Writing with Sharon Watson-Easy-to-use Homeschool Writing and Literature Curriculum

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Benefits of Bike Riding: Brainstorm and Organize

Benefits of Bike Riding: Brainstorm and Organize

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Is it tough to come up with ideas when your teacher gives you a writing assignment?

And if you have ideas, is it hard to plan and put them into an effective order with main and supporting points? This prompt will help with these problems.

Many students feel that brainstorming is a waste of time, but you’ll see otherwise in this prompt as you brainstorm the benefits of bike riding. Also, you’ll practice organizing your ideas so they make sense. These worksheets will make your tasks much, much easier.

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Veterans Day Acrostic Poem

Veterans Day Acrostic Poem

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Veterans Day is a special day in the United States when we honor all the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces.

Do you know someone who has served in the military? I know quite a few men and women who have, and I think you may as well.

Let’s show our appreciation of veterans this year by writing an acrostic poem. An acrostic poem is one in which the first letter of each line spells a word. In today’s prompt, you’ll be

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Veterans Day Compare and Contrast

Veterans Day Compare and Contrast

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

We honor our U. S. veterans on Veterans Day every year.

Do you know someone who has served in the U. S. Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, National Guard, or Reserves? Chances are you know quite a few men and women who have served, defended, and protected our country and those of our allies.

Working in the Armed Forces is very different from working in the private sector. Let’s explore this idea.

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What Comes to Mind When You See This Picture?

What Comes to Mind When You See This Picture?

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Have you ever looked at a picture and written from it?

When you write anything that comes to mind, you are free-writing or writing in a stream-of-consciousness mode. Anytime you get stuck for something to write, this is a helpful method to get you going again. Just begin writing about anything. Keep the pencil moving. Eventually, something interesting will creep into your mind, and you’ll take off!

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What Happens When You Meet Your Doppelgänger?

What Happens When You Meet Your Doppelgänger?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

True story: A few years ago when I was eating lunch at a rest area, I saw a man who looked just like my dad. It was freaky. They could have been twins.

Since I happened to be close to where my dad was originally from, I thought about talking to this man to see if he was related to my dad. Then I remembered that I was traveling alone, far from home. The idea of talking to a strange man didn’t seem so appealing anymore. But I always wish I had.

The Germans have a word for someone who looks just like another person. It’s called a doppelgänger. These look-alikes are fun to see and a little strange

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Proofreading: The Good News and the Bad News

Proofreading: The Good News and the Bad News

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Proofreading is not a happy activity. It takes attention to detail and maybe even some groaning.

After all, you feel as if your first draft is enough. You’re done. Finished.

Students tell me that writing the first draft and then proofreading it is like writing their paper twice.

The Bad News

.Here’s the bad news: The skill of proofreading your own papers is essential to the writing process. Why?

First, you learn to write more effectively.

Second, you show respect for your teachers by handing in a well-thought-out paper with few mistakes.

And third, you begin to understand that there is an audience at the other end of your essays. You aren’t writing simply to keep yourself busy; you’re writing to communicate, educate, explain, persuade, or entertain.

The Good News

Here’s the good news: You’re about to learn four sure-fire ways to catch more mistakes when you proofread..

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Why Teach Writing?

Why Teach Writing?

SHARON’S BLOG

Why teach writing? After all, it’s tough. It’s confusing. And sometimes crying is involved.

If your writing class is flagging and your zeal is dragging, consider this post as a friendly smile I am sending your way.

So, what are some of the benefits of teaching our kids to write? 

Benefits

1. Students become more organized in their thinking when they learn to write. Writing clearly involves organizational skills that will aid our students in other subjects. 

Click here for middle school organizational skills. >>

Click here for high school organizational skills. >>

2. Writing causes students to think through topics or defend a position. Through this process, students gain an understanding of

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Halloween: For or Against?

Halloween: For or Against?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Okay, so we’re close to Halloween.

For some Christians, Halloween can be a controversial event.

Some families celebrate it as a harmless and fun day to dress up and collect candy. Others view it as having satanic or questionable roots and do not celebrate it.

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Eavesdrop Your Way to Tension and Dialog in Stories

Eavesdrop Your Way to Tension and Dialog in Stories

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

I was shopping one day last week when I heard an elderly woman say to her daughter, “I’d like to find a white sweater.”

Her daughter came back with, “Oh, Mother, you always do this to me. You know we can’t find white after Labor Day.”

I thought, Hmm. That daughter is having trouble with her mother.

A few minutes later, in the same store, I heard a 30-something granddaughter talking with her elderly grandmother. “Oh, Grandma,” she said,

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