Word Choice with Holes

Grade Level: 6^th

Focus Trait: Word Choice

Mentor Text: Holes

Author: Louis Sachar

ISBN: 0374332665

Supporting Text:

• Jumbo Shrimp: The Ultimate Oxymoron Book by Bruce Fein and John Accurso
• Who Ordered the Jumbo Shrimp?: And Other Oxymorons by Jon Agee 
• Freezer Burn: Oxymorons and Other Contradictions of Everyday Life by Laine Vilensky, David Holmes and Jeff MacNelly
• Jumbo Shrimp: And Other Almost Perfect Oxymorons and Contradictory Expressions That Make Absolute Sense by Warren S. Blumenfeld
• Pretty Ugly: More Oxymorons and Other Illogical Expressions That Make Absolute Sense by Warren S. Blumenfeld and Lisa Amoroso (Illustrator)

Mentor Text Summary: At Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility,  is a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. His conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" Despite his innocence, Stanley is quickly entangled in the Camp Green Lake routine, but when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character--that in fact the warden is seeking something specific--the plot gets as thick as the irony.

 

About the Author:  http://www.louissachar.com/Bio.htm

“I write every morning, usually for no more than two hours a day. I never talk about a book until it is finished. I spent two years on my latest novel, and nobody, not even Carla (wife) or Sherre (daughter) knew anything about it until it was finished. Then they were the first to read it.”

Lesson:

1. Show the backwards poem example on your overhead.  (Click here to open it so you can print it.)  Have your students create their own definitions of "Backward Poems" by discussing the poem.  Have students share variations of the poem they may have heard.
2. Define paradox, oxymoron, and verbal irony on chart paper with your students.   Talk about how backwards poems can be extreme versions of verbal irony from first line to last line (like the sample), but they can also be simply based on a title or a line that is an oxymoron or a paradox. 
3. Share the first line--perhaps the entire first chapter--of Holes.  Discuss how the first sentence contains verbal irony.  Talk about how dry lake is an oxymoron. Brainstorm, as a class, and write five or six interesting adjectives on the board.  For example: delicious, powerful, pathetic, hysterical, frozen.  Challenge your students to think of a noun that you wouldn't think should follow the adjective.  

      delicious garbage
   powerful weakling
   pathetic hero
   hysterical funeral
   frozen lava
4. These short pieces of verbal irony (which are actually called oxymorons) are to be the beginning inspiration for the students’ original "backwards poems." 
5. Students will need a blank piece of paper for sketching and labeling.  After reviewing the supporting texts listed above, students should begin their pre-write by completing a sketch and labeling it with words. Before beginning to write, students should meet with a partner and edit for ideas.  This Student Instruction Page with interactive word play might help inspire students to begin brainstorming for this poetry assignment.  If you click here an example of a brainstorming pre-write will appear. You could use it as an example for students to follow.  
6. Have the students use a checklist to revise their rough drafts.  An example of a potential checklist is the WritingFix's Revision and Response Post-Its.  For example, on this post-it, the students rank their use of the trait-specific skills, which means they'll only have one "1" and one "5” and then you could have them commit to ideas for revision based on their Post-It Note rankings.  Sheet of 6 Word Choice Post-It Notes    
7. After students apply their revision ideas to their drafts and re-write or type neatly, require them to find an editor.   With yellow high-lighters in hand, each peer reads for and highlights suspected errors for just one item from the Editing Post-it. 
8. Most likely, your students will enjoy creating an illustration for this writing “backwards poem” as they are getting ready to place final drafts in their portfolios. Have students share their “backward poems” in an informal presentation to the class. 

Ohio Academic Content Standards for the Lesson:

Standard: Reading Applications: Literary Text

Benchmark:   

F. Identify and analyze how an author uses figurative language, sound devices and literary techniques to shape plot, set meaning and develop tone. 

