Step 3: Now that you have experienced this writing strategy. Research some other quotes that would make great writing prompts. Make a list of three to five quotes.
Step 4: Submit your Golden Line writing (Step 2) and list of quotes/prompts (Step 3) to your building’s EY Coordinator.
This writing contests is simple! Pick an integer and write a 100 word mini-saga. That’s it!
INTEGER:
[in-tuh-juh]noun
a number which is not a fraction; a whole number
Could you finish one of these story starters?
I rolled a 6…
I am number 13…
It was 2099…
Room 237 was empty…
I was down to my last $5…
Only 30 seconds left…
I was public enemy number 1…
Use one of the story starters above or think of your own! Hurry! Entries are Due Feb. 24. For help in submitting your writing, contact the EY Coordinator at your building.
Nonfiction poetry focuses on conveying facts about subjects through engaging and creative narratives. Nonfiction poetry can be a fun and thought-provoking way to tell a story or impart information.
Step 1 – Learn about an important historical event (Apollo 11) by reading the article, The Moon Landing on the National Geographic Kids website. Click on photo to read.
Step 2 – Listen to this example of nonfiction poetry about Apollo 11, Eight Days Gone. Click on photo to watch/listen.
Step 3 – Explore these websites and choose an article of interest. Read the article 1-2 times.
Step 4 – Create your nonfiction verse in the form of a Cinquain poem. Cinquain poems follow a specific 5 line pattern. Use these sheets to further analyze your article/topic and draft your poem.
When reading a favorite story take some time to notice the length of the sentences you are reading. Writers often use a variety of sentence lengths to create a rhythm.
Using long sentences with lots of details, short and sweet to the point sentences, and combined with mid length sentences will make your story flow.
To complete this mini spark watch this video and complete the 12 sentence story challenge.
Turn your story into your teacher or EY coordinator.
We don’t have to only celebrate opposite day on January 25th. Check out some of these resources to celebrate!
Oh, SpongeBob!
Watch this video and make a list of 10 things you could do today that are the opposite of what you would normally do. Examples: eat breakfast for dinner, greet your friends with “good-bye” instead of “hello”, write your name backwards all day.
IRONY
The use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning.
Learn about irony @ TED ed. Discover the three types of irony. Watch all three videos and create a chart with definitions and examples.
CONTRONYMS
These are words that have contradictory or opposite meanings.
CLIP can mean to “cut off” (as in clipping a coupon) or “attach” (as you do with a paperclip)
DUST can mean to “to remove particles” or “add fine particles” (as in dusting a cake with sugar)
LEFT can mean “remaining” (as in one piece left) or “departed” (as in “she left ten minutes ago.”)
SEED can mean ” seeds put in” (as in “seeded with native grasses”) or “to remove seeds” (as in “seeding a watermelon”).
Add the words from above to a list and try to come up with 3 more! Check out more examples here after you have thought of 3 of your own.
Palindromes
Mom and Dad Are Palindromes, written by Mark Shulman has many examples of word that are written the same forwards and backward. Watch the video, and write down your 5 favorite palindromes from the story.
Lesson ideas are from Big Ideas for little Scholars .
Personification is the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
1 – Watch this video clip that illustrates the use of personification.
2 – Draw an illustration to match each example of personification. Click on image to open the document to print.
3 – Write a story about a day in the life of an object, using plenty of personification. Include an illustration. You may use the template linked below (click on image).
4 – Submit completed “Day in the Life” story to your EY Coordinator.
It may seem like the semicolon is struggling with an identity crisis. It looks like a comma combined with a period. Maybe that’s why we toss these punctuation marks around like grammatical confetti; we’re confused about how to use them properly. This lesson offers some clarity and best practices for using the semicolon.
Watch the video. Pause the video as needed to record notes. Pay special attention to any words that are new to you, rules, specific examples and sample sentences. These items should all be included in your final note taking page.
Write two sentences of your own and include them on the note taking page.
Share this work with your teacher to earn this mini spark.
Lesson video by Emma Bryce, animation by Karrot Entertainment.
Let’s get ready for spelling bee season. Choose an activity or two from the choices below.
1. Watch this video, pause to write the word that you think is correct. Check your work as you go , Spend at least 3 minutes doing this activity.
2. Make sure you know how to pronounce all of the words from this list. You can use the internet to help you with this. Type in the word and the word “pronounce” and it will pop up for you.
#1 Start with the first five words.
#2 Whisper spell each one 5 times.
#3 Now practice spelling one word one at a time.
Look at one word quickly then close your eyes and spell the word. Open your eyes and check your spelling from the list.
#4 Keep practicing until you can spell all 5 correctly.
#5 Repeat with the next 5 on the list.
3. Find practice words. Look through the choices and find the list that is right for you
Choose 10 words from the grade level that suits you. Create a study guide. and study. When you are ready, have a teacher, parent, or peer give you a spelling test over the 10 words you choose. Submit your results and the study guide to your teacher or EY coordinator.
Modifiers are words, phrases, and clauses that add information about other parts of a sentence—which is usually helpful. But when modifiers aren’t linked clearly enough to the words they’re actually referring to, they can create unintentional ambiguity.
Incorrectly placed modifier: Perched up high on a tree branch, I yelled at the cat to leave the sparrow alone.
Meaning: I don’t tangle with a tabby unless I am perched 10 feet up in the air.
Correctly placed modifier: Seeing a sparrow perched up high on a tree branch, I yelled at the cat to leave him alone.
Meaning: ohhhh….the sparrow is up in the tree. Watch out little sparrow!
#1 Read this teaching page to look over some modifier examples.
#2 Watch this TED Ed video and take detailed notes about modifiers and their placement and navigate the sticky world of misplaced, dangling and squinting modifiers.
#3 Make a visual explaining modifiers with examples of how they are used. Also include your own sentence with a misplaced modifier and then correct the sentence so that the reader understands the meaning.
Challenge: Do more research about misplaced, dangling and squinting modifiers. Include what you learned in your visual.
