This week on the Two Writing Teachers site, I posted about a strategy I tried with my students: Give it a Go. Basically, we look for amazing skill or strategy with writing, then try it out for ourselves to see what will happen.
I introduced the idea to one of my groups of fourth-graders today, so I thought I’d share what I wrote alongside them. After reading a passage from Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting, we all focused on creating descriptive writing. Here’s my (admittedly autobiographical) contribution:
She lowered her backpack to the floor, the muffled thud reflecting her general discouragement. Shuffling to the back bedroom, she let her bare feet slide across the wood, picking up the dust and dog hair she meant to vacuum up the day before.
√ Work clothes: OFF
√ Pajamas: ON
√ Fuzzy heart rainbow socks: ON
Over on the nightstand, and on the dusty window-seat behind it, lay an array of books and magazines. Some were arranged neatly like soldiers – spines out, one next to another. Others (the current selections) lay strewn about on the nightstand, sticky notes and gift cards in place of the bookmarks she had a wealth of, but could never seem to find in her time of need.
Casually, she reached down and picked up a cloth-bound novel whose dust jacket (and upper left corner) were gored by Winnie, the wiry-haired Chocolate Labradoodle with an affinity for head scratches and an anxious disposition.
After making herself a steaming mug of chamomile tea and snapping off a few squares of dark chocolate, she brought herself to the worn, sandy-brown sofa in the living room.
That’s as far as I got today. My inspiration was actually the sensation of being snuggled under my favorite blanket while reading, but the writing pulled me elsewhere. Perhaps I’ll get to it, perhaps I won’t. But it WAS fun to give it a try.
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 