People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby (former Major League baseball player)
A sure sign of spring is baseball.
No, sure signs of spring are crocuses and violets popping up. And don’t forget spring peepers and sighting the first robin.
Or how about that first
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Let’s celebrate one of literature’s coldest motifs: ice queens.
A motif (mow TEEF) is like a symbol on steroids. It not only appears in one story but in many stories through the ages and often in stories from many countries.
A deep, dark woods is a good example of a motif. The blackened forest can be symbolic of confusion or a time of testing. What stories can you think of that include a patch of dark woods? (I’ve listed a few at the end of this prompt, but try your hand at listing some before you read mine.)
A motif can be an item (like dark woods or a magic ring), a recurring event (like being sent on a quest or conducting a contest to find a spouse), or a
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SHARON’S BLOG
An edict. A carol. A strange decoration.
What do all these have in common? They are all part of our fun Christmas prompts.
Enjoy these prompts created especially for 5th – 12th graders.
Ho, ho, ho, and away we go . . .
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You know about Dr. Seuss, and you know about the Grinch. But do you know the story behind the story?
When Ted (we know him as Dr. Seuss) was 53 years old, he was fed up with Christmas. He was tired of the noise, the constant activity, and the busy-ness, and he wished everyone would get along with each other.
His desire was that people would celebrate the joy and peacefulness of Christmas without all the hoopla detracting from it.
So what did he do? He wrote a story about it. He created a Scrooge-like creature who hates the noise and celebration of Christmas. Ted writes this in the story:
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Happy Hobbit Day!
Did you know that September 22 is officially Hobbit Day and the beginning of Tolkien Week? You can read more about it here and here and here.
To celebrate, let’s explore the hero’s journey, an essential type of plot.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien is basically a hero’s journey plot. Is the lowly Bilbo a hero when we first meet him? Not really. But through testing and troubles, and by fights against giant spiders, a dragon, and miserable dwarves, he becomes a hero.
One important phase of the hero’s journey plot is
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Welcome to a new year!
A new year is time for new plans, new goals, and new ideas.
It is also a time for second chances.
So, let’s talk about failures.
Thomas Edison, inventor of the phonograph (forerunner of the record player), the light bulb, and the movie camera, was told in school that he was “too stupid to learn anything.”
Walt Disney, according to the newspaper editor who fired him,
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Summertime! The key word here is “enjoy.” Enjoy these fun and thought-provoking prompts and writing ideas. Enjoy their summery-ness. And enjoy that your 5th – 12th graders are writing but you are not grading!
There are six prompts and prompt bundles waiting for your children and one article for you.
Ready? Let’s go . . .
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Take a break from grading and give your 5th-12th grade students some fun, summer-themed topics to write about.
There are five for your students and one article for you. It’s all about practical, real-life experiences you can turn into writing events.
Here goes . . .
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SHARON’S BLOG
Are you a homebody or do you love to gallivant? To gallivant is to travel, wander, or globetrot. Does that sound like you?
Whatever you happen to be, you can use these 16 writing prompts to become an armchair traveler and see the world right from where you are. You might even be inspired to plan a real-life trip!
Suitable for 5th – 12th graders.
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You are familiar with Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel or “Ted”) through his popular stories such as Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hears a Who, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Cat in the Hat. But did you know that he used to write very different kinds of literature? Read on to find out!
Below you’ll find 5 writing prompts to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s accomplishments.
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