Pencil Tips Writing Workshop

http://www.lauragehl.com/

In Peep and Egg’s third adventure, Peep And Egg: I’m Not Taking A Bath, Egg gets muddy playing with the pigs. Peep tries to convince Egg to take a bath…but Egg is not taking a bath. No way, no how!

After you read Peep And Egg: I’m Not Taking A Bath out loud to your class, try these activities to get your students writing.

1. Persuasive Writing

Peep tries to convince Egg to take a bath by suggesting different alternatives, such as going to the river, or the duck pond, or the dog bowl.

Write a letter to Egg. In your letter, try to convince Egg to try something new. It could be anything! Maybe you think Egg should go on a roller coaster. Maybe you think Egg should try your favorite video game. In your letter, give at least three reasons to convince Egg.

2. Excuses, excuses!

Peep gives a lot of reasons why taking a bath is not happening—too wet, too bubbly, too slobbery!

Imagine a family member is telling you to clean your room. Make up a list of excuses to show why you can’t possibly clean your room.

3. Make it fun!

Peep finally convinces Egg to take a bath by making bath time seem like a lot of fun.

Imagine it is your job to take out the trash or sweep the floor, but you don’t want to do it. How could you convince a brother, sister, cousin, or friend to do the job instead, by making the job seem super fun? Think of a game to make taking out the trash or sweeping the floor seem as fun as going to Disneyworld!

Monday, February 27, 2017

“Sure to Spark Intense Discussion”

by Karen Leggett Abouraya

When Ann Bausum wrote Denied Detained Deported: Stories from the Dark Side of American Immigration in 2009, the starred review in Booklist called it a “landmark title, sure to spark intense discussion.” Indeed. Eight years later, the discussion might be even more intense.

Ann Bausum is the winner of the 2017 Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award, given to an author or author-illustrator whose total work has contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children. Bausum’s work is wide-ranging – The March Against Fear: The Last Great Walk of the Civil Rights Movement and the Emergence of Black Power; Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights; Stubby the War Dog and Denied Detained Deported.

In Denied Detained Deported, Bausum ends many chapters with questions that are excellent, thought-provoking writing prompts for teens and in a few cases, younger students.

· “What individual rights should be sacrificed in the name of homeland security?”

· “Do migrant workers contribute more to society than they take away?”

· “What protections might Americans be asked to forfeit when their heritage makes them suspect during a time of war?”

Whether students are asked to write essays or debate both sides of each question, they can gain experience in using logical reasoning and facts for civil debate and discourse.

A less intense writing activity would ask students to write a single diary entry for one of the children whose stories are told in the book. What was a day like for Mary Matsuda in a Japanese internment camp or Herb Karliner, a German Jewish boy expecting to sail to freedom and safety in the United States?

Herb Karliner, a German Jewish boy expecting to sail to freedom and safety
in the United States in 1939

There are more stories about Chinese who came seeking gold in California in 1849 and cycles of Mexican migration in the 20^th century. As Bausum concludes, “The United States has been alternatively welcoming and hostile to those who have tried to cross through ‘the golden door’ into America.”

While you are contemplating which of Ann Bausum’s books to share with your students, make plans to hear her in person at the Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award Celebration on April 29 at Clyde’s Gallery Place in Washington, D.C. Register here . Everyone is welcome!

http://childrensbookguild.org/karen-leggett-abouraya

Monday, January 30, 2017

School's First Day of School

School’s First Day of School, written by Adam Rex and illustrated by Christian Robinson, turns the typical “first day of school” story on its head. After a new school is built, makes friends with the janitor, and gets used to a peaceful existence, the school hears some scary, unwelcome news: children are coming!

School’s First Day of School will be a fun writing prompt to use in the classroom. After you read the book aloud to your students, here are some activities to try:

1. In this book, the main character is a school. If you were to write a story with an inanimate object as the main character, what object would you choose? Why? When you are choosing your object, think about what characteristics your inanimate object has that might be useful in the plot of your story. For example, in School’s First Day of School, the school is able to squirt a boy from a water fountain, be embarrassed by setting off the fire alarm, and be hurt by a pushpin.

2. What other books can you think of where the main character is an inanimate object? Make a list as a class.

3. The school gradually warms up to the children, just as the little girl with freckles warms up to the school, and the book ends on a happy note. What if you were to write a sequel to School’s First Day of School? What would happen? What new problems would arise, and how would they be solved?

