In this mini spark, you will  narrative about a routine activity you frequently engage in, such as brushing your teeth, shopping at the grocery store, or cycling. Next, introduce an unusual twist by altering a single detail. For instance, imagine if your toothbrush were replaced by a banana, the grocery store stocked only umbrellas, or your bike tires were actually snakes

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #1: A Weird Story
2.  As you listen to this story, briefly describe some of the parts that are funny, silly,  or that make you smile.

3. What makes the title of this story funny? What would you change about the title?  Write your ideas on your recording page.

4.  Look over these prompts. On your recording page record the two ideas that you like best.

• Write a story about what would happen if every round object on Earth was suddenly a cabbage.

• Write a story about two characters who are opposites. They could be opposite in size (one big, one small) or opposite in personality (one grumpy, one cheery) or opposite in what they want (one wants to sleep, one wants to dance). What happens when these characters meet? Do they become friends? Or enemies?

• Write a story about an everyday object or animal (for example, a door, a carrot, a puppy, etc) that is secretly evil.

• Write a story about a pigeon and a kid who swap bodies.

• Write a story about an everyday activity you do all the time – for example, brushing your teeth, visiting the supermarket, riding your bike, etc. Then make the story weird by changing one small detail. For example, your toothbrush might be a banana. Or the supermarket might only sell gorillas. Or the tyres of your bike might actually be snakes.

5. Print off this prompt page. Choose one of the prompts and record your work on the page. You can choose to write your story on your mini spark recording page if you want.

6. Choose a title for your story and record it.

7. Share your language arts mini spark recording page or the prompt page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Post adapted from https://realpigeons.com/activities/how-to-write-a-silly-story/

The definition of irony as a literary device is a situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality. Check it out in this mini spark.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #78: Literary Device Lesson-Irony

2. Record this definition on your recording page:

IRONY- The use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning.

3. Set up your recording page with three sections.

Situational irony                      Dramatic irony                        Verbal irony

3. Discover three types of irony using this TED-Ed lesson. Read all of the teaching paragraphs and the watch each video. Record 3 details for each video on your recording page.

4. To show what you learned from the TEd-Ed lesson page create a visual with definitions and examples. Include at least 10 ideas on your visual.

5. Share your language arts mini spark recording page and visual with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Middle School 

Two Degrees – Alan Gratz

The List of Unspeakable Fears – J. Kasper Kramer

The Mona Lisa Vanishes – Nicholas Day

What Happened to Rachel Riley – Claire Swinarski

The Labors of Hercules – Gary D. Schmidt

Simon Sort of Says – Erin Bow

Max in the House of Spies – Adam Gidwitz

Tristan Song Punches a Hole in the Sky – Kwame Mbalia

Towers Falling – Jewell Parker Rhodes

Parachute Kids – Betty C. Tang