WritingFix: A Poetry Prompt inspired by The Cure's "10:15 on a Saturday Night"

	Welcome to WritingFix	Nicely navigated! You've found one of WritingFix's I-Pod Writing Lessons!
	WritingFix: Where getting your daily writing "fix" is more important than fixing your writing. Write EVERY day! Hello writers, teachers, and students. Have you been inspired to do any writing today?

This original poetry writing prompt and 6-trait lesson were both created during an institute for teachers sponsored by the Northern Nevada Writing Project's Technology Team. One Minute in Time using onomatopoeia and The Cure to inspire a free-verse poem from your students Northern Nevada Writing Project Consultant Dena Harrison created this original on-line writing assignment.
On this page: Quick overview of this prompt & lesson Writer & student writer instructions Teacher instructions and resources for using this lesson in the classroom Washoe Teachers: Click here to borrow a CD with this song from the county library.	Quick WritingFix Navigation:
	Return to the WritingFix HomePage
	Right-Brained Prompts	Left-Brained Prompts
	Daily Writing Prompts	WritingFix for Kids
	Picture Book Prompts	Chapter Book Prompts
	Poetry Prompts	Literature Prompts
	6 Traits Homepage	Revision Post-Its
	Visit WritingFix's sponsor: The N.N.W.P.

This writing prompt inspired by:

"10:15 on a Saturday Night"
sung by The Cure on their album Staring at the Sea
Click here to do a Google search for this song's lyrics. Make an overhead of the lyrics to use with your students.

A three-sentence overview of this writing prompt: After updating my I-pod with some of my favorites 80’s hits, I realized that The Cure’s song “10:15 on a Saturday Night” might inspire some great poetry from my students. This song explains what happens in one slowed-down minute as the singer is waiting for an important phone call, while also utilizing some catchy onomatopoeia to emphasize the seconds ticking by. Students will choose their own moment in time to slow down and use onomatopoeia to emphasize the passing of time as they write their own free-verse poems.

The "Trait by Trait" emphasis from this writing prompt and lesson: The focus trait for this lesson is idea development; after hearing the song and looking at the published model, students will be inspired to create their own memorable details to include in their own free verse poems. The support trait for this lesson is word choice; after identifying and learning the meaning of onomatopoeia, students will enjoy selecting just the right sounds in their poem to mimic the passing of time.

Writer & Student Writer Instructions: Like The Cure did , you will be writing your own free verse poem that paints the picture of one important minute in time. Free Verse poetry is a fun form of poetry because it is mostly patterned after speech and images. Another great thing about free verse poetry is that you have the freedom to use sound effects and shortened lines whenever you feel, without worrying about getting your words to rhyme!

You may choose either the topic you brainstormed with a partner or choose one that appeals to you from the buttons below. Once you have your topic, you may want to think about which words you will use to show the passage of time, just like seconds on a clock. You may choose either the onomatopoetic words you brainstormed with your class or choose a pair from the buttons below.

Once you have a topic and some onomatopoetic words, you can get started on your poem. Don’t forget to brainstorm which parts of your moment you think are important to include. If you are working with a partner, make sure you and your partner choose two different perspectives to write from. For example, if you chose the topic of school getting out for summer, one person would write about the moment from the student’s point of view and the other would write about what would happen from the teacher’s point of view.

You may want to refer to The Cure’s lyrics to help you get started. There are also some student samples to give you some hints. Remember, you are just describing one minute in time. Be sure to choose just the right words to explain your situation and the ticking of the clock. Have fun experimenting with your free verse poem!

Interactive Button Game: If you're looking for a topic or for some words to help you start your draft, press the buttons below to give your brain a spark.

Teaching Instructions & Resources: This lesson was written by Dena Harrison while taking an institute for teachers offered by the Northern Nevada Writing Project.

Pre-step…before sharing the published model: Play the song “10:15 on a Saturday Night” by the Cure for your students and discuss any poetic elements of the song that seem to stand out. Guide the discussion, if necessary, to the onomatopoeia. (“Drip, drip, drip, drip…”) Ask them what they think this dripping might represent. Guide them, if necessary, to the sound of a clock ticking and the tap dripping in time to the clock. The Cure uses this onomatopoetic technique to show the passage of time. Explain to students that onomatopoeia is a word whose sound makes you think of their meanings. See if students can brainstorm more examples of these types of words and write on them on the board.

