for our use. When we go to the library, students write a biography of that character, find a myth, retell it to the class, and dress in costume or create a poster to symbolize their character. I make the due date October 31 and photograph each student's oral presentation. They love performing, dressing in costume, being photographed, and telling the story of their character. When I asked students to rate this project in terms of difficulty and enjoyment, they rated it moderately difficult (finding information on the more obscure characters was not easy) and high in personal enjoyment.

I was especially pleased that many of the students could connect vocabulary words such as narcissistic, insomnia, cereal and tantalize with the Greek and Roman mythological figures. I also feel that I have given them exposure to the stories that should be a part of their literary and cultural heritage. Now, when we talk about allusions in literature, they know the myths which inspired them."

Writing Across the Curriculum

Creative Research Papers

From Ernest Beachey, a language arts teacher at Clearwater High School in Clearwater, Kansas:

"When my students write research papers, they do so with a unique twist. Tired of reading mundane topics, I revamped the assignment. Now, each student must research a year in history. In order to avoid information that's already on our minds, the year must be sixteen years ago or earlier and only one student may choose that year. The student is then given specific tasks to complete; for example, he/she must find five features of the people of that year. These features might be what foods they ate, modes of transportation used, fashions of the year, and so on. In all, the student has to find a wide array of facts, which must then be incorporated into an original first person short story. The story must have a plot with a climax and a conclusion, and must be properly documented. Thus, our research papers have become creative products that require use of the imagination along with practice of rigorous research methods. The result has been greater satisfaction and sense of ownership for the students and much more enjoyable reading for the instructor."

The Present

From Kevin Buchman, a fifth grade teacher at Perry Middle School in Perry, Ohio:

"Here's a great writing activity for the holidays that reviews the four basic types of writing styles. My students write one expository paragraph explaining how to wrap a present. They write one descriptive paragraph describing what the present looks like after it's been wrapped and they write one narrative paragraph describing what will happen to the present. The final paragraph is a persuasive paragraph explaining why the present is the best present given."

Students Explain Their Learning

From Virginia Hamilton, a fourth grade math teacher at Longleaf Elementary School in Melbourne, Florida:

"Our county stresses writing across the curriculum. Each of my students makes a 'Math Chat' booklet and designs a cover with mathematical pictures. Once we have learned a concept such as perimeter, I give them a prompt. For example: 'Mike maintains a garden 50 by 30 feet. What is the perimeter of the garden?' Students make a picture (drawing a rectangle and labeling the sides) and write a step-by-step description explaining how they solved the problem, using the appropriate terminology (length and width and numbers). Student work is assessed using a rubric. The students enjoy this different means of assessment. They see growth in all areas. This also helps their fifth grade teachers, since students have practice with what's required on the fifth-grade state assessment."

Studying State Symbols

From John Pitrelli, a fourth grade inclusion teacher at Perry Elementary School in Perry, Ohio:

"In social studies, my students study our state's symbols. The students are given minimal information on the symbols so in order to expand our knowledge, students do their own research (primarily using the Internet) and write mini reports along with drawings of the symbols. The reports are then shared with the class and later displayed. Our final activity is to create a new state seal. We pretend that the Governor has appointed us to do this duty. Each student is given a piece of art paper with a double circle already printed on it. They do a rough draft and then copy it onto a clean sheet. I proudly display all of our newly designed state seals in the hallway for everyone to enjoy."

Math Story Problems

From Marge Iafigliola, a third and fourth grade remedial reading and math teacher at Perry Elementary School in Perry, Ohio:

"The book, The Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, is a great tool to use for a math and writing activity. It is an entertaining story about a student who finds a math problem in everything she does at home and school. After I read the story to my class, they complete a log that contains all of the math problems the main character has to solve during her day. Next our class writes their own version of The Math Curse. Students choose a partner and each pair selects a period of the day on which to write. They use their imagination to create a math story problem that the character of the book encounters during their selected portion of the day. After they proofread and illustrate their problems, they are bound together as a class book. Each pair of students present their story problem to the class and their classmates try to solve the problem. Later the book is displayed at the Young Author's Tea."

