CCSS ELA Standard: 3.L.3.a

A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!

A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!

When does a simple symbol have more power than a word?

Power may seem loud and fast, but it can also be slow and quiet.

When I see a quote, I often think, “That’s not quite right!”

Let’s help William Shakespeare with his use of repetition.

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

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

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

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

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

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

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

How many different ways can we use the word “care”? Let’s find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

How many different ways can we use the word “fruit”? Let’s find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

How many different ways can we use the word “change”? Let’s find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

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

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

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

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

Click up an interesting, visual writing prompt suitable for any grade or purpose.

What if we rewrote a piece of writing without using certain letters?

What if we rewrote a piece of writing without using certain letters?

Look closely at Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.

Look closely at Impression, Sunrise. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.

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

Look closely at Twilight in the Wilderness. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.

Let’s start with “As cold as fire.”

What if we started a sentence with the simile?

Your students will turn the iconic painting The Scream into a vivid, sensory poem.

What if a students’ self-portrait was made of words that describe the student!?

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?

Have students mastered the art of anadiplosis: ending one sentence with the beginning of the next? Now it’s time to take it to the next level!

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

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

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

Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place at the zoo.

Students pick from 12 random phrases to create a story about an incident in a restaurant.

A passage from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.

Let’s take a classic Christmas poem and remix it to work with another holiday!

Aristotle noted that positive traits and negative traits are often the same thing, but just in different amounts. The right amount is a virtue, but too much or too little and it’s a vice.

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.

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!

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

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.

A passage from Moby Dick to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.

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

It’s time to turn that outline into a storyboard and then some actual slides.

Imagine a construction worker who doesn’t know the name of a screwdriver or a doctor who can’t remember what to call your neck. It’s pretty hard to communicate well without knowing the 👄 Language of the Discipline!

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

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

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