Create a Wacky Character!

Have you ever read any books about Amelia Bedelia, the young housemaid who takes everything literally?

When Amelia Bedelia is instructed to pitch a tent, she throws the tent into the woods! When she bakes a sponge cake, she uses real sponges, according to publisher HarperCollins Children’s.

To Sled or Not to Sled—Is That the Question?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Cities like Dubuque, Iowa, are banning sledding in their city parks.

Why? Is sledding dangerous?

Recently in the United States, more than 20,000 children were hurt while sledding, according to a report on NPR. But they also report that about 82,000 kids are hurt each year on trampolines, and over 275,000 children have accidents on bicycles.

Do You Have a Dream? Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let’s get to know King’s most famous speech a little better.

To hear the audio and read the transcript of “I Have a Dream,” click here. To view the speech on YouTube, click here.

This moving speech was originally given August 28, 1963, in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. As Martin Luther King spoke of freedom for all Americans, regardless of their color, the statue of the Great Emancipator Abraham Lincoln was seated behind him. This gave even more meaning to King’s powerful speech.

What was King’s dream?

Write a Christmas Carol

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Which part of the Christmas account do you like the best?

Is it the Annunciation where an angel announces to Mary that she will have a child?

Is it the long journey to Bethlehem with no inn available when Mary and Joseph arrive?

Could it be when the angels burst into the night sky and sing to shepherds? Or perhaps when those exotic kings find the real King as a baby and then fool Herod to make their get-away?

Many of our Christmas carols highlight one part of the Christmas story. For instance, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” focuses on the night Jesus was born.

The First Christmas: You Are There

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

That first Christmas.

It’s easy to forget all the noise, confusion, exhaustion, rejection, and fear Mary and Joseph experienced. Though our nativity sets look peaceful and serene, I imagine things would have looked very different had we been there to observe those world-changing events.

Whom do you most identify with when you read the Christmas accounts in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2:40? That is, when you read the Bible accounts, which person do you feel closest to? Which one has some similarities to your life? Or think of this: Which person do you wish you could have been?

Your Turn to Give for Christmas

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Many stores and libraries this time of year have donation boxes to collect gifts for children. Some even have Christmas trees with places to hang mittens, warm hats, socks, and so forth. Those items will be distributed later to children who have no other way to get these needed items.

Christmas is the perfect time to think about giving something to others less fortunate than ourselves.

How Can You Say “Thank You”?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

How can you tell someone, “Thank you”? What can you do to show your gratitude?

Reader’s Digest asked their Facebook followers to suggest some ways. Here are two of the methods their followers recommended:

What Will Happen Here?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Dark woods have long been a vital part of many stories.

Snow White encounters the huntsman in a dark woods and escapes into another part of the woods. Ditto with Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf.

Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz is attacked in dark woods. Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves are set upon by oversized spiders in the dark woods called Mirkwood.

When the Frost Is on the Pumpkin: 3 Fun Writers’ Devices

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

This is a good time of year to read James Whitcomb Riley’s “When the Frost Is on the Punkin,” which you can read here. It describes the glories of life on the farm during the cool, crisp days of autumn, and the harvest season.

In the poem, you’ll find this phrase: “The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn / And the raspin’ of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn. . .”

Note: Riley misspells “russel” on purpose. The correct spelling is “rustle.” Same with “tossels,” which is supposed to be “tassels.” And, of course “punkin,” which is, you guessed it, “pumpkin.” He’s using a country dialect in his writing.

Riley uses the three wonderful words “husky, rusty russel” to describe the sound of the dried leaves of the corn plant as they rub together in the wind. If you have ever heard those dry leaves or blades rubbing together, you can almost hear the “s” sound in the wind, as though they are whispering to each other.

What are Riley’s secrets to writing so well?