Element Relationships

From Linda Moccio, a sixth grade teacher of emotionally disabled students at Bailey Bridge Middle School in Chesterfield, Virginia:

"When I teach the elements and the periodic table, I incorporate writing across the curriculum. I have students choose one element that they're interested in and research it. After they've finished the research, they must then find another element that is compatible with theirs. Finally the students write a love letter from their element to the compatible element, which includes all the attributes of the student's element, why the two elements would make a good couple, and a picture of the two elements. The kids really seem to get into this project."

Social Studies/Writing

From Robyn M. Covino, a fifth grade teacher at Big Cypress Elementary School in Naples, Florida:

"This year I began a new social studies/map skills/language arts project with our class. Students design an island of their choice, name it, and include: key, scale, longitude and latitude, compass rose, cities, land forms, bodies of water, and nearest continent. Then, they write a 100-word essay about their island and include: climate, population, vegetation, animals, interesting things of their choice. I use a checklist to evaluate the essay and map factors."

Handwriting Skills

Cursive Playdough

From Mary Ann Herring, a third grade teacher at Mo. School for the Deaf in Missouri:

"My students are really motivated when I teach cursive writing because we form each letter with playdough before we write it on paper. I require that the playdough be in one continuous snake to make the letter so that the students see the proper direction that each letter is formed. Also, I group the letters by shape. For example, I start with i, t, then l and e."

Teaching Kids to Crochet

From Janet Keohane, a teacher at Lincoln Elementary in Beach, North Dakota:

"Every year I teach my students to crochet using the four basic stitches. It develops the dexterity of their fingers and improves their handwriting. I teach them during the noon break or before school. The only time that they are allowed to crochet during school is when I am reading a novel to them after lunch. It thrills me to look up form my book and know that they are listening to every word, yet learning a lifelong skill. They've made wonderful scarves and an afghan. Boys seem to enjoy it just as much as girls!"

Correcting Handwriting

From Kathy Gaji, a second grade teacher at Brookside Elementary School in Binghamton, New York:

"My class is learning to write in cursive. I found a page of the lower and upper case cursive alphabet written on paper of the same size that the students use. I copied this onto transparencies so that each two children have one to share. As they practice learning individual letters they can pause from time to time and put this transparency over their own cursive writing to see how it compares. It's a more immediate and less subjective corrective tool than my comments to them about their handwriting. They ask me to pass the transparencies out if I forget!"

Evaporating "Ee's"

From Christine Hites, a kindergarten teacher at Perry Elementary in Perry, Ohio:

"I incorporate some science concepts into my reading readiness lessons and give students some tactile experiences before having them practice printing letters with pencils. They dip their finger in water and practice forming the letter 'Ee' on individual chalkboards. As the water dries, we discuss what happened to it. They are introduced to the word and the meaning of evaporation. We review this concept when we make 'Disappearing Dd's' and 'Invisible Ii's'."

Interviewing

Interviewing Business People

From Anonymous:

"To help my students understand the importance of basic skills in the workplace, I have them interview parents, tradesmen, business people, teachers and other professionals. Through these interviews my students learn that history, writing, reading, science and math are all essential skills needed in the real world. The history of the industry they might be employed in is connected to and part of our nation's history. Knowing how to effectively use spoken and written language can make or break a person in the world of work. Being able to read and comprehend is important for understanding manuals and other technical material. Literature creates the power to observe and to think critically which is vital in business at all levels. Science is the background for understanding how and why things work. Basic math skills are vital to all parts of the real world. Money, measurement, distance and time are skills one uses every day in life. Other subjects such as art and music all contribute to these basic skills. Pointing out the importance of school subjects encourages students to master things they don't necessarily want to study."

