Book Recommendation: S Is for Story

Esther Hershenhorn has written a wonderful alphabet book about writing. In S Is for Story, she writes in poetry and prose, she shares writing tips, she includes quotes from authors, she describes the writing process. In all, she covers a lot of ground, presenting a lovely overview of writing for students. I highly recommend this book.

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Two Stories, One Pattern

Who: Writers in the elementary years

What: After analyzing the parts of a story in two similar picture books, students write their own story with the same pattern.

How: 

1. If necessary, review the parts of a story, specifically character, setting, problem (or conflict), and plot. (These are not complicated stories, so the discussion can be brief and basic.)

2. Give students a story map.

3. Read The Enormous Carrot by Vladimir Vagin and discuss with students each of the blocks in column 1. Students fill in the boxes as thoroughly as possible. (Think of this as a note-taking or prewriting exercise. Complete sentences are not necessary.) 

For the "Anything else?" block, take time to appreciate anything unique the authors did in telling their stories (e.g. alliteration, repetition, smallest to biggest or biggest to smallest, etc.).

4. Read Berlioz, the Bear by Jan Brett and fill in the second column. 

5. Notice with your students that, while these stories have differences, they are fundamentally the same. What are the differences? What are the similarities? Are your students aware of other authors who have used the same pattern to tell their stories?

6. Now it's time for students to brainstorm a story of their own. Invite them to begin mapping their story in the third column.

7. Write, revise, and edit the story, preparing it to share with others.

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Frog and Toad Teach Punctuation

How do you teach your students the rules associated with punctuating dialogue?

I mean, are they important to know? Can we ignore them?

I have The Jesus Storybook Bible within reach. Let's see how dialogue looks without punctuation. Hang on!

Saul! Saul! said the loud voice. Why are you fighting me? Lord? Saul answered who are you? I am Jesus said the voice. When you hurt my friends, you are hurting me, too. Saul's whole body trembled. Go to the city Jesus said I'll tell you what to do.

That obviously won't work. We need the rules for clarity.

But how do we teach them without crushing our students with tedium?

What about using Frog and Toad Are Friends, an easy reader by Arnold Lobel?

That sounds random, I know. The idea developed when I read that a professor teaches punctuation with Lobel's book. I don't know what his or her method is; I don't know the age group the professor teaches. An Internet search produced nothing. But the notion intrigued me. I borrowed a copy of the book from my library to see if I could get into the mind of that professor.

The first thing I noticed was the dialogue. I looked at Frog's and Toad's lines, trying to find a pattern in their structure.

I found six categories.

Category 1: Said first
Toad said, "Frog, you are looking quite green."

Category 2: Said last
"Today you look very green even for a frog," said Toad.

Category 3: Said in the Middle of a Sentence
"Then you get out of bed and let me get into it," said Toad, "because now I feel terrible."

Category 4: Said in the Middle of Two Sentences
"Don't worry," said Frog. "We will go back to all the places where we walked. We will soon find your button."

Category 5: An Exclamation
"Here is your button!" cried Frog.

Category 6: A Question
"Does Toad really look funny in his bathing suit?" they asked.

With those categories, I designed an assignment for students.

My objectives:

• Students will connect rules to real reading.
• Students will stretch their observation skills as they search for and evaluate the various categories of dialogue.
• Students will apply what they learn to their own sentences.
• As a bonus, students will write rules they observe.

You can treat the papers as a worksheet, or you can cut around the six rectangles and paste them in a Writer's Reference notebook.

You will find the sheets here. If you find them helpful, will you please let me know?

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Diary of a Critter

Who: Students in the elementary years

What: Write a diary from the perspective of a critter, as Doreen Cronin did in Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Fly, and Diary of a Spider.

How:
1. Simply enjoy Cronin's books: the illustrations, the humor, the brilliant use of personification. (If you want to review personification or show your students examples of personification in movies, watch the video below. While you're at it, do a little Editing-on-the-Go and see if you can spot a spelling and grammar error. Tsk. Tsk.)

