Let's rewrite Einstein's quote about simplicity to make it more accurate.
Students rewrite the quote for a 5yo. They explain how the quote is slightly wrong.
Now they'll rewrite the quote, creating a rough version and a few "catchy" versions.
Next, they write to Einstein, explaining their revised quote.
Finally, they write back as Einstein who defends his original wording.
Students will make an argument that a holiday should be on certain date or a certain day of the week.
First, students list holidays in categories based on their date.
Next they come up with pros and cons for the different categories of holidays.
Now they'll decide which holidays would work better in a different category.
Next they'll write out an argument for one holiday.
Finally they'll develop a slogan and a poster to help make their argument.
Students will create a story showing that solutions can often create more problems.
First, students pick a Halloween scenario. They come up with several possible problems in that situation.
Then, they pick a solution to one of their problems. But that solution causes a new problem, which will require a new solution. They repeat!
Their final problem will bring them back around to the original situation.
Students will turn their chain of problems and solutions into a story, song, poem, or other product.
Students will write a conversation between a person and the legendary version of that person.
First students brainstorm people who have had legends develop around them.
Next they'll write about how those original people might feel about their legendary versions.
Finally students will write a conversation between a person and their legendary self.
Students will look at the holidays through the lenses of order and chaos, eventually re-writing a favorite song.
First students will brainstorm as many holiday characters, items, and activities as they can think of.
Next, they'll pick several of those ideas and decide which ones represent order and which ones represent chaos.
Then they'll look for evidence of the opposite trait. Where is the chaos in orderly items? Where is the order in a chaotic item?
Finally, they'll use this thinking to rewrite at least one verse from a favorite holiday song to show the order and chaos during the holiday season.
Students will write a clever paragraph connecting how their mom helps them and something else she's great at.
First, students brainstorm things that their mom is great at and ways she helps them.
Then, they combine those ideas to write small blurbs about their mom.
Next, they'll pick a blurb or two and sharpen their writing, getting increasingly specific.
Finally, they'll turn their best idea into an illustrated card.
Students write about bobbing for apples from an apple's perspective.
Students write from an apple's perspective who thinks it’s at a relaxing pool party.
They continue writing from an apple's point of view as the bobbing begins!
Students will study the styles of Dickens and Hemingway and then try to write like them.
First, students analyze the writing of Hemingway and Dickens. What makes their styles different?
Next, they'll re-write Dickens in Hemingway's style.
Now, they re-write Hemingway using Dickens' style.
I share my final example.
Students will re-write a nursery rhyme using increasingly difficult letter restrictions.
First, students rewrite "Mary Had A Little Lamb" without the letter O.
Next, they try without the letter A. Yep, that means four of the five words in the title are gone!
Now, students rewrite the poem without the letters T or S.
And finally, for an extreme challenge, students can try without half of the alphabet: B F G J K O Q U V W X Y Z.
Using old photos as a starting point, students will write about Thanksgiving from a particular item's point of view.
Students spend time noting details in their photo.
They brainstorm possible perspectives within their photo.
Next, they write down sensory details using that perspective.
Finally, they write in free verse (or any structure you'd like) about the scene using their perspective. Repeat using a second perspective!
Students will sum up their breaks using a one-syllable word and then rewrite the song Help! based on that word.
First, students will come up with a one-syllable word (like "help") to sum up their experiences away from school. They'll rewrite the intro to Help! using this word.
Next, each student will write about their own experiences around the one-syllable word and rewrite a verse of Help!
Then, groups will rewrite the chorus of Help! to be about their experiences.
Finally, students can create artwork, do a photoshoot, film a music video, or even learn semaphore!
Students will write a sentence (or more) in which each word's length matches the next digit of pi.
Students come up with at least one six-letter word to finish my sentence.
Now, then are free to write as much as they'd like in Pilish.
Students will write from the perspective of an object using specific details about a special person.
Students pick a person that they are thankful for. They also pick an object that this person uses often. Then they think about what that object might write about the special person.
They revisit their initial letter to get more specific about why the object is so thankful for their special person.
Students upgrade their bland research questions using prompts of depth and complexity and then create a sequence of questions using concepts from Bloom's Taxonomy.
Students pick a topic and create 3 - 5 questions.
They upgrade those questions by adding in a prompt of depth and complexity.
Students develop a sequence of questions by asking a compare and contrast question plus a question that requires them to make a decision.
Students will 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, they'll create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.
Students will learn about analogies and practice some simple ones.
They begin their creative analogies, choosing two seemingly unrelated topics. They brainstorm vocabulary for both and look for parallel ideas, building 3-5 analogies.