Student Stories

From Pat Fiedler, a business teacher at Orange Park High School in Orange Park, Florida:

"I help parents connect with their child's school experience by having the students do reports on themselves called, IT'S MY STORY AND I'M STICKING TO IT. The students are required to write their favorite story about themselves, interview their parents, a brother/sister and a friend. The interviewees dictate their favorite stories about the student. The participants are asked to keep the stories positive and uplifting. The students later write these stories in the form of a report. They keep the original along with the polished copy. I love reading the finished products!"

Feature Stories

From Thomas Whary, a creative writing teacher at Shamokin Area Junior-Senior High School in Coal ownship, Pennsylvania:

"As part of a unit on writing feature stories, I have my students practice interviewing by working in groups of three. Student A interviews student B, B interviews C, and C interviews A on activities and interests. They must prepare at least five questions and get direct quotes for answers. The students then write short feature stories, which include the quotes, and read them to the class. The students enjoy hearing the stories about their classmates. After this exercise, the students interview people outside of class and write longer feature stories. Some of the best writing is given to the editor of the local newspaper for consideration for publication."

Good Writing Habits

Writing Sticks

From Christy Crahan, a first grade teacher at Verdugo Woodlands School in Glendale, California:

"I use ice cream sticks to aid children in writing sentences. I give everyone a stick with their name written on the left side for directionality. I make a green dot for 'GO' following the child's name to remind the children to begin a sentence with a capital letter. On the right hand side, I make a red dot for 'STOP' to remind the children to put a period at the end of a sentence. I call this 'Green Light, Red Light'. The students can use the sticks for spacing between words as they're just the right dimension."

Motivating Dialogue

From Laraine Reisner, a fourth grade teacher at Encino Elementary in Los Angeles, California:

"To motivate my students to write dialogue, I use old calendar pictures of puppies, kittens and other animals which I've backed and laminated. Most of the pictures are pairs of animals. I let the students work with a partner and write a dialogue to match the picture that they receive. They really enjoy pretending they are that animal and come up with some clever lines. We orally share their work and make up a bulletin board for all to enjoy."

Can We Talk?

From Patricia Pason, a fifth grade teacher at Spring Creek Elementary in Spring Creek, Nevada:

"One of the hardest things for my students to understand is the old rule about changing paragraphs when a new speaker talks. After having a few lessons that go over the rules of writing dialogue, I have the students pair together. Each person draws a portrait of their partner from the shoulders up. This makes for a lot of giggles at the time, but the students do seem to try their best to capture a true likeness of their partners. Once this is done, the students mount these creations on a large sized piece of construction paper with a sheet of notebook paper that will be used for their dialogue. They write a conversation to go with this project with each person writing their own words. Each time it's their turn to speak, they must start a new line of the paper indenting as they go. This makes for a cute display for open house or conferences."

Cartoon Dialogues

From Karen Russell, a third grade teacher at Willett School in Davis, California:

"To help children learn how to write with dialogue, I choose four frame cartoons with dialogue bubbles. For beginners, I make sure that the cartoon speakers alternate. I make and use a transparency of the cartoon and make a paper copy for the kids with lines below it. I model for them how to write a brief introduction that includes the setting and maybe something about what they see happening. We write the dialogue for each speaker's bubbles and write a conclusion sentence or two at the end. After a few cartoons, they become very capable of using correct punctuation and adding in description to take the place of the pictures in the cartoon. They can then incorporate these skills into their own stories."

Noisy Writing

From a first grade teacher:

"I came up with an easy way to help young writers remember to start each sentence with a capital letter and to use punctuation at the end. During their writing time they can make noise! They may beep when they put a period and then clap their hands above their heads to remind themselves to make the next letter a capital. At first everyone did it and it was fun but it also worked! Now the ones who are continuing to do this don't even bother the others. It's become a normal part of our day."