2. Notice similarities in each of the books. We'll start with the obvious: they are all diaries. (Phew, I'm glad we figured that one out!) They are written in first person. They mix fiction and non-fiction. (One excellent example is the June 7 entry of Diary of a Fly. Fly is nervously anticipating his first day of school (fiction) when he asks (fiction): "What if I'm the only one who eats regurgitated food?" (non-fiction). They have scrapbook pages, including pictures and captions. Anything else?

3. Brainstorm possible critters to study. Actually, anything non-human will be fine. Find books and websites about the topic. Read and study, recording interesting and important information on this sheet*. I recommend setting sources aside when it's time to write. Otherwise, it's very tempting to use another person's words with minor tweaking here and there.

4. Plan the diary. This sheet* might be helpful.

*I found these sheets at Writing Fix. For some students, they provide needed support. If your students can run with their ideas, no props necessary, by all means let them. Don't mush them into a mold.

5. Revisit the planning sheet (or first draft). Ask questions for revision. Is the order of the entries logical? Can any words be strengthened?  Can any sentences be reworded to make them flow better? Have you read the entries aloud to hear how they sound? Are there any words or sentences that confuse you or make you stumble?

6. Check the conventions: spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc. 

7. Ready the text for sharing with others (illustrations, a fun scrapbook page, a cool font, whatever will announce to potential readers that they must pick it up).

I'd love to see your favorite entry in the comments. Please share!

Note: Although the planning sheets come from Writing Fix, I did not take this lesson from there. It came from my own thinker. : )

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Circular Stories

Who: Elementary-aged writers

What: Write a circular story, using Laura Numeroff's If You Give... books as a model.

How:

1. Read several If You Give... books. Since they all follow the same pattern of cause and effect, beginning and ending in the same place, it won't take long to get a feel for the structure of these books.

2. Brainstorm possible characters and adventures. Students can use an Interactive Circle Plot Diagram to plan the story or a simple sheet like this one. The planning phase is very important.

3. Chances are, the story won't work out perfectly during the planning stage, so revision will be essential for reworking the details.  Perfect. It's during revision that writing begins to flourish, so let the revision happen in earnest.

Student Example

If You Take a Cheetah to the Mall

If you take a cheetah to the mall, he'll want to buy some foamy shampoo. When you give him the shampoo, he'll want to take a shower. When he is finished, he'll dry himself off with a big towel. Then he'll roll himself up in the towel and walk around and bump into things. When he bumps into the walls and corners, he'll get cuts and bruises. Then he'll notice his fur is getting smelly and dirty. And, chances are, if his fur gets smelly and dirty, he'll want to go back to the mall and get some more shampoo.

4. If you want to tie grammar into this assignment, teach your students AAAWWUBBIS clauses. See this post for more information.

5. Make the finished story into an illustrated book.

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Important Things

Who: Young or reluctant elementary-aged writers

What: Follow Margaret Wise Brown's pattern from The Important Book in which she illustrates a helpful structure for paragraph writing.

1. Read The Important Book or click the above book cover to see sample pages.

            “The important thing about a spoon is that you eat with it.  It’s like a little shovel, you hold it in your hand, you can put it in your mouth, it isn’t flat, it’s hollow, and it spoons things up.  But the important thing about a spoon is that you eat with it.

            The important thing about a daisy is that it is white.  It is yellow in the middle, it has long white petals, and bees sit on it, it has a ticklish smell, it grows in green fields, and there are always lots of daisies.  But the important thing about a daisy is that it is white.”

2. Observe the pattern Brown uses. (See #4.)

3. Choose a topic. Brainstorm reasons you think your topic is important. Use this webbing tool to organize your initial thoughts.

4. Imitate Brown's pattern, but make one adjustment. In Brown's paragraphs, her middle sentence--the one that tells why the object is important--is one long string, separated by commas. I recommend writing separate sentences with periods.

A template would look like this:

The important thing about _____________________ is ________________________.

Detail #1

Detail #2

Detail #3

But the most important thing about _____________________ is ___________________.

Write a minimum of three of your very best details.

