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

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Set Another Place at the Table

Set Another Place at the Table

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Dinner with the Smileys, book coverWhat’s the second thing that happens to Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit?

He’s visited by twelve dwarves and one wizard. They come for tea (late afternoon) and stay for supper, eating the provisions in his pantry, taking up room in his tidy hobbit hole, and making noise. Bilbo is not happy.

What happened when Sarah Smiley’s husband was deployed overseas for one year?

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Gather Around the Campfire . . . or the TV

Gather Around the Campfire . . . or the TV

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Gathering around the campfire as a family or with your friends in the summer at camp or during the crisp fall days can be fun. Whether you’re singing or roasting marshmallows for s’mores, it’s a unique experience.

Gathering around the TV to watch a movie or show with your family or friends can feel very different from circling the campfire. The blue glow from the TV may not warm you up, but its content may be more entertaining.

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Too Late! It’s Gone!

Too Late! It’s Gone!

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Ever wonder what your life would be like without some of your favorite people or things?

In P. D. James’ futuristic novel Children of Men, she wants people to consider what the world would be like without any new babies. So her novel is all about how no babies have been born on Earth for 25 years. She highlights the blessings of children and how they affect the world by writing about their absence. 

In this unusual prompt, let’s ponder what we have.

Now it’s your turn: Think back over the last few months and

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Rice and Beans . . . or Steak

Rice and Beans . . . or Steak

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week  occurs every year in the United States the week before Thanksgiving.

Some communities host fund-raisers or hold hunger walks to raise money for homeless shelters. Libraries forgive fines if patrons bring in cans of food. Youth groups collect canned and boxed food from neighborhoods.

Families sleep

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Strange Hotels


HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Would you like to rent a room undersea? Then head over to Jules’ Undersea Lodge off the coast of Key Largo, Florida. Named for the famous Jules Verne and his early sci-fi story 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, this hotel caters to divers who like to live underwater. You can view a YouTube video of a humorous

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Who Is on Your Team?


HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Ender's GameYoung Ender Wiggin, in Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, is smallish for his age, smart, and a bit of a misfit. In the movie of the same name by Summit Entertainment, Colonel Graff wants Ender to remain a misfit and even manipulates events so the other young students will hate Ender. Graff doesn’t want Ender to rely on anyone and even cuts off his emails to and from home so the young boy can focus on his studies.

Despite the people in his life who try to keep Ender from forming relationships, he creates his own network of friends and allies as he moves through the classes and battle games. He realizes, as does the psychiatrist Major Anderson,

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Flee the Boring Description!

Flee the Boring Description!


MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

You know that boring description in the last book you read for school?

No, wait. You didn’t read it. You skipped the description because it was so dull.

It’s time to fix that. Here’s a paragraph from H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. Notice the specific and powerful verbs he uses to keep this description of refugees moving along:

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