Step one…sharing the published model: Put The Cure’s song lyrics on the overhead; use the Google link above (just below the picture of the album cover) to find a set to print on a transparency. Read through the song with your students as you listen to it again. You may also want to point out the fact that this is a free verse poem/song and the words do not rhyme. Explain to them that free verse poetry is a fun form of poetry because it is mostly patterned after speech and images. Another great thing about free verse poetry is that you have the freedom to use sound effects and shortened lines whenever you feel, without worrying about getting your words to rhyme!

Step two…introducing student models of writing: In small groups, have your students read and respond to any or all of the student models that come with this lesson. The groups will certainly talk about the (Idea Development), because of the post-it note that has been embedded on each model. You might prompt your students to talk about each model's (Word Choice) as well.

Student Model #1:
Seventh-graders share their "Minute in Time" poems

Step three…thinking and pre-writing: Remember, the focus trait for this lesson is Idea Development. Have the students get into groups of two and brainstorm some important events in life that you would count down to, where the last minute before might be significant. Check out the buttons above for a couple of seed ideas to get them going. For those students who are having trouble coming up with ideas, click below again for even more idea starters! Once they have come up with three or four, have them choose their two favorites. Choose a few students to share their ideas with the class. Students may either work together on this poem, providing two different perspectives of the same moment, or by themselves on just one view of the moment they chose.

Graphic Organizer for this Prompt
A sensory-detail brainstorming sheet

Step four (revising for specific trait language): To promote response and revision to rough draft writing, attach WritingFix's Revision and Response Post-Its to your students' drafts. Make sure the students rank their use of the trait-specific skills on the Post-Its, which means they'll only have one "1" and one "5." Have them commit to ideas for revision based on their Post-It rankings. For more ideas on WritingFix's Revision & Response Post-Its, click here.

Focus Trait Post-It:
(All students should use this Post-It)
Idea Development Post-It

Support Trait Post-It:
(Students who are stronger writers should also use this Post-It)
Word Choice

Step five (editing for conventions): After students apply their revision ideas to their drafts and re-write neatly, require them to find an editor. If you've established a "Community of Editors" among your students, have each student exchange his/her paper with multiple peers. With yellow high-lighters in hand, each peer reads for and highlights suspected errors for just one item from the Editing Post-it. The "Community of Editors" idea is just one of dozens and dozens of inspiring ideas that is talked about in detail in the Northern Nevada Writing Project's Going Deep with 6 Trait Language Workbook for Teachers.

Step six (publishing for the portfolio): When they are finished revising and have second drafts, invite your students to come back to this piece once more during an upcoming writer's workshop block. Their stories might become a longer story, a more detailed piece, or the beginning of a series of pieces about the story they started here. Students will probably enjoy creating an illustration for this story as they get ready to publish it for their portfolios.

Publishing on-line? Option 1: Student writers can submit their drafts at WritingFix's Community of Student Writers. To do this, students will need to have an e-mail address and the ability to remember a password. Other students can respond to their writing at this on-line community. Option 2: WritingFix is always looking for new student samples to publish and share on-line. Have you used the prompt on this page to write something you're proud of? If you are willing to share your photo, grade level, first name, and last initial only, write to us at publish@writingfix.com, and we'll send you a permission slip for you and your parents to sign and return to us. You might become a published author who inspires other student writers!

With the exception of the book thumbnails, all materials found on this webpage are copyrighted by WritingFix and the Northern Nevada Writing Project. Educators have permission to print and share these materials with their students. All others need to request permission from this site's sponsor: The Northern Nevada Writing Project.

Visit http://nnwp.org to request permission.

Thumbnails of book covers are included here to encourage users to purchase these books and support the authors and illustrators who created them.

Who created WritingFix?

WritingFix began as a professional development project for teachers in 2001. Click here to find out the history of this website, and for a sneak preview of what's being developed.

Visit our sponsor:
The Northern Nevada
Writing Project

This website is FREE thanks to this organization.

E-mail our webmaster

We receive too much spam to this e-mail address. Please put the word WritingFix in your e-mail's subject line, so we don't accidentally delete it with the daily pile of junk mail we receive.