Indicator: 

7. Distinguish how the author establishes mood and meaning through word choice, figurative language, and syntax. 

Standard: Writing Process

Benchmarks: 

F. Edit to improve fluency, grammar and usage.

G. Apply tools to judge the quality of writing.

Indicators: 

15. Proofread writing, edit to improve conventions and identify and correct fragments and run-ons.

16. Apply tools to judge the quality of writing.

Additional Resource: http://www.louissachar.com/HolesBook.htm

Organization with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Grade Level:6^th

Focus Trait: Organization

Mentor Text:  Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Author: Judith Viorst  

ISBN: 0689711735

Mentor Text Summary: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a children’s book by Judith Viorst with illustrations by Ray Cruz.  The story is about how a young boy named Alexander who ends up having a terrible day.  From the time Alexander wakes up, till the time he goes to bed he encounters a string of unfortunate events.  

 

         

About the Author:

"Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces."

Lesson:

1. Discuss what it is like to have a bad day. Relate to the class a bad day through the eyes of a teacher.  Brainstorm together, using the web below, specific details that make up a bad day.
2. Give students their own web to use at their desks, for ideas about their own bad day. (Brainstorming Web)This graphic organizer should be used to brainstorm ideas for student writing.
3. Share the picture book with the class.
4. Point out the author’s organization strategy.  "In Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst has chosen to organize her story chronologically from the time Alexander gets out of bed in the morning to the time he goes to bed at night.  Throughout his day, Alexander has many bad things happen to him. 
• Viorst starts the story with an attention grabbing introduction, jumping right into Alexander’s bad day.  The title of the story and Alexander's catch phrase are repeated throughout the story – another organization tool.  She finishes the story with a satisfying conclusion – Alexander realizing that everyone has a bad day from time to time – 'even in Australia.'"
5. Ask students, "If it was school picture day and you wanted to look your best, what terrible, horrible, no good and very bad things might happen to you?"
6. Brainstrom as a class, and create a class chart of all the bad things that would happen on school picture day.
7. Tell students, they will be creating an original tale of a fictional bad picture day. If they need further inspiration from a mentor text (and if you have time), share Margie Palatini's Bedhead, a great story about a bad school picture day.
8. Have students work independently using ideas from their brainstorming web or other ideas, to construct a "sloppy copy" on the computer of their most horrible day. Explain to students that the "sloppy copy" will be used to get their ideas on paper, not as the final copy.
9. Walk around the room conferencing with individual students.
   Some of the questions that may be asked are:
   Was this the worst day you ever had?
   Can you think of anything you left out?
   How did you feel that day?
   Can you think of any words you can use that might describe this day better?  
10. Download and print the stories.
11. Ask students to reread their rough draft. Explain that the revising process gives the opportunity to decide what they need to add to their story and what they should take out.
    
12. Have students get into groups of two or three to read their drafts and get feedback from their peers. Explain to students that they should not to be critical of each other's work. The purpose of getting into groups is to help each other with their writing.
13. Let students rearrange, add to or delete material from their rough draft to help clarify and refine their writing. Have students visit the site below and review the checklist for the editing process.
    http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/printouts/Editing%20Checklist.pdf
14. Have students edit their final copy.
15. Students will then turn their stories into slideshows by downloading text to each slide or copying and pasting the text to the slide. 
16. Allow students to present their stories/slideshows to the class.

Ohio Academic Content Standards for the Lesson:

Standards: Writing Processes

Benchmarks:  C. Clarify ideas for writing assignments by using graphics or other organizers.

D. Use revision strategies to improve the overall organization, the clarity and consistency of ideas within and among paragraphs and the logic and effectiveness of word choices.  