5. Revise and edit! Are the sentences in logical order? Does one flow well into the next? Are the words spelled correctly? Spruce up the paragraphs to make them your very best.

6. Share one of your important paragraphs in the comments.

Student samples:

The important thing about God is that He has power over Satan. He is unchangeable and holy. He loves and protects us from Satan. He is majestic and perfect. He wants us to love him and he gave us the Bible so we can read it. He sent his only Son to die for us on a cross and save us from our sins. But the important thing about God is that He has power over Satan.

The important thing about Grandmom and Pop pop is that they are fun to be with. They like to cuddle with us when they're watching TV and Eagles' games. Pop pop sometimes sneaks us candy when Grandmom is not looking and he always has long prayers! Grandmom always has a good meal ready when we get there on Thursdays and after we have a fill of TV Grandmom takes us on in a game of Nines. Every time we go there they spoil us and give us more graham cracker pudding than we should have. But the important thing about Grandmom and Pop pop is that they are fun to be with.

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I Know What I Like, a Pattern to Follow

Norma Simon wrote I Know What I Like, a picture book with a very specific pattern.

The first set goes like this:

I like to make pudding.

I like to make pictures.

I like to make faces.

But I don't like to make my bed or pick up in my room. (I do it anyway.)

The rest are like it.

I like to (verb)....

I like to (same verb)....

I like to (same verb)....

But I don't like to (same verb)....

After reading the book together, talk about the pattern: three likes followed by a don't like. (If you can't find a copy of this out-of-print book, you can still easily do the assignment. The prewriting sheet will help you.)

Under Set 1 on the prewriting sheet, write an example together. If you have a student new to writing, the sentences can be simple like Simon's. For students who can do more, encourage longer, more detailed sentences.

Here is one student's example:

I like to make fresh chocolate chip cookies (and eat them).

I like to make up funny jokes that make me laugh so hard I cry.

I like to make whoopie pies with aunt Elisabeth because we don't see her very often and she makes great whoopie pies!  I like it because sometimes Poppop sticks M & M's in them when Grandmom is not looking because if she is he is in big time trouble!

I don't like to make "awkward scenes" in the grocery store because that turns my mom hot pink and I throw a fit and sooner or later my bottom starts hurting from that spanking! Well, I have never done it, but I also don't want to try.

Invite your children to work on the other three sets.

If appropriate, push your writers beyond their first draft. Revising their writing will polish it, making it shine a little brighter.

Please post an "I like/I don't like" set in the comments.

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Hey, Little Ant

Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose is the perfect book to teach point of view, but this time let's use it to encourage students to write in four modes: persuasive, expository, narrative, and descriptive.

Here are some assignments, which may be paragraph length or longer, that students can complete:

1. Read Hey, Little Ant.

2. Camp on the last page, where the narrator asks the reader whether the kid should step on the ant. Write a persuasive piece, giving your opinion of what the kid should do. Of course, it is important to include convincing (or funny) reasons and/or examples to back up your opinion.

3. Study the picture of the ant on the last page. Describe the ant as he awaits his fate. Use lots of details which include the senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch).

4. Write an expository piece. Explain the situation between the boy and the ant OR explain the procedure for killing an ant OR explain the ant's get-away plan.

5. Write a narrative piece. Tell the story of the kid and the ant OR tell the story of a time you encountered an insect.  What did you do?  (It's okay to embellish it to make it more interesting!)

Those are my ideas. If you think of ones that suit you better, use them instead!

Share students' finished pieces in the comments. It would make my day!

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Using AAAWWUBBIS Clauses

I began reading If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff and noticed the "if" clause on the first page. On the third page, I saw the "when" clause. Hmmm, I thought, this series might be a good one to teach adverb clauses.

Yeah, I know, "adverb clause" sounds too technical. I prefer calling them AAAWWUBBIS clauses as Jeff Anderson does in Mechanically Inclined.

What do you need to know about them?