School’s First Day of School is funny, surprising, and heart-warming. It is a story of adapting to change, and of realizing that the things we never wanted may be exactly the things we need the most.

www.lauragehl.com

Monday, January 23, 2017

Writing Connections with Raina Telgemeier

Is the classroom or your personal journaling experience starting to pall? One way to spice up the journal-keeping process is to add visuals. That’s how Raina Telgemeier got her start as a graphic novelist when she was 10 years old. In a recent interview in the KidsPost section of the Washington Post, Raina talks about her newest graphic novel Ghosts and how she began keeping a comics diary when she was a kid.

Below are writing lessons for the classroom or for individual writers ages 8 and up. Telgemeir’s website also has teacher’s guides.

WRITING/DRAWING YOUR LIFE: Classroom Discussion, Part 1: You might start by showing kids various examples of graphic novels (Telgemeier’s Smile, Sisters and Ghosts; Jennifer Holm’s Babymouse series, Gene Yang’s Secret Coders series). Though most tell a fictional story, Smile and Sisters chronicle events in Telgemeier’s life.

Classroom Writing: Instead of the usual journaling-in-words-only that is done as part of the classroom writing experience, encourage students to do what Telgemeir did as a kid. In a “comics diary,” she recorded her days in comic-strip form. This loose, sketchy process helps kids to avoid getting hung up on creating “realistic” drawings and instead encourages them to focus on what’s key to the day/emotion/scene in very stylized drawings. Students might do just one panel with dialogue balloons that captures an experience or several linked ones.

You might also have them bring photos from home or have some magazines on hand so they might cut and paste in backgrounds, relevant images, etc.

Examples of Prompts (these also work for traditional journal entries): What made me scared today? Angry? Excited? Annoyed? Happy? Before writing, have students close their eyes and focus on their day and call a particular emotion/event to mind.

Classroom Discussion, Part 2: After about a week of keeping a comics journal, ask students which they preferred, comics journal or the more traditional writing journal. Or perhaps a combination. What did they like/dislike about all three? What did they enjoy/learn from the comics diary experience? Did doing their own comics diaries change the way they looked at/read graphic novels?

Monday, December 5, 2016

Writing with The Maple book series

Guest Post by Laura Murray

The Maple books by Lori Nichols feature Maple, a nature-loving, spirited little girl, and her younger sister Willow. The series begins with Maple, followed by Maple and Willow Together, and then Maple and Willow Apart.

The Maple books make a great writing prompt for the classroom. After you read the books aloud, here are a few ways to use this heart-filled trio of picture books with your students:

1) Which of the three books in the Maple series is your favorite? Why?

2) Maple and Willow are both named after trees. What if you had to pick a name for yourself that is the name of a tree, flower, bird, or rock? What name would you pick? Why?

3) In Maple and Willow Together, Maple and Willow have a huge fight that starts over something silly—whether to keep their dandelions or blow the seeds. Write about a time you had a fight with a friend or family member over something silly. How did you work things out in the end?

4) In Maple and Willow Apart, Maple and Willow figure out a way to stay connected even when Maple is at school and Willow is at home: Maple carries an acorn from Willow with her to school. Think about someone you love who lives in a different city or state—a grandparent, a cousin, or maybe a friend who has moved away. How do you stay connected to this person when you can’t be in the same place?

The Maple books are about sisters, but they resonate with every reader, whether the child has a sister or not. This is because these books touch on essential truths of every relationship, showing how our important relationships grow and change over time, that there are always bumps along the way, and that we can find ways to stay close to people we love even when we can’t be with them all the time.

www.lauragehl.com

Monday, November 14, 2016

Gingerbread Man Series as Mentor Text

Let’s go on a scavenger hunt! With a book!

Picture books can be wonderful mentor texts for student writing skills and curriculum connections. Being a former teacher, I thoroughly enjoy writing the adventure series about a little “class-made” Gingerbread Man, but I also strive to weave fun “teachable” writing threads in the stories as well.

Here’s a bit about the Gingerbread Man’s latest adventure and a few ideas on how to use it as a writing mentor text.

The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo begins as the Gingerbread Man and his classmates are trying to solve riddles on a field trip scavenger hunt! But a zoo full of critters is a tricky place for a tasty cookie – even a very fast one. Some of the creatures find the smart cookie to be a tempting treat and he gets separated from his class. After a few narrow escapes, the Gingerbread Man meets someone else who is lost and they team up to follow the riddles to get back where they belong.

It’s so much fun for readers to be able to interact with a story. The animal riddles in the text are written so that the reader gets a chance to solve the riddle clues, before the answer is revealed by a page turn.