Indicators:

5. Use organizational strategies (e.g., rough outlines, diagrams, maps, webs and Venn diagrams) to plan writing. 

10. Use available technology to compose text.

13. Rearrange words, sentences and paragraphs, and add transitional words and phrases to clarify meaning. 

Additional Resources:   http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2741

                                        http://www.writingfix.com/6_Traits/organization.htm

                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp80pTEMlqY&feature=related

Idea Development with The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups

Grade Level: 6^th

Focus Trait: Idea Development

Mentor Text: The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups

Author: David Wisniewski

ISBN: 0064437531

Mentor Text Summary: A “kids’ guide” provides children with an insider’s look at an ongoing conspiracy of parental lies and deceit regarding commonly enforced rules such as eating one’s vegetables, combing one’s hair, and not blowing bubbles in one’s milk.  Each of the parental “rules” is followed by its “official” reason and then the “truth,” or why the rule really exists.

About the Author:  David Wisniewski was both a storyteller and an illustrator.  Born in England, David lived in Germany, Nebraska, Texas, and Maryland.  He spent three years as a circus clown.  In 1980, he and his wife started the Clarion Puppet Theatre (later known as the Clarion Shadow Theatre) which toured in schools, theaters and at the Smithsonian. After his children were born, he become a full-time author/ illustrator, using layers of cut paper to illustrate children's books.  David cut layers of colored paper with an X-Acto knife.  For one book, he would use nearly 1,000 blades. His book Golem, won the 1997 Caldecott Medal. In his acceptance speech, he said of himself: "I am a self-taught artist and writer who depends on instincts developed through years of circus and puppet performance to guide a story's structure and look."  On September 11, 2002, he passed away after a brief illness at the age of 49.

Lesson: 

1.       Read The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups to you students. 

2.       While reading The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups point out the great descriptions used throughout the book, while also focusing on the three-part pattern used by the author.  

3.       Have students identify interesting ideas in this book and discuss why they grab the reader's attention. 

4.       Discuss ways the writer can grab the readers’ attention and make a list on chart paper. Make a chart listing the rules from the book, the "real" reasons for those rules, and favorite descriptions the author used. 

5.       Have students brainstorm their own list of rules they think are important, explain why, and brainstorm descriptions. 

6.       Have the students write their own sequel to this book following the author’s three-part pattern.

7.       Have the students compare their sequel piece with a Venn Diagram to the actual sequel titled, The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups, The Second File. 

8.       Have a peer circle group discussion to share ideas.  

9.       Have students reread their papers and challenge them to come up with two different spins on the same rule. 

10.   Have students create their final draft in the form of a Power Point, iMovie, or Animoto presentation to share with the rest of the class.

Ohio Academic Content Standards for the Lesson:

Standard: Writing Process

Benchmarks:     

A. Generate writing topics and establish a purpose appropriate for the audience.

H. Prepare writing for publication that is legible follows an appropriate format and uses techniques such as electronic resources and graphics. 

                               

Indicators: 

1. Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from printed material, and keep a list of writing ideas. 

10.   Use available technology to compose text.

Resource Website: http://www.campbell.k12.ky.us/schools/crossroads/crossroadselementary/6+1IdeaDevelopment.html

Word Choice with Baloney, Henry P.

Grade Level Focus: 6^th grade

Focus Trait: Word Choice

Mentor Text: Baloney, Henry P.

Author: Jon Scieszka

ISBN: 0670892483

Mentor Text Summary: Henry P. Baloney needs to come up with a very good, very believable excuse for being late to szkola yet again--or he's in big trouble with his teacher Miss Bugscuffle. Henry has a doozy of a story as any child would have to stay out of trouble.  You see, it all started when he misplaced his trusty yellow no. zz zimulis. One thing led to another, and before he knew it, he was on a razzo blasting off into space, where he eventually landed on the planet Astrosus. All went well there, as the intrepid explorer entertained the Astro guys with his funny piksas--until they decided Henry and his piksas would be entertaining to eat. Things go on in this way until somehow, miraculously, Henry P. Baloney ends up back in his classroom, a mere seven minutes late--but still one writing utensil short!

