17 Idea Development Prompts and Lessons: |
Lesson title: Counting Up/Down Stories
Lesson's Mentor Text: Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
Focus Trait: Idea Development (using strong details)
Support Trait: Word Choice (experimenting with structure)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Writing Like an Artist Paints
Lesson's Mentor Text: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
Focus Trait: Idea Development (using strong details)
Support Trait: Word Choice (selecting purposeful adjectives, verbs, and nouns)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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NEW Lesson: Actions Speak Louder than Words
Lesson's Mentor Text: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Focus Trait: Idea Development (showing a character with action words)
Support Trait: Word Choice (focusing on interesting verbs and verb phrases)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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NEW Lesson: Creating a Parallel Universe
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
Focus Trait: Idea Development (showing details about a setting, comparing and contrasting)
Support Trait: Word Choice (using both inventive and descriptive words)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Adventurous Magic
Lesson's Mentor Text: Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville
Focus Trait: Idea Development (creating an original scene based on a model)
Support Trait: Organization (planning purposeful paragraphs)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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NEW Lesson: A Magical Animal Encounter
Lesson's Mentor Text: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Focus Trait: Idea Development (using memorable details)
Support Trait: Organization (planning paragraphs)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Episodic Writing
Lesson's Mentor Text: Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
Focus Trait: Idea Development (exploring themes and details)
Support Trait: Organization (experimenting with structure)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Launch your own Murder Mystery
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Focus Trait: Idea Development (creating an original scene)
Support Trait: Organization (planning purposeful paragraphs)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: The Skin You're In
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake
Focus Trait: Idea Development (using sensory details)
Support Trait: Word Choice (choosing strong verbs, adjectives, and nouns)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Rules and Things for a "Funner Life"
Lesson's Mentor Text: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Focus Trait: Idea Development (using unique ideas)
Support Trait: Word Choice (writing to convey tone and mood)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Launching a Fantastic Voyage
Lesson's Mentor Text: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Focus Trait: Idea Development (balancing showing and telling)
Support Trait: Organization (planning purposeful paragraphs)
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Lesson title: You're on a Gigantic Roll...
Lesson's Mentor Text: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Focus Trait: Idea Development (describing settings and objects well)
Support Trait: Word Choice (using strong verbs and inventive words)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Imaginative Home Movies
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Focus Trait: Idea Development (selecting memorable details)
Support Trait: Voice (using deliberate humor)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Writing About Life's Lessons
Lesson's Mentor Text: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Focus Trait: Idea Development (writing from personal experience)
Support Trait: Organization (sequencing events)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: What's in a Name?
Lesson's Mentor Text: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Focus Trait: Idea Development (creating a fictional narrative)
Support Trait: Word Choice (using words that evoke imagery)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Gotta Go Back in Time
Lesson's Mentor Text: George Washington's Socks by Elvira Woodruff
Focus Trait: Idea Development (accurately reporting historical facts)
Support Trait: Organization (planning a beginning, middle, and end)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Visualized Writing
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Sisters Grimm, Book 2: The Usual Suspects by Michael Buckley and Peter Ferguson
Focus Trait: Idea Development (originality and details)
Support Trait: Organization (sequencing events)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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7 Organization Prompts and Lessons: |
Lesson title: Show What Your Mind Sees
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Twits by Roald Dahl
Focus Trait: Organization (planning a purposeful paragraph)
Support Trait: Sentence Fluency (varying sentence lengths)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Build an Adventure
Lesson's Mentor Text: Any of the Choose Your Own Adventure Series by R. A. Montgomery
Focus Trait: Organization (planning purposeful paragraphs or story parts)
Support Trait: Sentence Fluency (varying sentence lengths)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: What's Your Fifth Element?
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Snow Walker by Farley Mowat
Focus Trait: Organization (planning purposeful paragraphs)
Support Trait: Voice (using persuasive techniques)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: The Ultimate Survivor
Lesson's Mentor Text: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Focus Trait: Organization (sequencing story events)
Support Trait: Word Choice (using strong adjectives and precise nouns)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Beyond Once Upon a Time...
Lesson's Mentor Text: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Focus Trait: Organization (starting with a powerful introduction)
Support Trait: Word Choice (using color and texture words)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Writing to your Favorite Author
Lesson's Mentor Text: Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Focus Trait: Organization (structuring a friendly letter)
Support Trait: Idea Development (using memorable details)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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NEW Lesson: Leads for a Most Embarrassing Moment
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Focus Trait: Organization (exploring leads)
Support Trait: Idea Development (carefully choosing memorable details)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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11 Voice Prompts and Lessons: |
Lesson title: "Knot" the Whole Truth
Lesson's Mentor Text: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Focus Trait: Voice (conveying emotion and emphasis)
Support Trait: Word Choice (using figurative language)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: A Character's Decalogue
Lesson's Mentor Text: Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Focus Trait: Voice (writing from a believable perspective)
Support Trait: Organization (imitating a structure)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: So Much Depends Upon...