The first animal riddle is, “I’m spotted. I’m gentle. I’m tall as a tree. A branch full of leaves is the best snack for me. I have a new baby and she is my calf. ‘Ah-ha!’ we all shouted, ‘The answer’s… (page turn) Giraffe!’”

Each riddle in the book has many descriptors of the animal, and rhymes that help the reader predict the animal. Let your students try their hand at these riddle writing and vivid verbs activities.

A Student Riddle Writing Activity

Writing riddles is a fun way to practice skills such as prediction, researching animal attributes, and using descriptive vocabulary and vivid verbs.

Have students pick an animal and then answer these questions to come up with descriptors for that animal. This could be done as a group or individually.

· What does the animal look like? Color? Size?

· Where does the animal live? Habitat?

· What sound does the animal make?

· What does the animal eat?

· Words that describe how the animal moves.

· What is the animal’s baby called?

· Do you know the species of the animal?

· Does the animal have personality traits? Like sneaky or stealthy?

Then students can use the descriptors to write a riddle. (The riddles don’t need to rhyme, but they can if the students happen to find a rhyme that works.)

· Here are links to two handouts with animal rhyming words if your students are interested in the challenge.

o Rhyming Animals by Ken Nesbitt

o Animal–Related Rhymes by Laura Murray

· Here is a link to the mentor text lesson with a printable student riddle idea sheet to use with the activity. http://www.lauramurraybooks.com/loose-at-the-zoo

Using Vivid Verbs

The Gingerbread man and the animals are very active in the story. By using very vivid verbs to describe the way they move and react, it helps readers visualize the story better than ordinary verbs that aren’t very descriptive.

Here are some vivid verbs that are used in the story -

· Vivid Verbs - jumped, popped, scooped, wiggle, jiggle, zoomed, swing, glanced, scurry, screech, dodged, squeezed, waved, slurped, spied, raced, flew, snuffled, shuffled, slumped, hopped, sprang

Challenge your students to replace the common verbs listed below with vivid descriptive verbs, and then use some of those verbs in sentences / stories, or revise a piece of writing they’ve previously written.

· Ordinary Verbs – walked, saw, ran, looked, put, went, was, moved, drank, said, get, took, ate, gave, made

And here are a few more student connections that you might explore with the book:

· sequencing of the animals as they appear in the story

· map skills

· problem solving

In the story, the Gingerbread Man knows that creative problem solving, determination, and helping others along the way, will get him where he needs to go. I hope that your students have fun with these activities and can call on these same qualities as they approach their own writing journeys.

Laura Murray was a teacher before becoming an author and had to deal with many an escaped Gingerbread Man in her time. She is the author of the award-winning rhyming picture book series – The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School, The Gingerbread Man Loose on the Fire Truck, The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas, and The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo. Laura lives with her family in northern Virginia and loves speaking at schools about reading, writing, and creating. Visit her online at http://www.LauraMurrayBooks.com and on Twitter @LauraMurrayBook.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Writing with Animal Scientist Alexandra Horowitz

Many kids think that scientists work with beakers and microscopes, but Dr. Alexandra Horowitz is a scientist who works with her pets. By carefully watching her dogs, she gains insight into how dogs in general behave and learn. In a recent interview with the KidsPost section of the Washington Post, she talks about her newest book Inside of a Dog, a fascinating nonfiction account about the way dogs learn, how they descended from wolves, and why they behave as they do.

Below are writing lessons for the classroom or for individual writers ages 8 and up. They are adapted from suggested activities in Dr. Horowitz’s Inside of a Dog.

EYES OPEN, PENS READY: Some scientists study exotic animals—like pandas and lions--in the wild, but Dr. Horowitz thinks we can learn a lot about animals that are part of our everyday life, such as squirrels, sparrows, pigeons, and our pets. Brainstorm a list with students of possible “everyday” animals.

Classroom Writing #1: Ask students to choose an animal at home and observe it closely for 15 minutes every day for a week. Have them write down what the animal does during that time. At the end of the week, ask students what they observed about their animal. What did it do? Why do they think the animal did that or behaved in that way? Were students surprised by any specific behaviors?

Classroom Writing #2: A dog is not a person in a furry suit. Humans experience the world by seeing it; dogs smell it. Imagine walking into a room and being extremely aware not of the lamp or the book on the floor but of the many smells therein. Have students close their eyes and concentrate on their sense of smell. What are all the different smells? Have them try this in two different rooms (perhaps one could be a kitchen at home) and record what they smell. They also might get down on their hands and knees and pretend to be a dog and move through the rooms for about 10 minutes, experiencing things at the dog’s level. How does the room look/feel different to a dog than a human?