1. They begin with the following words:

although      after      as      when      while      until      before      because      if      since

2. They can occur anywhere in the sentence: beginning, middle, or end.

3. Where there is an adverb clause, there is a comma nearby (two commas if the clause is in the middle of the sentence).

4. They depend on complete sentences. If you write an adverb clause without one, you will end up with a fragment.

Here are examples from two of Numeroff's books:

"If you give a dog a donut, he'll ask for some apple juice to go with it."

"When you give him the juice, he'll drink it all up." 

"It will go higher and higher, until it gets tangled in the apple tree." 

"While he's waiting, he'll play a quick game of soccer."

To give your students practice with writing and punctuating AAAWWUBBIS clauses, have them write their own series of sentences, each one including a word from the AAAWWUBBIS list. 

Make the task more challenging by having students write their own If You Give... story, mimicking Numeroff's pattern by starting and ending the story at the same place.

Example (Numeroff's writing with my revisions to fit the assignment):

• If you give a dog a donut, he'll ask for some apple juice to go with it.
• When you give him the juice, he'll drink it all up.
• Because he likes it so much, he'll ask for more.
• Since there won't be any left, he'll want to make his own.
• He'll go outside to pick apples, after leaving behind a mess.
• When he's up in the tree, he'll toss you one.

If all of the rules are followed correctly, the goal of the lesson is accomplished.

But...

...if your students want to have their own versions of an If You Give... book, invite them to revise their sentences to make the story flow naturally, since it sounds clumsy to have every sentence structured the same way.

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Inspiration Provided by...Snowflake Bentley

Who: Elementary and middle school students, although adaptations can be made for younger students

What: Write a biographical picture book, using the format modeled by Jacqueline Briggs Martin in Snowflake Bentley.

How: 

• Read Snowflake Bentley.

• Notice how Martin includes interesting information about Bentley in the story and in the sidebars.

• Choose a person who intrigues or inspires you.

• Find books, websites, and/or articles about the person.

• Read. Read. Read.

• Use a graphic organizer (like the first page of this one) to help you gather important information.  Add any other categories you like. To avoid plagiarizing someone else's work, write your notes after the resources have been set aside.

• Instead of writing a report about the person, write a story as Martin did. If there is anything in Martin's writing that you want to imitate, like her beginning, that's okay. Just use your own words.

• Remember, writing is a process. A draft is the beginning, not the end. Ask someone--or two someones--to read your draft, ask questions about it, and make helpful comments, all to aid you in making your story better.

• Break the story into chunks suitable for a picture book.

• For a handful of pages, write a sentence or two for sidebars that give additional information about your person. Notice the page in Snowflake Bentley that says, "He could pick apple blossoms and take them to his mother. But he could not share snowflakes because he could not save them." On the right is related information about Willie and his mother that Briggs chose to share there rather than in the story.

• Present your story in a blank book or any other way you like.

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Identifying with an Author

Here's a quick children's lit. quiz. I'm going to name some main characters; you're going to name their author. Ready? Murdley Gurdson Princess Penelope Fluffy Tacky Wodney Wat Okay. What's your answer? Did you say Helen Lester?  Ding. Ding. Ding. You are correct! Lester also has a book about herself. In Author: A True Story, she tells the good and the bad of becoming an author. Your young writers will see an experienced writer facing rejection, persevering, practicing, using the writing process, being frustrated, being inspired. They will see that they are much like Helen (well, except that they don't receive royalties for their work). Knowing that they are not alone may make a very difficult process just a tad easier to bear. If you're not familiar with Murdley and the rest of the characters I mentioned, go to E/Lester on your next visit to the library and fill your bag with Lester's books. They are the kind you won't mind reading for the 20th time. This post contains affiliate links.

Recognizing and Fixing Fragments

When students are learning to write, we tell them that fragments--partial sentences that are missing either a subject or a verb--are no-no's. We don't want them writing grammatical horrors, such as "David bought a gopher ranch. Hoping to strike it rich." or "David bought a gopher ranch. Although he knew nothing about rodents." These examples show that the writer lacks sentence sense.

Rules are sometimes made to be broken, though, right?  Writers break the complete sentence rule all of the time, using fragments to their advantage.

