IF YOU COULD FLY ON A GIANT BIRD

by Jacqueline Jules

In my picture book, Princess and the Ziz, a princess flies all over the world on the back of a giant yellow bird.  The Princess and the Ziz is my own retelling of a very old Rapunzel tale involving King Solomon’s daughter who was rescued from a tower by a giant yellow bird called the Ziz.

During author visits, I often challenge young writers to imagine what it would be like to ride on the back of a giant bird. Where would you want to go? I’ve had many lively discussions with students about where they would like to go if they could ride in the air with a bird. While some students say the Bahamas, Disney World, or some other vacation spot, others tell me they’d like to visit grandparents or other relatives. One student told me she would like to fly over the rainbow with a giant bird. Now wouldn’t that make a good story!

Once a destination has been decided, students can brainstorm what they would see. If you are flying over Antartica, you might see penguins and snow. If you are flying over the jungle, you would see lots of greenery. Ask younger students to describe the scene in as much detail as possible. Older students could combine this writing exercise with geographic research. For example: If you were flying over Egypt, you would see pyramids. What else?

From there, students should consider what they would hear on their journey through the air. On the back of a bird, not enclosed the way you are in an airplane, you would hear the wind and the flapping of wings. Could you describe that? If you were flying over a city, you would hear the noise of traffic and building construction. What would that sound like? This could be an opportunity to encourage your students to use onomatopoeia. Students could make up their own words to imitate what they might hear from way up in the sky.

Finally, how would it feel to be in the sky on the back of a giant bird. Would you be frightened or excited? Would it be chilly? Would the ride be smooth or bumpy?

Visit my website for a writing template  to use in your primary classrooms.

The Princess and the Ziz is certainly not the only book which depicts a character flying in the sky via a giant bird. In Roald Dahl’s The Minpins, Little Billy flies around the world having adventures on the back of a giant swan. Fairy tales also depict characters riding on the backs of birds. Thumbelina in the story by Hans Christian Andersen flies on the back of a swallow.

Ask your students to write their own story about a character flying with the help of a friendly bird. Imaginations and feathers can soar through the clouds. Happy Flying!

www.jacquelinejules.com 

TRANSFORMING A FREE WRITE

by Jacqueline Jules

Free writes are a staple of writing workshops. Gurus like Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within) frequently advise writers of all ages to just keep that pen moving across the page. It doesn’t matter what you write in the first draft, just get some words down. And it is good advice. Before I start a project and every time I get stuck, I put my fingers on the keyboard and type ideas, questions, fears, memories, and anything else that comes to mind in a random manner. I don’t worry about figurative language, clichés, or didactic phrases. I just get words down, something that I can re-read to rework later. 

Here is an example of a free write I did for a poem later called “Daddy and Venice.”

The final poem, published in Imitation Fruit, May 2010. 

had only one line from the free write: “dressed in pigeons.”  I used that image to describe what it was like to feed the pigeons in Saint Mark’s Square in Venice when I was a girl.

So how did I transform a free write which essentially says I don’t remember much beyond the pigeons and my father’s desire to show me the beauty of Venice? My poem makes references to the Doge’s palace, a grand staircase, gondolas with Persian rugs and velvet seats— details I absolutely did not remember from my eight-year-old-experience in Venice. How did I do it? Research! I went to Venice travel sites and used the facts I found to create imagery in my poem.

The next time you study countries, ask your students to write a poem using highlights described in their research. Travel websites are designed to entice the reader to spend the necessary dollars to see that not-to-be-missed vacation spot in person. They are great sources of persuasive language and generally chocked full of sensory images. Using interesting details spices up any piece of writing.  

 www.jacquelinejules.com

  

SUMMER PICTURES: USING GOOGLE IMAGE AS A WRITING TOOL

by Jacqueline Jules

When I began writing my picture book, Picnic at Camp Shalom, I had a problem. For marketing reasons, my editor requested a summer camp setting. While I agreed that my story of friendship and misunderstandings would work well at a summer camp, I panicked.  My childhood memories of summer camp were dim, at best. Was there a way I could boost my recollection of an experience I had nearly 40 years ago?  Yes, there was! Google searches provided information on summer camp programs complete with pictures and testimonies. My research taught me that a swim test is a typical first day activity. This gave me my opening scene in which my protagonists, Carly and Sara, meet at the lake. Later, I read that scavenger hunts are popular for getting new campers acquainted with the grounds, giving me material for the second scene in the book.