About the Author: http://www.jsworldwide.com/

“ I always tried to really motivate kids by getting them excited about stuff – and even being a little mysterious about it, just saying, "I don't know. We got this stuff. We have to figure it out. It's up to you guys," and then lay something on them. And I always found that really piqued their interest better than lecturing them. 

“When I sit down I don't really think, "Who is my target audience?" I think about, "What's the best way to tell this story?" I try to imagine my audience really being grabbed by it, including the kind of knucklehead guys sitting in the back who often don't think stories are for them.”

Lesson:

1.       Read the book, Baloney, aloud to the students.  Don’t read the last 2 pages, which are the decoder pages.  Let the students think the words are silly and made up.

2.       Ask the students to make a list of words they don’t recognize, such as Cumulus, fracases, aamu, and sighing flosser, and you record them on the Elmo, while the students record the words on paper at their desk.

3.       Read the book again, this time, instruct the students to raise their hands when they hear an unfamiliar word.  Have the student predict the meaning of the word using context clues and the illustrations.  All students should be making their own individual predictions, but record individual student definition responses on the Elmo to create a class list of definitions.

4.       Show students the decoder page at the end of the text.  Share the list of words from the pages, their definitions, and the place in the text where they appear.

5.       Compare Scieszka and Smith’s definitions with the class list, as well as with individual students.
 
6.       Students need to know that words and how they are used or presented in a story adds character to the writing.

7.       Hand out a teacher model of a Sausage Story to your students with these instructions: "This story is a riddle. The story has nothing to do with sausage. But its title--Sausage Story--is a completely appropriate title. Your task is to figure out why it's called Sausage Story. Good luck.”
a.       Example in PFD format: http://www.writingfix.com/PDFs/left_brained_prompt/sausage_sentences_examples_OH.pdf

8.       This is very tricky for student to do, so offer a hint, such as The sausage is not the whole story; in fact, it's just a sentence in the story. Which sentence could it be? Students will now really look at all the sentences.

9.       Discuss with the students that it is usually the last sentence in the paragraph.  Show them a different sausage sentence than the one in the teacher model, explaining that this is a sausage sentence too. Ask them to think about structure again.
 Now show them the story's sentence with the explanation visually demonstrated.

 

Every yellow warbler rested during Gideon's skillfully yodeled ditty.

What is a sausage sentence?  It's a meaningful string of words whose beginning and ending letters match.  The key is that the words must create a sentence that make sense; it's easy to write nonsense or semi-nonsense using this structural challenge. It's hard to write one that might actually appear in a story.

11.   Challenge students to write a sausage sentence including their individual made up words.

12.   Allow time for the students to write the sentence.

13.   Once students have written their sentences, have them read the sentences aloud in small groups of 3-4.  Have students provide feedback to each other through a checklist. Does the sentence follow the correct word sequence?

14.   Once students have written a sausage sentence they like, their job is to write a story that either begins or ends with the sentence. This is really an interesting thinking and writing challenge, if you do the exercise well, which means you write a story where the sentence doesn't stand out so strongly that future riddle-solvers immediately call it out as being the unusual sentence. To do this, a writer finds himself/herself really looking at the specific words in the sausage sentence, and then building a context for them (with the story's other sentences) so that sausage sentence doesn't glare at you as just a weird-sounding sentence.

15.   Challenge students to write a piece like Baloney, where words are not limiting, but are endless, meaning going beyond actual "real" words.  Remind students to provide a decoding page, so you  know the made up words and their definitions. 

Ohio Academic Content Standards for the Lesson:

Content Standard: Acquisition of Vocabulary

Benchmark: A. Use context clues and text structures to determine the meaning of new vocabulary.

Indicators: 1. Define the meaning of unknown words by using context clues and the author’s use of definition, restatement and example.