When I began reading Eileen Spinelli's The Best Story, I noticed fragments. Plenty of them. (Whoops. There's one of my own.) 

Use Spinelli's book with your students, giving them a closer look at fragments. Start by reading the story together, being reminded that the best stories we write come from our hearts.

Okay, now for some grammar in context. Look at page 2.

I ran home.
Went to my room.
Shut the door.
I sharpened five pencils.
Opened my notebook to a brand-new page.
And thought.
And thought.
And thought.
And all I could think was this writing stuff was hard and lonely.
Maybe I needed help.

How many sentences do we have here? If your students think sentences start with a capital letter and end with a period, we have ten.  In that case, maybe Mr. Morton of Schoolhouse Rock can teach them about the essential parts of a sentence.

Test Mr. Morton's lesson with two-word sentences here, finding the subjects and predicates.

Now return to Spinelli's text. Look at the first line. Is there a subject?  Yes.  Is there a verb?  Yes.  It passes the test.

How about the second line. Is there a subject?  No. What subject can we add to make it a sentence?

Continue through each line, writing the revised sentences line by line as Spinelli does.

When you are finished, compare the two lists. What do your students think?  Why do they think Spinelli chose to use fragments instead of complete sentences?

Now revise the first eight lines, linking them with commas, so they are all part of one longer sentence. How does it compare to the other two lists? Which one do they prefer?

Read the story a second time, pausing at fragments and discussing how to "fix" them.

Bonus: Look at page one, where it says "Write the best story. Win first prize."  Discuss with your student whether these are fragments or sentences.

A Second Bonus: Do you remember teachers telling you never to begin sentences with and, but, or so?  Maybe Spinelli is rebelling against language arts teachers or something because most of her sentences start with one of these three conjunctions. Again, discuss why she may have chosen to do this. How would the text sound if these words were eliminated?

A Little More Practice: If your student tends to use fragments unintentionally, pull out some of her pieces to analyze and revise. If your student has sentence sense, ask him to sprinkle a couple of fragments in an assignment to see if he likes the effect.

Gopher sentences come from Steps to Writing Well by Jean Wyrick.

Collecting Words

Max has two brothers. One collects coins; the other, stamps. Max wants to collect something, too, so he begins a collection of words. Invite newer readers to join Max on his hunt for words. From magazines, newspapers, and catalogs, your student can cut "small words," "bigger words," "words that ma[k]e him feel good," "words of things he like[s] to eat," "his favorite colors...." After reading his words, he can arrange his collection in various orders until he finds an arrangement he loves, individual, unrelated sentences or strings that make a story. Instruct him to carefully paste the words onto a piece of cardstock, illustrate it, and share it with someone else who loves words or maybe someone who, like Max's brothers, doesn't share very well. This post contains an affiliate link.

Learning Genres

Do you want books to help your students...

                        ...learn the elements of literary analysis?
                        ...study different genres?
                        ...improve their reading and writing skills?

I recommend Nancy Loewen's Writer's Toolbox series.  So far, there are nine:

These books accomplish a lot. First, many of them include a stand-alone story. In Once Upon a Time, for instance, Loewen retells "Little Red Riding Hood."  The story can be read and enjoyed all by itself. But then she adds blocks to most pages which explain the tools necessary for that particular genre. Again, in Once Upon a Time, Loewen shows that fairy tales need setting, characters, plot, dialogue, warnings, magic, greed, tricks, secret, repetition, mistakes, problem-solving, and a pleasing end. Phew! That sounds like an overwhelming list, but she keeps the descriptions brief, and she positions the story, so that it illustrates each tool she is explaining.

At the end of the books, she reviews the tools, gives "Getting Started Exercises," shares "Writing Tips," and directs readers to a Fact Hound site which lists related books and websites.

There's no lack of nourishment for your language arts menu here. Focus on one book a month or intersperse a few of them with the other language arts activities you are doing. Whatever you choose, I'm pretty sure you'll leave the table satisfied.

For an additional idea, see the assignment in Inspiration.

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