While a random internet search may not be a good source for collecting facts for nonfiction writing, it can offer great assistance for developing descriptive details. Google Images provided just the picture I needed when trying to visualize the cabin Carly and Sara slept in. I often use Google images to prod me into better descriptions. Staring at a picture for a few minutes can  help me imagine my character’s surroundings.

Before you ask your students to write about their summer vacations, display pictures of beaches, swimming pools, fireworks, and other summer scenarios on your classroom screen. Talk about the sensory details these images evoke. What does the sand feel like between your toes? Did you see sand crabs disappearing into tiny holes? How did the water smell? Did the shiny pool rails gleam in the sun?  How would you describe the sound of people diving off the board? Could you compare it to anything else?

As a pre-writing activity, have your students study the details of displayed pictures and discuss ways of describing them. Figurative language requires thought. Giving your students a little time to visualize the scenes they plan to write about will enliven their writing.

 www,jacquelinejules.com

THE IMPORTANCE OF VOCABULARY

by Alison Hart

The last blog I wrote on the difficulties of writing discussed how incredibly complicated writing is for my pre-college students. During one semester, they must write six essays, including a literary essay on a novel. Most of them arrive with below average skills, yet in sixteen weeks, they need to understand and craft essays using correct spelling, grammar, sentence construction, punctuation, different writing purposes and modes, paraphrasing, thesis statements, topic sentences, engaging description, supporting details, and essay format. Since texting and commenting on Facebook are about the only writing they do, they are surprised that “c u latr lol” is not acceptable. Many do not make it through the semester.

The number of skills needed to write is mind-boggling, and what I have discovered is that even at the college level the biggest obstacle is language.  Students with a limited vocabulary can master skills, but rarely do their essays rise above an elementary level.  Writing requires words—descriptive, specific, fanciful, precise--to convey meaning to a reader. Without the right ‘words’, writing is simply black print on paper.  Yet teaching vocabulary without context is useless, and since most students who struggle with writing don’t read widely, it is difficult for their vocabulary to grow.

Along with not reading, the second problem at all levels is: how often do students get to tell stories and use words in school?  With twenty students and more in a class, teachers don’t have time to listen to every kid’s (big or small) tale of what happened on the way to school. My students have incredible stories of divorce, DUIs, foster care, immigration, jail time and death.  Sometimes I read about their hardships in disjointed essays. Rarely do I listen. 

 When I first taught in the 80s, the LEA (Language Experience Approach) was big. Students recited stories to volunteers and aides who wrote them down. The kids saw their words and thoughts on paper, and when they reread them, the stories had correct spelling and punctuation. At the college level, I have used a type of LEA for not only my EL students, but for those who find that getting ideas from their heads onto paper is a daunting task.  During the edit stage, I can ask questions to help each writer draw out or add details.  It then gives the student a model and shows the connection between thoughts and words.

         

In my lowest writing class, I do an exercise on sensory description. I bring in spices to smell and food to taste. Students work in groups using an online thesaurus and dictionary to find words to describe their sensations. They love the exercise, but it is not enough.  It is never enough.

In all my classes, my students brainstorm why vocabulary is important. When they are done writing their ideas on the board, I hit them with this fact: the one proven indicator of success in a career is a rich and useful vocabulary. As employers and employees we need to be able to successfully communicate, direct and inspire with words.

         

I would love to hear ideas on building vocabulary at all levels, and would like to share them in the next post. In the meantime, when a student wants to tell you a story, I hope you will take the time to listen.  It is an important link to writing.

www.alisonhartbooks.com