Ask students to do one of two writing projects: (1) Based on what they learned/recorded in Classroom Writing #1, they might choose a particular behavior they observed (sleeping in certain postures, eating a certain way, barking, tail wagging) and do some additional research to learn why this species of animal does this behavior. The first paragraph might focus on what they learned by watching this one animal, with the second paragraph providing information on why this particular type/species of animal does this behavior. Or (2) Based on what they noticed about smell/perspective in Classroom Writing #2, they might pretend to be a dog (or their dog) and write a story or poem in the first person (using “I”) from the dog’s point of view. What do their dog-selves notice about the world?

Monday, June 20, 2016

Writing Excellence with EXCELLENT ED

http://www.lauragehl.com/

Excellent Ed, by Stacy McAnulty, tells the story of the Ellis family, where all of the children are excellent—at all kinds of things! Poor Ed, the family dog, feels a bit left out. Ed wants to be excellent too.

In the classroom, Excellent Ed makes a great writing prompt. Here are a few ideas for using the book in your classroom.

1. Ask students to make a list of their own excellent qualities—and remind them to think outside of the box. Some students may be excellent at math, or gymnastics, or soccer. But they can think of more unusual excellent traits as well. Perhaps one student is excellent at putting off cleaning her room or making realistic fake vomit sounds whenever she sees chopped liver. Perhaps another student is excellent at tying his shoes in knots so tight that his dad can’t get them out.

2. Ask students to make a list of another person’s excellent qualities. This could be a parent, friend, or teacher, for example.

3. Just like Ed the family dog, every kid (and adult) sometimes feels…less than excellent. Ask your students to make a list of excellent qualities they WISH they had. Do they wish they could jump higher than the Empire State Building? Turn Brussels sprouts into chocolate? See through walls? Or, maybe students wish they could make sad a friend feel better, shoot a goal at the next hockey game, or learn how to ride a bike. You could even encourage students to make two wish lists—one of realistic qualities, and one of crazy, over-the-top, not-gonna-happen-but-fun-to-think-about qualities.

4. Make an “Excellent Sheet” for each student in the room, with the student’s name at the top. Ask students to write on each other’s Excellent Sheets, writing at least one excellent quality of the student on his or her sheet. When students get to take home their Excellent Sheets, they will have a concrete reminder of their own excellent qualities, as seen through the eyes of their peers.

Excellent Ed is a wonderful book for reminding students how excellent they all are, in their own unique ways!

Monday, May 30, 2016

Writing Connections with Shawn Stout

Family can be inspiring, as Shawn Stout discovered when writing her eighth novel A Tiny Piece of Sky. In an interview for KidsPost/WashingtonPost, Stout talked about the prejudice her German-American grandfather dealt with right before World War II. Shawn fictionalized her family’s experiences, but she asked her mother and aunts many questions about their childhood. She wanted to convey a child’s perspective of the townspeople’s boycott of her grandfather’s restaurant and of their (false) perception of him as a German spy.

Below are writing lessons for the classroom or for individual writers ages 8 and up. Stout’s website http://shawnkstout.com/ includes a teachers’ guide.

RETURN TO THE PAST: As the youngest in her family, 10-year-old Frankie Baum feels she lacks the respect and privileges accorded her two older siblings. She is determined to prove that her father is no spy. As she gets to know some of the African American staff in her father’s restaurant, Frankie also becomes more aware of the injustices suffered by blacks in the segregated Maryland town. She speaks frequently about her favorite book “The Wizard of Oz” and its movie adaptation.

Classroom Discussion, Part 1: Ask students to read the book and to jot down some details of clothing, food, transportation that have changed since the late 1930s. What were some examples of prejudice experienced by Frankie and her family? By the African-American staff? In their own families, where are students in the birth order (oldest, youngest, middle)? Do they ever feel like Frankie, trapped in a particular family role (responsible one, jokester, lazy lout, etc.)? Do the students try to break out? What do they do/have they done?

Classroom Writing: Ask students to interview a parent or grandparent to get a view of certain events that is both personal and reflective of childhood at the time. (They can do this orally or ask for written answers.) Kids might ask adults to go back to a certain age–10 years old, for example. Questions might include:

1. What was your family pet? Describe one or two adventures or times you shared with this pet. (Frankie has a dog and a pony.)

2. What was your favorite restaurant as a kid? Name three things about its appearance, sound , or smells that you remember. What dish did you like best? Least? Why?