Then, they flesh out the connections between the vocabulary, writing definitions and connections.
They write a script in which the two seemingly unrelated topics meet each other and note how much they have in common. Students can go on to create a skit, comic, or short story (or anything else they might come up with).
Students will use propaganda techniques and logical fallacies to argue against something great.
Students are introduced to logical fallacies and how they are used in propaganda. They learn the definition of Ad Hominem and see some of my examples. Then they brainstorm some of their own examples of Ad Hominem on the Brainstorm Worksheet.
Students learn about the Slippery Slope technique, see some of my examples, and brainstorm some of their own.
Next, students learn about Stacking the Deck.
The fourth technique is Bandwagoning.
And the final technique is Appeal to Fear.
In the end, students pick a great idea, person, or invention and plan an argument against it using at least three types of logical fallacies.
Students will decide what one piece of content would appreciate about another.
Students will analyze pairs of opposite characters who have to work together.
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed-up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed-up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed-up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed-up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed-up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students will read three paragraphs inspired by the same painting and then decide on their favorite. And their least favorite!
Students will read three paragraphs inspired by the same painting and then decide on their favorite. And their least favorite!
Students will read three paragraphs inspired by the same painting and then decide on their favorite. And their least favorite!
Students read three paragraphs inspired by the same painting. Then they critique their favorite and least favorite.
Mr. Byrd reads R.A.T.T.’s paragraph.
Mr. Byrd reads W.R.I.T.E.R.’s paragraph.
Mr. Byrd reads Q.U.I.L.L.’s paragraph.
Students will read three paragraphs inspired by the same painting and then decide on their favorite. And their least favorite!
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students will analyze the clues in these mixed up sentences and determine their correct order.
Students learn how sentences work together as a system form a paragraph. They'll try to re-order mixed-up paragraphs and then try their hand and writing a mixed-up paragraph that their peers can untangle.
Students learn about the big idea "Paragraphs are systems of sentences." They attempt to reorder sentences from The Wizard of Oz.
Students will reorder sentences about Roman Bridges.
Students look for patterns for how to reorder sentences in their clues.
Students create their own mixed-up sentences, building on the patterns they found in steps 1-3. They can use Paragraphy to shuffle their sentences.
Students will read three paragraphs about the same topic, decide what makes each one different, and then create a super-paragraph!
Students will read three paragraphs about the same topic, decide what makes each one different, and then create a super-paragraph!
Students will read three paragraphs about the same topic, decide what makes each one different, and then create a super-paragraph!
Students will read three paragraphs about the same topic, decide what makes each one different, and then create a super-paragraph!
Students will read three paragraphs about the same topic, decide what makes each one different, and then create a super-paragraph!
Students decide which adaptations would help an animal if it switched locations - and which would hurt it.
First, students research how one animal is adapted to its environment.
Then, they pick a related animal from a totally different biome and research its adaptations.
Imagine that the two animals switch locations. Which adaptations will now be an advantage, neutral, or a disadvantage?
Finally they write the story of the two animals switching places.
Students will rewrite the climax of one story using a difference genre.
Students pick a new genre, then note what they'll need to change, and what can stay the same.
They'll rewrite just the climax of the original story into the new genre.
Finally, they write a pitch to convince the publisher Byrd 'n' Mifflin to publish their new version of the story.
Students will write a story about going roller skating in a Halloween costume that is not designed for roller skating!
First, students will come up with a costume idea that is not great for roller skating. They'll highlight three details that will lead to skating problems.
Then, they'll write a draft of their story featuring three moments: false hope, losing balance, and, yes, a spectacular fall.
Finally, students will revise their writing to add some spice and pizzaz!
Students will re-write passages in the style of various authors.
I introduce the concept of "voice" and then students work with a piece from Lewis Carroll.
Now they analyze the voice in a piece from Edgar Allen Poe.
Students re-write one author's language using the voice of the other author.
Students work practice writing in a specific voice about a random topic.
To practice the common writing advice of "show, not tell," students will write two examples of a scene: one showing a character's trait, and one just telling. They'll put a famous character into a mundane situation and develop their scene.
Students pick a well-known character and put them into an everyday situation. They identify the character's main trait and come up with an event that will highlight that trait. They brainstorm ten specific ways that the character will show that trait (words they'll say, noises they'll make, actions they'll take, how they'll look, etc).
Finally, they write up the situation - using their ten ideas to show the character's main trait. They'll also write a non-example in which they only tell the trait. No showing allowed!
Students will add structure to their plots using the time-tested, five-act model. I introduce it using several student-friendly stories.