Additional Resources: http://6traits.cyberspaces.net/mini-wc.html

                                 http://www.ttms.org/writing_quality/word_choice.htm

                                 http://www.asblibrary.org/word-choice.html

                                 http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/writing/sixtrait/wordchoice/howto.html

Frindle to Teach Conventions

Grade Level Focus: 7^th grade

Focus Trait: Conventions

Mentor Text: Frindle

Author: Andrew Clements

ISBN: 0689818769

Mentor Text Summary: At the start of fifth grade, Nicholas Allen is unhappy because his English teacher is the strict Mrs. Granger. One day, to stall for time in class, Nick decides to question why every word means what they do. After hearing Mrs. Granger's explanation, and having to write an essay about it for homework, he created a new name for the pen: "frindle". Mrs. Granger dislikes this new word because she thinks it's not respectful to the word pen, which has a long history. She starts making kids stay after school for saying "frindle" and write lines, but this proves to be a problem, as almost every kid in the school starts having to stay after school. The principal decides to visit Nick's house to end the use of the word, but it doesn't help because everything is out of Nick's hands now.  The story goes on, but at the end, Nicholas receives a package from his teacher.  Read the book to find out what was in the package!

 

About the Author: http://www.andrewclements.com/

In His Own Words:

During my senior year at Springfield High School my English teacher handed back a poem I’d written.  Two things were amazing about that paper.  First, I’d gotten an A—a rare event in this teacher’s class.  And she’d also written in large, scrawly red writing, “Andrew—this poem is so funny.  This should be published!” 

“Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you're living a good life.”

Ohio Academic Content Standards Focus for the Lesson:

Content Standard: Writing Application

Benchmark: A.   Use narrative strategies (eg. dialogue and action) to develop characters, plot, and

setting and to maintain a consistent point of view.

Content Standard: Writing Conventions

Benchmark: C. Use grammatical structures to effectively communicate ideas in writing. 

Indicator: 2. Use commas, end marks, apostrophes and quotation marks correctly.

Lesson: 

1.     Get a classroom copy of Frindle by Andrew Clements.  After having already read the book to the class once before, only read aloud chapter 6, which reveals how Nick changes the word for pen to frindle.  Discuss how the chapter introduces a new word for a common object through its two characters talking in dialogue.  Discuss how frindle doesn’t mean anything, until Nick gives it meaning. 
 
 
2.     After reading, copy several lines of dialogue from chapter 6 on the Smartboard or Elmo or whatever area you have available to you in your classroom.  Have students review the basic dialogue punctuation rules or create a set of rules from the sample dialogue from Frindle.
 
3.     As a class, teacher as scribe, create a short dialogue piece together following dialogue rules and discussing, HOW the rules make the writing clear for the reader. 
 
4.     Tell your students they will be writing a short scene today where two characters talk about a new word that has been invented. One character in the story will unveil the new word to the other.  Remind students that they can reference the dialogue rule reminders created by the class from the examples found in the text. Tell your students that you challenge them to write original lines of dialogue, using the punctuation patterns of the examples from Frindle you shared on the board.
 
5.     First step: Pre-Write- You could provide students with a graphic organizer to help them pre-write or differentiate instruction how you see fit in your classroom with your students.  This could be done as a whole class, in small groups, or individually.  Due to the nature of middle schoolers, I would suggest groups of 2 or 3 to use a graphic organizer of choice to brainstorm ideas. 
 
6.     Students need to write using the dialogue rules discussed from the examples in Frindle.      
 
7.     Once the story/ dialogue scene is written, have the students peer edit for revisions with a yellow crayon, looking for only proper dialogue conventions.  Students should look for proper placements of commas, quotation marks, and end marks.  Using a simple checklist of conventions, have the students take a red crayon to draw attention to obvious convention errors, such as spelling, capitalization, and proper verb/noun agreement. 
 
8.     Have students make revisions, and then share the dialogue and “new words” with the class.  Make a list of the new words with definitions to hang in the room.  Challenge the students to use the words around school to see if they catch on with the other students and teachers in the building. 
 
 

Additional Resources:   http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2010/04/19/teaching-writing-conventions/

                                    http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2742

                                    http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4416