Assuming you’re a writer or a thinker, why should you care about the way you take notes? If you want to think creatively and write original articles and books, you need to form associations in your mind effectively. Notes can help you with that if you adhere to a few basic principles.
I have revamped my Writing Paper with Picture Boxes. Previously, the packet had 12 different styles of writing paper. I have added to the packet, and it now contains 36 different styles! Before the writing paper looked like this: There are still 18 of the above styles, and I have added 18 of the following styles: Check it out!
Justin Martell, biographer of 1960s pop superstar Tiny Tim, on writing his story.
The Three-act structure. The definition of three-act structure is a narrative model that divides a plot up into three sections
Handwriting/journal paper we use in our journals. These were saved as PNG and JPG images and can be cropped for use in creating worksheets or other projects. You can download this in a zip file from our TPT store HERE.
I don't know about you, but it seems like writing always gets the shaft in my room. I start off every year with this grand scheme to make sure my students write daily, yet when something needs to go off of my schedule, it always seems that this subject is the one on the chopping block. Honestly, it just isn't fair to my students. They will not become better writers unless they are actually writing. So what I started to do, to ensure that they would write daily, was begin a Paragraph of the Week. The basic idea is simple. The students are given a prompt to write a paragraph about and they have the week to do it at home. However, I knew that if I just gave my students a prompt and let them at it....all heck would break loose. They *needed* some scaffolding and a bit more accountability to decent sentences than that. So I thought and thought about what I do to teach a basic paragraph in my room. I always start off with a brainstorm/pre-write. It gets the juice flowing and gives the kids a lot to pull from when narrowing down their topic. So I made sure that each week, they start with a prewrite. We use Thinking Maps, so the students begin on Monday by filling in a Circle Map on the topic at hand. Then, and here is where I may differ from many, I have them write the body sentences. I just feel like they get a better paragraph if they start with the middle and work their way to the frames of the topic/closing sentence. They don't get so boxed in....or give it all away....when they leave the topic sentence for last (and when brainstorming and prewriting our multi-paragraph essays, this is how I do it as well, so it only made sense to me to have them write a small paragraph this way as well) I also have the students write a supporting detail sentence and then another sentence with evidence or explanations of that original sentence. Again, this gives the students a chance to really add pizazz and life to their writing. I actually have my students color code the sentences as well. This helps them with organization (especially when we get to multi-paragraph essays). Wednesday has them writing their topic and closing sentences. They then put it all together for Thursday. What I am loving about this is that my students now have a body of work that we can pull from for our writing mini-lessons. They have actual authentic writing to revise and edit in class. What I am also loving is that it is forcing me NOT to let writing slip away. I have time built into my day each day to do a little mini-lesson because I know that they will be doing writing at home. The last thing I want them doing is practicing BAD writing....so I am doing so many more mini-lessons....and their writing is getting SO SO SO MUCH BETTER. SO MUCH. We have taken a few of the paragraphs to final draft publishing, now that they have a bunch of paragraphs to choose from. I am finding that this is also turning into a great record of their writing growth throughout the year. And I have put all of this together in a HUGE 200+ page packet for you. There are 36 different writing prompts, with all the scaffolding you see in the first 18 weeks. Then the second 18 weeks switches the focus (which I plan to do in my room) to revising and editing with rubrics and checklists and all. The pack also has a one page explanation of the weekly task in case copies are a problem (I know, I know...I love copies) Anyway, if you would like the entire pack with everything done for you, it is available in my TpT store. The preview download actually has one week in it for free so that you can see if this is a fit for your room. I really, honestly am in love with this right now. I see SUCH a difference in my students, and I am sure you will too.
Playdough To Plato - Fun learning activities for kids! Reading, writing, math, science and more. Activity for ages 5 to 8. Teaching my first graders about the impact Martin Luther King Jr. had is supe
Aeolus character design process! (disclaimer: my writing sucks and I'm not good at explaining things so if it gets a bit weird just know I'm trying my best) a lot of people have been saying very ni…
Make writing more fun for your child with this writing paper with a drawing box printable! Just download and print your copy today. Kids will enjoy drawing and practicing their handwriting.
Taylor Swift’s hit song “Style,” along with its corresponding music video, provide multiple layers of complex text to analyze with students as a means for deepening their rhetorical analysis skills. (Our rhetorical analysis of “Style” is embedded below!!) You’ll notice that the language we utilize in this analysis is a bit more complex than our usual analyses. Likewise, the demands of these particular lesson materials are geared toward high school students as they tackle some of the more complex rhetorical devices and concepts in Swift’s repertoire! Learning tasks associated with these plans include close reading for rhetorical analysis, identifying and unpacking selected rhetorical devices in the context of the song / music video, and a focused analysis of juxtaposition. Join the TeachArgument Community to access all of our pop culture lesson plans instantly, or grab these plans “a la carte” for only $4.99!
I'm a big fan of making books with kids! Bookmaking is great way to encourage reading and writing in a fun way. Today I am sharing how to make Accordion Envelope Books over at Life
Jam-packed 20+ page Paw Patrol early learning printable activity pack for tracing, puzzles, sorting, letters and more!
Hi guys! It's Megan and I am back today to talk all about the ampersand. I have a love/hate relationship with the ampersand. I love it: it's flexible. A super character. You can draw it in virtually infinite ways and people still seem to understand its meaning. I pretty much consider it the 27th letter of the alphabet. it can stand alone or join other characters together. I love the ampersand. Yet I avoid it. Because for some reason, this character has been tricky for me to draw. Until now, because I'm here guest posting on Alisa's blog today with the intention of mastering this tricky little fella'. To start off, I broke the ampersand character down into 3 basic categories: I then approached drawing practice, the same way I did the lettering practices. 1 Letter, 100 ways. I mixed in practicing all three styles above. (since my style of lettering is more calligraphic, I am not as drawn to the contemporary style, so you won't see much of this in my examples). Remember to keep in mind that even the slightest variation can totally change the feel of each character. I mentioned before using tracing paper for practice. If you struggle drawing the ampersand (or any letter/character), print out a few different fonts from the computer, and using tracing paper, let them guide you as you draw the basic shapes. I played around with flourishes and embellishments, line weight, and any variation I could think of. Below are some favorites from my practice session: I had so much fun practicing drawing ampersands, that I decided to take it up a notch and create a larger illustration based on this simple, yet complex, shape. After very lightly penciling in a line drawing of a traditional ampersand, I created a floral illustration. I made sure to use a black pen that didn't bleed (such as a micron, sharpie pen, or copic marker). Next, I used my favorite watercolors, Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus Fine Art Watercolors, to fill in my doodles. And just for fun, if you enjoy Alisa's coloring pages, I created a fun page of my own for you to download and enjoy! Download HERE Have fun lettering and creating! You can check out all of my lettering posts HERE and don't forget to share your progress using #redefinecreativelettering. Xo, Megan @Makewells (instagram) www.makewells.com
Hello Everyone, I'm Chelsea from One Hot Crafty-Mama. My husband is in medical school and the Army. I am lucky enough to be able to stay at home with my daughter, and baby #2 is
If you’re looking to expand your efforts on social media, consider Pinterest. With over 100 million active users, this image-based social networking site
Free for personal & desktop commercial useView License DetailsKelsi by Misha Vlasov is the familiar Graffiti Bubble style writing you see painted on walls. This free product features both filled & outlined versions.