Lesson's Mentor Text: Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Focus Trait: Voice (writing from a believable perspective)
Support Trait: Word Choice using words that voke imagery)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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NEW Lesson: Creating a School Survival Guide
Lesson's Mentor Text: Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
Focus Trait: Voice (conveying emotion and emphasis)
Support Trait: Idea Development (using a unique approach to share ideas)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Down on the Farm
Lesson's Mentor Text: Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen
Focus Trait: Voice (writing from a believable perspective)
Support Trait: Word Choice (using strong adjectives and verbs and precise nouns)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Nature Poetry
Lesson's Mentor Text: Woodsong by Gary Paulsen
Focus Trait: Voice (visualizing emotions)
Support Trait: Word Choice (choosing mood-inducing words)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Giving Credit Where Credit Might Be Due
Lesson's Mentor Text: Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin as Told by his Good Mouse Amos by Robert Lawson
Focus Trait: Voice (writing convincingly from an imaginary perspective)
Support Trait: Organization (sequencing events)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Historical Journal Entries
Lesson's Mentor Text: Pedro's Journal: A Journey with Christopher Columbus by Pam Conrad
Focus Trait: Voice (writing from another's perspective)
Support Trait: Idea Development (putting researched facts into one's own words)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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NEW Lesson: The Sum of Its Parts
Lesson's Mentor Text: Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Focus Trait: Voice (conveying emotion or mood)
Support Trait: Idea Development (using memorable details)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: "Voicing" a Believable Account
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers
Focus Trait: Voice (writing from a believable perspective)
Support Trait: Word Choice (using words that evoke imagery)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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NEW Lesson: Native American Oral Storytelling
Lesson's Mentor Text: Waterlily by Ella Cara Deloria
Focus Trait: Voice (borrowing a character's voice to re-tell a story)
Support Trait: Idea Development (developing a unique interpretation)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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7 Word Choice Prompts and Lessons: |
Lesson title: Let Me Show You Nature
Lesson's Mentor Text: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Focus Trait: Word Choice (using color, texture, and sound words)
Support Trait: Sentence Fluency (varying sentence lengths and sentence beginnings)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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NEW Lesson:Unique Metaphor Collections
Lesson's Mentor Text: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Focus Trait: Word Choice (choosing words to create rich description)
Support Trait: Idea Development (using metaphors that enhance an idea)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Your Own Faraway Place
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Focus Trait: Word Choice (using strong adjectives and verbs)
Support Trait: Voice (conveying mood or emotion to the reader through word choice)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Make 'em Laugh or Cry or...
Lesson's Mentor Text: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Focus Trait: Word Choice (using strong adjectives and verbs and precise nouns)
Support Trait: Voice (conveying mood or emotion to the reader through word choice)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Memories that Inspire your own Moment Like This Memoir
Lesson's Mentor Text: Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli
Focus Trait: Word Choice (using words that evoke sensory details)
Support Trait: Idea Development (using memorable details)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Prose Poetry
Lesson's Mentor Text: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Focus Trait: Word Choice (taking risks with poetic language and techniques)
Support Trait: Voice (conveying self through words)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Writing a Backwards Poem
Lesson's Mentor Text: Holes by Louis Sachar
Focus Trait: Word Choice (using irony and oxymorons)
Support Trait: Sentence Fluency (using humor deliberately)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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2 Sentence Fluency Prompts and Lessons: |
NEW Lesson: A Hurricane Blowing In
Lesson's Mentor Text: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency (varying between simple and complex sentences)
Support Trait: Word Choice (words that paint specific pictures in readers' minds)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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NEW Lesson: Moving through the Machine
Lesson's Mentor Text: Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency (varying transitional words and phrases)
Support Trait: Organization (sequencing events in a paragraph)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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3 Conventions Prompts and Lessons |
NEW Lesson: "Lawd! Lawd! Lawd!"
Lesson's Mentor Text: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Focus Trait: Conventions (punctuating for dialogue)
Support Trait: Idea Developmeng (showing character traits instead of telling them)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Inventing a New Word
Lesson's Mentor Text: Frindle by Andrew Clements
Focus Trait: Conventions (punctuating for dialogue)
Support Trait: Word Choice (inventing words and choosing strong dialogue verbs)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources.
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Lesson title: Puns an Punctuation
Lesson's Mentor Text: Any of the Tom Swift Adventure Series by Victor Appleton
Focus Trait: Conventions (punctuating for dialogue)
Support Trait: Word Choice (playing with words through puns)
Click on the lesson title or the image to read an overview and access the entire lesson and its resources. |
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