First, I break down how the exposition and dénouement work in Finding Nemo. Students will do this for a story of their choosing.
Now, I plan the exposition and dénouement for our my story. Students will do this for their story.
Then, I break down the main conflict of Finding Nemo. I show how the rising action sets up the climax. Students will do the same for a story of their choosing.
Finally, I plan the rising action and climax for my own story. Students will do this for their story.
Students will learn to apply a range of conflict types to their stories.
Students will identify stories featuring each of the four types of conflict.
They'll begin writing their own tiny stories.
Students will become familiar with four literary themes, learning to identify them as well as use them to create their own stories.
First, students will identify stories from each of the themes.
Then, they will continue writing their story from last time.
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.
Students will use four repeating types of characters as the starting point for their own interesting characters.
Students will analyze and judge a holiday from the perspective of another holiday's mascot.
Students choose their two holidays and the mascot they'll be using.
Students brainstorm facts about both holidays using three categories that they choose (food, songs, decorations, clothing, etc).
Using their mascot's perspective, students write about each of those categories.
Students take that writing and turn it into a final product of your (or their) choosing.
Students will use key words to upgrade their compare and contrast writing from a mere list of facts to a deeper analysis.
Students pick the two related topics and brainstorm facts about them, noting which are facts unique to one of the topics and which are shared.
Students look for three patterns in their brainstormed facts, these will eventually become the paragraphs students write.
They add one of five keywords to their patterns to add a layer of analysis.
Students write out a paragraph using the keyword plus pattern.
Students will notice the parallel between an essay's overall structure and the structure of an individual paragraph.
Students will write (and re-write) directions to build a simple toy.
Groups of three get ten random toy bricks. They design a simple toy using them.
Now, they write their first draft of directions to build the toy. They define terminology as needed.
Next, they practice within their group and with another group of students in the class. They revise their directions to clear up confusion.
Now, they practice with groups of younger students, take notes, and then revise again.
Finally, they publish a final version of their directions.
Students will re-write a nursery rhyme using increasingly difficult letter restrictions.
First, students rewrite "Mary Had A Little Lamb" without the letter O.
Next, they try without the letter A. Yep, that means four of the five words in the title are gone!
Now, students rewrite the poem without the letters T or S.
And finally, for an extreme challenge, students can try without half of the alphabet: B F G J K O Q U V W X Y Z.
Students will re-write a nursery rhyme using increasingly difficult letter restrictions.
First, students rewrite "Twinkle, Twinkle" without the letter A.
Next, they cannot use the letter E. Goodbye "twinkle" and "little"!
Finally, they'll rewrite the poem without using A or E.
For a final, optional challenge, can students rewrite "Twinkle, Twinkle" without half of the alphabet: B F G J K O Q U V W X Y Z?
Starting with an old photo, students will write about a holiday scene from a particular person or item's point of view.
Students spend time noting details in their photo.
They brainstorm possible perspectives within their photo.
Next, they write down sensory details using that perspective.
Finally, they write in free verse (or any structure you'd like) about the scene using their perspective. Repeat using a second perspective!
Students will consider what makes something a "holiday photo" and then write a short, structured poem.
First, students will simply look at the photo, noting interesting details that pop out to them.
Then, they'll consider how this photo is both a strange example of a holiday photo, but also a perfect example.
They'll write a draft of a five line, structured poem about this photo.
Finally, they'll revise their writing and add some sizzle.
Students will write a structured piece of poetry based on details in Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons.
First, students just notice interesting details about this piece.
Then, they answer a few focusing questions to get them thinking deeper.
Now, using a six-line structure, students will write the first draft of their poem.
Finally, they will revise their writing to make it sizzle!
Students will write a structured piece of poetry based on details in Impression, Sunrise.
First, students just notice interesting details about this piece of art.
Then, they answer a few focusing questions to get them thinking deeper.
Now, using a six-line structure, students will write the first draft of their poem.
Finally, they will revise their writing to make it sizzle!
Students will write a structured, sensory poem based on a woodblock print from Japan's most famous artist.
First, students just look at the print and notice interesting details.
Then, they answer a few focusing questions.
Now, your students will use a six-line structure to write a brief poem based on the print.
Finally, they revise their writing to add some sizzle!
Students will write a structured poem about Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog.
Students notice interesting details about the painting Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.
They answer several questions to focus their thinking.
Then, students will write six lines about the painting.
Finally, students will improve their writing with small revisions.
Students will create a piece of poetry based on the painting Twilight in the Wilderness.
First, students just notice details about the painting.
