Writing

Showing A Character’s Trait

We tell students to "show, not tell" in their writing, but this advice isn't effective until they experience the difference. In this video, we'll put a famous character (of students' choosing) into a mundane situation and develop a fun scene to show off their main traits.

Ways to Start a Sentence – Level 1

Part 1 of Ways To Start Sentences

"Add more variety!" I'd say to my class. But I never really knew what this actually meant. Suprise! This bad advice never improved students' writing. In these videos, students learn nine specific ways to add variety just by changing the beginning of their sentences. This was easily one of my students' favorite writing tools - because it actually helped them.

Paragraphs: Systems of Sentences

Part 1 of Mixed Up Paragraphs

Want students to understand how a paragraph fits together? Explode one and make them reassemble it using the clues in each sentence! I even wrote a little app to bust a paragraph up for you.

Fancier Figurative Language: Start with a Cliche

Part 1 of Fancier Figurative Language

We'll start with the cliché "as cold as ice" and go somewhere much more interesting.

Building Creative Analogies

We'll take two seemingly unrelated pieces of content (say volcanoes and the human body) and then build analogies to connect the two ideas. In the end, students can create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.

Jabberwocky and Context Clues

Context clues lessons can be a disaster. Here, we expose students to a delightful classic packed with nonsense words ("Jabberwocky") and ask them to decipher the meanings and parts of speech. Then, it's only natural for students to write their own nonsense poems.

Better Stories Part 4: Character Archetypes

Part 4 of Writing Better Stories

Are students' characters a bit flat? Archetypes give them a strong foundation on which to build their own characters as well as a tool to analyze existing stories.

Upgrade Research Questions With Depth and Complexity

Ever ask students to create research questions? Were their ideas a bit… blah? My own students had a very hard time writing questions they didn't already know the answer to! This video is how I solved that problem: upgrade research questions with depth and complexity.

Writing Seuss Style Poetry

Sure, Dr. Seuss wrote for young students, but can older students analyze his writing and learn to mimic his style? THEN, they can produce Seuss-style poetry about any topic: Ancient China, the electromagnetic spectrum, Pride and Prejudice, and (yes) fraction division!

Identifying Author’s Voice

What if... Edgar Allen Poe wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?

Punctuation Power

In a sentence, punctuation may seem meek when compared to those mighty words, but punctuation has incredible power over the meaning of a sentence. Students will try re-punctuating sentences to find new meanings - without changing a single word!

Writing Summaries in Haiku

Let's write a summary. A very short summary. With VERY strict rules.

Better Stories Part 1: The Big Idea

Part 1 of Writing Better Stories

We open our unit on narrative writing with a big idea: "structure increases creativity." I show how this is true by bringing in examples from across all disciplines.

Better Stories Part 5: Plot Structure

Part 5 of Writing Better Stories

Ever read a student's story that was just event after event after event and then a very sudden ending? They lack an understanding of a plot's structure. With the help of Finding Nemo, I break down how to set up a well-structured plot.

Better Stories Part 3: Literary Themes

Part 3 of Writing Better Stories

A typical student narrative includes plot and characters but lacks a larger idea to hold it all together. This is where a lesson on themes comes in…

Propaganda and Logical Fallacies

Let's see how propaganda techniques can make even something great seem bad.

Upgrading Compare and Contrast Writing

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

Teach Non-Fiction Writing Structure With Fractals

Did you ever notice that the structure of an essay is very similar to the structure of a paragraph? Hmm…

Ways to Start a Sentence – Level 2

Part 2 of Ways To Start Sentences

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

Better Stories Part 2: Types of Conflict

Part 2 of Writing Better Stories

If your students' stories are packed with endless ninja fights or arguments between frenemies, it's time to expose them to a wider range of conflicts.

Academic Love Letters

What if Kylo Ren wrote a love letter to Abe Lincoln or the Sahara Desert wrote one to the Moon?

Unclear Pronouns: Too Many Antecedents

What happens when a pronoun could refer to more than one noun? Big problems!

Changing Coordinating Conjunctions

What happens when we switch out a "but" with a "so"? An "and" with a "for"? How can such tiny words make such big differences?

Writing Clear Directions

Can you write directions so clear that a group of kids can put a toy together with no illustrations?

Advanced Alliteration and Consonance

Part 5 of Fancier Figurative Language

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.

Studying and Remixing “The Raven”

Ready to push kids beyond the boring, old ABAB rhyme scheme and into something a bit more complex?

Ways to Start a Sentence – Part 3

Part 3 of Ways To Start Sentences

We'll show students how to add more variety to their writing by starting sentences with gerunds, participle phrases, and absolute phrases.

Literary Technique: Juxtaposition

Put a grumpy character next to a joyful one and they make each other stand out even more. Opposites are powerful!

Elements of The Fantasy Genre

What would Poetry think about Prose?

Imagine that Poetry and Prose meet for the first time at a party? What would they say to each other? How would they feel? In this video, I guide kids through the process of writing a script in which these two forms of writing interact.

Passive to Active Voice

n this lesson, students will not just fix passive sentences, but break active sentences as they learn to put the star of the sentence first.

Fixing Shakespearean Run-Ons

Can your students help The Bard? We'll fix five Shakespearean run-ons in three different ways.

Writing Technique: Contrast With Synonyms

Part 1 of Spice Up Your Writing

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

Writing Technique: 3 Dependent Clauses

Part 3 of Spice Up Your Writing

A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We'll be writing sentences with three dependent clauses.

Writing Technique: Opposite Adjectives

Part 2 of Spice Up Your Writing

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

Fancier Figurative Language: Advanced Repetition

Part 4 of Fancier Figurative Language

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

Writing Sample: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Falling)

Writing Sample: The Wind in the Willows

Writing Sample: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Shrinking)

Writing Sample: The Velveteen Rabbit (The Toys)

Writing Sample: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Writing Sample: Peter Pan

Writing Sample: Anne of Green Gables

Writing Sample: White Fang (The Wild)

Writing Sample: The Jungle Book (Bagheera)

Emoji Stories 🏰

Part 2 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🏰📚🔍🔐🚪.

Writing Sample: Moby Dick

Emoji Stories 🤖

Part 4 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🤖💃🎵🕺🐔.

Emoji Stories 🐻

Part 3 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🐻🎩🎙️🐰🤣.

Emoji Stories 🚗

Part 5 of Emoji Prompts

Students will write a story about 🚗🗺️🌋🐉🌉

Emoji Stories 🛥️

Part 6 of Emoji Prompts

Students will write a story about 🛥️🏊🌊🐙🤝 .

Writing Sample: The Fall of the House of Usher

Emoji Stories 👁️

Part 11 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 👁️🔮🌩️🚷🌲

Emoji Stories 🕰️

Part 10 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🕰️🎩🐀💎🕺

Emoji Stories 🏟️

Part 9 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🏟️🏹🍞🐦🔥

Emoji Stories 🚚

Part 8 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🚚🤖📻🛸🌌

Emoji Stories 🐌

Part 7 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🐌📬✈️🏛️ 📜

Emoji Stories 🦁

Part 12 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🦁👑🐗🎶🌄