Getting Specific With St. Patrick’s Day Writing

Let’s take a starting phrase about St. Patrick’s Day and get specific. No, even more specific!

Plexidemokinesis (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Plexidemokinesis? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.

Pyrostasis (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Pyrostasis? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.

Super Specific Similes – Strong Uncle

Let’s make this simile about a strong uncle even more specific.

Super Specific Similes – Slimy Broccoli

Start with a basic simile. Now make it more specific. Now even more. Watch how much better writing gets with each round.

Super Specific Similes: Quick Baby

Let’s make this simile about a quick baby even more specific.

Super Specific Similes: Loud Class

Let’s make this simile about a loud class super specific!

Super Specific Similes: Stinky Seaweed

Start with a basic simile. Now make it more specific. Now even more. Watch how much better writing gets with each round.

Writing in Pilish

Pi can go beyond circles! What if you wrote using the digits of pi as your guide?

Fancier Figurative Language: Use the Opposite

Let’s start with “As cold as fire.”

Fancier Figurative Language: Move the Simile

What if we started a sentence with the simile?

Doubling Up Writing: Anadiplosis

Repeating words can be what you want, if what you want is an interesting effect. (Psst, that’s an example of anadiplosis!)

Writing Technique: Contrast With Synonyms

A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We’ll be contrasting two ideas using synonyms.

Writing Technique: Opposite Adjectives

A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We’ll be using antonyms to describe the same topic!

Writing A Thanksgiving Letter

What if an inanimate object could express thanks for a special person in your life? What would it write?

SCAMPER: Scaffolding Creativity

Asking students to “think creatively” won’t get you far. They won’t know how to start, they’ll get stuck with simple ideas, or they’ll just go completely wild. SCAMPER is a tool for scaffolding the process of creativity.

Fancier Figurative Language: Advanced Repetition

Is your students’ use of repetition limited to, “The girl was very, very, very fast.”? Let’s borrow some ideas from Shakespeare!

Advanced Alliteration and Consonance

When students learn about alliteration, it’s hard to steer them away from goofy tongue-twisters. Certainly, there must be more powerful and practical ways of using alliteration. In this lesson, I draw on delicious examples from Shakespeare to show how a very advanced writer used alliteration. Then, I break those ideas down so students can try them out.

More Specific than “Smart”

When students are told that they’re “smart”, what does this word actually mean to them? (Psst. It isn’t what we intended.)

Upgrading Compare and Contrast Writing

Upgrade compare and contrast writing with just a couple of key words.

Ways to Start a Sentence – Level 2

We’ll show students how to add more variety to their writing by starting sentences with a reason, a prepositional phrase, and a simile.

Ways to Start a Sentence – Level 1

‘Add more variety!’ teachers say. But how? This lesson gives students actual techniques instead of vague advice.

Common English Words From Other Languages

Bored with typical spelling studies? Let’s dig into the origins of common English words from other languages!

Fancier Figurative Language: Start with a Cliche

We’ll start with the cliché “as cold as ice” and go somewhere much more interesting.