| From: http://www.homeschoollearning.com/units/unit_04-26-02.shtml
LESSON 1:
A Poem About Me!
Concepts:
Your children will learn about the importance of individual words in writing poetry.
Lesson:
Tell your children that poetry is a kind of writing that doesn't usually contain exciting action or interesting characters. Poetry relies on the beauty and sound of the words to tell a story, convey an idea, or elicit an emotion. Explain that some poetry rhymes and some poetry, called free verse, does not, but that all poetry has a certain rhythm, which is created by the sounds of the words used.
Tell your children that they are going to write a poem in free verse, in which they will choose the very best words they can to describe the subject they know best -- themselves! Provide your children with the A Poem About Me! worksheet and ask them to choose the best descriptive words they can think of. If necessary, read your children some sample Bio Poems to help them get started. When they have completed the worksheet, have your children copy the poem onto a piece of blank paper and illustrate it.
Older children might write a Parts of Speech Bio Poem for a more difficult challenge.
LESSON 2:
Don't Tell Me the Ending!
Concepts:
Your children will learn about the elements of a story.
Lesson:
The hardest part of writing -- for both children and adults -- is deciding what to write about. You can help your children skip this difficult first step and begin writing immediately by encouraging them to finish a story someone else has begun. In the process, they will learn about the elements of a story and consider how to incorporate those elements into their own stories.
Read a short story to your children. The story can be one of their favorites or a story from Children's Stories Online. Discuss these elements of the story: plot (the complete sequence of events that make up the story); events (the individual actions that move the plot); climax (the turning point of the story, when the characters attempt to solve the main problem in the story); setting (where and when the story takes place); characters (who the characters are and how they behave); theme (the message of the story); point of view (the way in which the author of the story views the characters and events in the story); and style (the manner in which the author writes). Then discuss the resolution of the story -- how the story ended.
Have your children think about how each of those elements affected the story and about how changing one of the elements would affect the story's ending. Ask questions such as: If the main character had acted differently at the story's climax, how might his actions have changed the way the story ended? If the story had taken place somewhere else, how might that setting have changed the way the story ended? (Make your questions more specific, basing them on the actual story read.) Invite your children to complete the Parts of a Short Story Quiz. Check your answers with the answer sheet
Encourage your children to Finish-a-Story and publish their endings online.
Additional Resources:
LESSON 3:
What Is a Good Short Story?
Concepts:
Your children will learn about the elements of a short story.
Lesson:
Explain to your children that many elements go into creating a well-written short story. Point out that those elements include point of view, character, setting, plot construction, and theme. Ask them to read A Jury of Her Peers: What Makes a Good Short Story and explore the story elements discussed. Then have them complete the Short Story Quiz to demonstrate what they have learned. They can check their answers here.
Extension Activity:
Encourage your children to write an original short story and publish it online.
Additional Resources:
LESSON 4:
Pop-Up Myths
Concepts:
Your children will learn how to write a myth and create a pop-up book.
Lesson:
Explain to your children that a myth is a traditional story that tries to explain some aspect of nature. Myths grew out of the storytelling tradition of particular cultures, therefore they have no single author and different versions of the same myth are often found in different cultures.
Read aloud to your children, or invite them to read, a Myth that attempts to explain a physical characteristic of a particular animal. Then tell your children that they are going to write an original myth about another animal; how the elephant got its trunk or how the giraffe got its neck, for example.
When the story is completed, invite your children to Make a Pop-Up book to illustrate their myth.
Additional Resources:
LESSON 5:
Zooming in on Details
Concepts:
Your children will learn how to increase detail in their writing.
Lesson:
Ask your children to write the directions for a simple household activity, such as making a sandwich or a bed, planting a flower, or programming a VCR. Use their written directions to complete the activity, following the directions to the letter. What happened? Most likely, your children left out an important step, such as opening a jar of mayonnaise or identifying the TV show to be taped. Discuss with them the importance of including as much detail as possible in their writing.
Invite your children to explore a picture in gradually increasing detail in the activity Details! Details! Details! and then have them complete the story starter at the site.
Provide your children with a picture showing a beach or amusement park or some other crowded scene. Ask them to describe the photo in as much detail as possible and to write down everything they see. Then have your children choose one person or activity in the picture and write a story about it.
Extension Activity:
Encourage your children to participate in the Monster Exchange Project.
LESSON 6:
It's a Mystery to Me!
Concepts:
Your children will learn about the Northern Lights and incorporate the phenomenon into a mystery story.
Lesson:
Point out to your children that ideas for stories are all around them -- they just have to look for them. Have them read The Northern Lights (grades 3-5) or Northern Lights and the Big Space Storm (grades 6-8). Point out that the Northern Lights provide a terrific setting for a mystery story.
Provide your children with the Northern Lights Mystery activity sheet and help them complete the five Brain Work activities. Then ask them to write a Northern Lights mystery story. (The original lesson and additional activities can be found at NASA's Thursday's Classroom.
Additional Resources:
LESSON 7:
Five Steps to Good Writing
Concepts:
Your children will learn about five important areas of writing, and follow the five steps of the writing process as they write a story.
Lesson:
Explain to your children that good writing involves more than simply putting their thoughts on paper. Good writing is organized and understandable, is easy and enjoyable to read, and contains good grammar, punctuation and spelling. Have your children explore The Five Areas of Writing to learn more about the areas of their writing they need to pay attention to.
Tell your children that following a 5-step writing process will help them pay better attention to those five areas of writing. Explain that the writing process includes prewriting, writing a rough draft, revising, editing, and publishing their work. Ask them to explore The Writing Process to learn more about what is involved in each step of the process.
Provide your children with one of the Narrative and Descriptive Writing Prompts or another writing prompt and ask them to write an original story based on the prompt. Remind them to pay attention to the five areas of writing and to follow the 5-step writing process as they write the story.
Additional Resources:
LESSON 8:
A Sense of Culture
Concepts:
Your children will learn about sensory poetry in Native American writings.
Lesson:
Explain to your children that sensory poetry is poetry that appeals to the senses; sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Tell them that they are going to learn more about sensory poetry by reading some Native American poems that contain sensory language. Invite your children to explore some of the poetry of Joy Harjo, one of the best known Native American poets. Then ask your children to choose one of the poems by Harjo and complete a Sensory Worksheet about that poem. Discuss with your children what they learned by completing the worksheet. Ask them to describe how the sensory language affected their reaction to, and understanding of, the poem.
Point out to your children that many works by Native American poets are written about nature. Discuss with them why poems about nature might lend themselves to sensory images. Then accompany your children on a walk in an undeveloped, or lightly developed, area near your home. Ask them to write down everything they see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. When you return from your walk, have your children write a poem incorporating the sensory images they recorded.
Extension Activity:
Invite your children to explore additional print and online resources about Native American poetry. Encourage them to write a biography of their favorite Native American poet.
Additional Resources:
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