Next, they answer three questions to focus their thinking: what might be right outside of the image, what does this scene smell/sound/feel like, what might happen next?
Now, students write a six-line poem using the structure provided in the video.
Finally, they add a little sparkle and upgrade some of their writing.
Students will write a sensory poem inspired by The Scream.
First, students simply notice interesting things in the painting. Encourage them to take their time and keep looking.
Students will answer a few questions about the painting to help to transition to writing.
Next, students write using a specific structure which I model.
Finally, they look for places they can add a bit more detail to make their writing sparkle.
Students will use the patterns of A Visit From St. Nicholas but rewrite the poem to work with another holiday.
Students note patterns in A Visit From St. Nicholas.
Students look for moments when the poet deviates from his rhythm.
Students choose a holiday and brainstorm vocabulary for that holiday.
Students break those words and phrases down into their stressed and unstressed syllables.
Finally, they rewrite at least one stanza from the original poem to fit their holiday.
Students will write a poem about a topic of your choosing in the style of Dr. Seuss, focusing on his use of rhythm and stressed syllables.
Students analyze Dr. Seuss writing, looking for the details that make him sound Seuss-y.
After picking a topic, students brainstorm a list of words related to that topic, break them into syllables, and underline the stressed syllables.
Students create a Seuss-style stanza using his line length, rhyme pattern, and (most importantly) rhythm.
Students compare and contrast poetry and prose, examining how lines differ from sentences and how stanzas are kind of like paragraphs. They go on to create a script in which Poetry and Prose meet each other for the first time and have a conversation.
Students compare and contrast lines of poetry with sentences from prose.
They compare and contrast stanzas with paragraphs.
Then (using their ideas from steps 1 and 2), students create "topics" that Poetry and Prose could discuss if they met at a party.
They write the actual script for the exciting encounter between Poetry and Prose.
Using Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky, students will try to infer the parts of speech and meanings of nonsense words. Then they can try their hand at their own nonsense poems.
First students will try to define nonsense words from stanzas three and four.
Then they rank those words based on how certain they are of their meaning.
Finally, students can try their hand at writing their own nonsense poetry (and test their context clues on other students).
Students will dig into the complex structure of Poe's classic poem, The Raven.
Students observe the tone, structure and rhythm in “The Raven.”
Students learn the stressed-unstressed rhythm pattern in “The Raven” and question how it contributes to the tone. Then they are asked to investigate the rhyme scheme of the poem.
Students learn about internal rhyme and review the rhyme scheme of the first stanza questioning how it contributes to the tone. Then they look for repetition and alliteration in the poem.
Students review the alliterations and repetitions of the first stanza and question how it contributes to the tone. Then they are asked to choose a new tone to remix the poem.
Students choose a refrain and begin remixing it using a new tone focusing on the final line.
Students work backwards through the stanza and remix two additional lines.
Students finish remixing the first three lines of the stanza using Poe’s structure to create their own unique poem.
Students will use the highly structured form of haiku to write summaries.
First, students summarize a story's plot as a haiku, using the three lines of the poem to summarize the beginning, middle, and end.
Next, they'll write a haiku from a character's perspective.
Then, they'll write a different character's perspective.
Now, they'll sum up a dramatic moment in the story from a particular character's point of view.
Finally, they will revise their haiku.
Students will create a Holiday-themed story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a Holiday-themed story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a Holiday-themed story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a Holiday-themed story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a Holiday-themed story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a Halloween-themed story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a Halloween-themed story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students will create a story using these five emoji as their starting point.
Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place at the zoo.
Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place at school.
Students pick from 12 random phrases to create a story about an incident in a restaurant.
Students use 12 random phrases to write a story that takes place in at an amusement park.
Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place in at a magical school.
Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place in space!
Students will write sentences that start with the same phrase but include different coordinating conjunctions. Each conjunction will change how they complete their sentence.
Students practice with "and" and "yet".
Next, it's "for", "but", and "so."
We conclude with "or" and "nor" - which will probably require a slightly different opening phrase.
Students will string several examples of anadiplosis together across three sentences.
We introduce several examples of triple anadiplosis from Star Wars, Gladiator*, and Shakespeare. Then students complete one that I started.
Students will create their own example of triple anadiplosis using several structures that I share.
I share my own example using one of the structures.
Students will double up a word or phrase with this writing technique.
Students will see examples of anadiplosis in action and then finish some examples that I've started.
Now students will create their own examples of anadiplosis.
Students will fix run-on sentences (made of lines from Shakespeare) in three different ways, creating simple sentences, a compound sentence, and a complex sentence.