3. What chores or responsibilities did you have as a kid? Which did you like least? Most? Why?

4. What was your favorite book? Movie? Why? Can you describe the first time you read or saw this?

5. What was your favorite item of clothing? Toy or game? Can you briefly describe?

6. Did you ever witness or experience prejudice? What did you say or do? How do you feel about that incident now?

7. What were some important events of that year (war, presidential election, Civil Rights movement, etc.)? How did you feel about them then?

Students might then take one of these answers and write a short description or fictional tale, much as Stout did.

Classroom Discussion, Part 2: Once they have done the interviewing and writing, ask students what they learned, both about the time period and parent.

Monday, April 25, 2016

I'M NOT--Writing About Fears with Peep and Egg

In Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching, Egg is scared of everything—from the too-high roof of the hen house to the too-dark sky at night. Egg wants to stay inside of her nice, cozy, SAFE shell.

When I present Peep and Egg to school groups, I ask kids to think about their own fears. What would make them want to stay inside their eggs?

When Egg finally hatches, it is because she wants to be with Peep, and because she wants to read a story. I ask students, “What would make you hatch out of your egg? What do you love enough that you would come out of your safe, cozy egg for it?”

In your classroom, you may want to have each student make a chart—one half of the paper for What Would Make Me Stay in My Egg and one half of the paper for What Would Make Me Hatch. Ask students to write a list, or draw pictures, on each side.

(So far, I’ve found sharks to be the most popular answer for What Would Make Me Stay in My Egg and ice cream to be the most popular answer for What Would Make Me Hatch.)

Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching is the first in a series of books that will include Peep and Egg: I’m Not Trick or Treating, Peep and Egg: I’m Not Taking a Bath, and Peep and Egg: I’m Not Eating That.

Ask your students to think about an I’m Not title that reflects their own fears. Ask, “What would YOU be scared to do?” I often tell school groups that my title would be I’m Not Skydiving.

Next, ask students to write or tell an I’m Not story, with the story primarily written in dialogue like Peep and Egg. A student could use the characters Peep and Egg, she could use herself and a parent (“I’m Not Trying Out for the School Play!”) or she might use a scared penguin and a comforting polar bear (“I’m Not Ice Skating!”). Anything goes!

Writing I’m Not stories can help students think about their own fears in a humorous way. I’m Not stories can also help kids remember that we can overcome our fears, although we may need a special someone like Peep to help us break out of our shells!

Laura Gehl is NOT skydiving! But she IS the author of One Big Pair Of Underwear, a Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title, International Literacy Association Honor Book, and Booklist Books for Youth Editors’ Choice for 2014; Hare And Tortoise Race Across Israel and And Then Another Sheep Turned Up (both PJ library selections for 2015 and 2016); and Peep And Egg: I’m Not Hatching, an Amazon Best Book of the Month for February 2016. A former science and reading teacher, Laura also writes about science for children and adults. She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her husband and four children. Visit Laura online at www.lauragehl.com.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Writing Connections with Dan Gutman

Like a master alchemist, Dan Gutman can take ordinary stuff and turn it into comic gold. As the best-selling author of 125 books, he knows how to keep kids laughing as they turn the pages. I recently interviewed him for KidsPost/WashingtonPost about the first book (The Lincoln Project) in his new history series, “Flashback Four.” With its time-travel shenanigans, the new series is sure to be as popular as Gutman’s “My Weird School” and “Baseball Card Adventure” series.

Below are writing lessons for the classroom or for individual writers ages 8 and up. Gutman’s website www.dangutman.com includes puzzles and games related to his books.

VIEWS OF HISTORY: In the “Lincoln Project,” the four main characters travel back to the time of the Gettysburg Address, in 1863, for a wild adventure. But each experiences that time differently, depending on race and gender. Luke and Julia are white, Isabel is a scholarly Hispanic girl and David is an African American boy.

Classroom Discussion: Ask students to read the book and to jot down differences between the way boys and girls dressed or were treated. How about African American and white people? What is David worried about?

Classroom Writing: Ask each student to list what they would have liked/disliked/been worried about if they had traveled on Miss Z’s invention back to Gettysburg, in 1863. What would have been their favorite thing? Now, ask them to be someone from a different race and/or gender and do the same thing. How were the answers different?

Classroom Writing: Miss Z has tapped you to be one of her time-traveling students. What point in time would you like to travel back to—and where? (It doesn’t have to be the United States.) What important moment would you take a photo of? Write Miss Z a letter explaining (1) why you are the best person to go, (2) why this place and time are important to visit, and (3) why it is important that this moment be photographed. To prepare the most persuasive letters, ask students to do some research into their point in history. Ask them to write down what excites them and what they may be afraid of. How do they think they will be treated back then? Give some reasons why.