Hot Dog Party

From Ursula White, a third grade teacher at Hartly Elementary School in Dover, Delaware:

"I have a hot dog party to reinforce the six traits of writing. The hot dog represents ideas. The students' ideas must be plump, juicy and fill of spices. The bun represents organization. The tip of the bun is the beginning, the crease of the bun is the middle and the bottom of the bun is the ending. Without the bun, the story and the hot dog would roll around aimlessly. The condiments represent voice. As our hot dogs are dressed in our own unique way, each child has a unique voice that they bring to their writing. The chips represent sentence fluency. No two chips are alike as are no two sentences alike. The soda represents word choice. Students' stories must have energetic verbs and descriptive words to create the visual images the reader needs. Like the soda, the story must be alive with fizz! The hot dog party itself represents conventions. This ties it all together. Students realize they must edit their work for spelling, punctuation, paragraphing and grammar mistakes. Students really understand the qualities of good writing when presented in this fun party fashion."

COPS Rap

From Marsha Heineke, a Title I literacy teacher at East Memorial Elementary in Greeley, Colorado who works mainly with fourth and fifth graders:

"During one of my college classes, we had a discussion about using proper capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in elementary school. Christene Sanchez and Michael Fern shared an acronym they use at their school called COPS, which stands for Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, and Spelling. To extend the use of this, I wrote a rap that was done by four of our local policeman two weeks ago during an assembly. We made 2 feet x 4 feet banners to carry around during the rap. Now the banners are posted up around the school as a constant reminder to students to remember their COPS in writing. Here's the rap song:

Cops, cops here for you
On the streets and in the classroom, too!

Capital letters start a name,
A special place or thing. Make it a game
Form it clear, if it is small,
If it's big, make it tall.
This is very important for you to do
Using capital letters are a good clue.

Cops, cops here for you
On the streets and in the classroom, too!

We've got style. We've got grace.
Every word has its place.
Keep it in line, keep it straight.
Organization is first rate.
If it sound good, you're going the right way.
Do your best and say what you may.

Cops, cops here for you
On the streets and in the classroom, too!

Punctuation is good to do
Or how will we know your sentence is through?
A comma, a period, a mark or two,
If it isn't expressive, then we'll be blue.
Use your brain to show you're smart
And end each sentence with a mark.

Cops, cops here for you
On the streets and in the classroom, too!

Spelling, yuuuuuuuuuck what a reach.
It's so hard, come on, teach!
There's so many places for us to go
To help our spelling improve and grow
Spelling is important for us to be good.
To do our best like we know we should."

Writing Good Details

From Ricardo Taylor, a teacher at Beaver Falls Middle School in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania:

"I use a six-day activity to help students see the importance of using good details in writing.

Day One: students draw a picture of a monster, unusual animal or funny face. They show no one the drawings which I collect.

Day Two: I return the drawings and students list, on a 5X8 lined note card, as many details as they can that would help someone else draw the same picture. I stress using good adjectives and drawing in sequence. I collect the cards and pictures (with the student name on both).

Day Three: I pair up students into partners who exchange their details card. I keep the drawings until later. Each partner tries to duplicate the original drawing, using only the details card. They may not ask me or their partner any questions. When this drawing is done, they put their name and '2' at the bottom, indicating they are the second person to draw this picture.

Day Four: I staple both pictures to a large piece of paper, along with the details card. Now is the moment the students have been waiting for as artist 2 gets to look at the original. What a riot! I now have them write a friendly letter to the original artist and give their opinion of the details they were given. They must use compliments as well as constructive criticism. We address envelopes and include an inside address on the letter. We use row and seat number as the street address.

Day Five: I deliver the pictures and mail to the original artist to see how well their details worked. Another letter is written to artist 2 to indicate what the original artist thought of how the details were followed and how artist 2 could improve.

Day Six: Partners meet on this day. Finally they design a piece of a classroom quilt that I will later put on the wall. Each team gets a square of white paper as their piece of the quilt. I ask them to put their names as well as a special design that tells something about them and sharing ideas."