I demonstrate with a line from Julius Caesar and introduce a line from Macbeth.
I introduce a line from Romeo and Juliet.
Next up is a line from Hamlet.
Then students tackle a line from Twelfth Night.
I show my choices for the final line.
Students will practice writing sentences using a structure with three dependent clauses followed by an independent clause.
Students will practice writing sentences using the structure: "A [noun] is [adjective], but a [noun 2] is [adjective]".
Students will use antonyms to describe one topic in this writing technique.
Students think of a topic and three related adjectives then pick an antonym for each of their adjectives.
Next they think of a noun related to the topic for each of the six adjectives.
Then they use the words they’ve come up with to create a paragraph about their topic.
Students will analyze several sentences, searching for different ways the sentences could be interpreted. Then they will create their own ambiguous sentence.
I model how one sentence can have multiple meanings, then students analyze, "We watched her duck."
After sharing my answers from the last video, students tackle three more ambiguous sentences.
Finally, students will create their own ambiguous sentence, using a homograph as their starting point.
Punctuation is powerful! Students will create new meanings from sentences just by changing the punctuation.
Students find multiple meanings by adding punctuation to this set of words: your teacher said my dad is a rockstar
Given five options, students choose at least three and try to find at least two meanings for each by adding punctuation.
Finally, students try to create their own set of words that can be re-punctuated OR they can create a tiny story which they can add punctuation to.
Students will learn to go beyond the typical, silly use of alliteration to create interesting examples based on patterns from Shakespeare.
Students work on writing sentences that gently sprinkle in alliteration rather than dump it on every word.
Then we introduce consonance, where the same sound repeats at the beginning, middle, and/or end of words. Alliteration is actually a specific type of consonance.
Students practice improving unclear pronouns… and then create their own confusing sentences!
Students learn about antecedents and attempt to clean up some unclear sentences.
Building on an unclear sentence from step one, students will try to write a whole paragraph with an unclear pronoun.
Students will learn to identify and fix sentences written in the passive voice. They'll also learn to change active back to passive.
First, students will practice re-writing passive sentences as active sentences.
Then, they'll go the other way, writing active sentences as passive sentences.
I give them a mix of both styles, and they have to create all active sentences.
We correct the final worksheet.
Students will add variety to the beginning of their sentences.
Start with a gerund.
Start with a participle phrase.
Start with an absolute phrase.
Combine all nine sentence starters!
Students will continue to practice changing the beginning of their sentences to add more variety to their overall writing.
Start with "The Reason" using because, since, or to.
Start with prepositional phrases to show location (or time!).
Start with a simile.
Write a c-c-c-combo paragraph!
Students will add variety to their writing by starting a sentence using three different options.
First, they try starting with a noun.
Then they use a variety of adjectives.
Finally, they see what an adverb would do.
Students will group Shakespeare's repetition and then re-write their least favorite example.
First, students make two pairs of related examples.
Then, they continue grouping the examples into 3-5 categories.
The transfer their complete groups to a new paper and title each group.
They pick the most powerful and weakest groups, then rewrite the weakest example from the weakest group.
Finally, they write a note to Shakespeare, explaining their changes.
Students will write increasingly specific sentences related to St. Patrick's Day
Students will make my starter simile increasingly specific.
Students will make my simile about slimy broccoli increasingly specific.
Students add details to "The broccoli was as slimy as a snail that…"
They add another round of details to make that broccoli seem slimier.
They add a final set of details to the simile to make it super specific.
Let's re-write a simile to show how very quick this baby is.
Students add details to my starting simile, "The baby crawled as quickly as a crab that…"
They add another round of details.
They add a final set of details to make this simile even more specific.
Students will take a simile about a loud truck and make it even more specific.
Students will improve a simile about a room that smells like seaweed.
Students add a detail to my starting simile: "The room was as smelly as seaweed that…"
They add another round of details.
They add one more set of details to make the simile even more specific.
Students will improve their figurative language by starting with an opposite meaning.
Students change a cliché simile into its opposite.
Then they add details to make their figurative language even more specific.
Students will improve their figurative language by starting their sentence with a simile.
Students move the simile in a cliche to the beginning of a sentence rather than the end.
The, they improve their sentences with more specific details.
Students apply techniques of repetition from Shakespeare to their own writing.
Students will repeat a starting word, but not right next to itself: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."
Students will repeat a starting phrase rather than one word: "Is the chair empty? Is the sword unsway'd? Is the king dead?"
Students will improve their figurative language by making a cliché into something very interesting.
Students will begin with a cliché and add a detail to make it more specific.
Students will continue to add more details and make that cliché even more specific.