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

Navigation Menu

National Poetry Month: Do You Haiku?

National Poetry Month: Do You Haiku?

April is National Poetry Month. What a wonderful time to try your hand at writing a poem!

Haiku (high KOO) is a beautiful poem form that comes from Japan. It is usually about nature and can be spoken in one breath.

Syllables are important in a haiku. Words can be broken into parts based on their vowel sounds. Those parts are syllables. Tree has one syllable. Forest has two. And timberland has three. When you speak these words out loud, you can hear their syllables.

Haiku poems have another feature: They do not rhyme.

Read More

Fall-themed Writing Prompts

Fall-themed Writing Prompts

SHARON’S BLOG

10 Fall-themed Writing Prompts

Colorful leaves. Pumpkins. Football. Cooler weather. Raking. Apple pie. Candles. What are signs of autumn to you?

Students are more likely to write if the topics are related to something that is going on at the moment, so let’s cash in on the season by using these fall-themed writing prompts. Some of the prompts you’ll find below are simply fun prompts; others are tutorials complete with printables.

While they are enjoying these ten seasonal prompts, you are giving them practice in opinion writing, description, figurative language, poetry, and more. Shhh! It’s our secret!

These prompts {and tutorials} are appropriate for grades 5 – 12.

Ready? Fun awaits . . .

Read More

3 Types of Poems for Poetry Month

3 Types of Poems for Poetry Month

SHARON’S BLOG

Would you like to give your students some practice in writing poetry?

With these guided prompts, your students do not have to “sit down and write a poem” but will surprise you by creating something fun and maybe even memorable. Here goes . . .

Read More

Summertime Bundle 1

Summertime Bundle 1

SHARON’S BLOG

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 . . .

Read More

Intro to Writing, Parts 1 and 2

Intro to Writing, Parts 1 and 2

SHARON’S BLOG

Intro to Writing

Do your students get stuck when they have to write a paragraph or an essay?

I have a secret I’d like to share with you.

Your students do not have to write a paragraph or a whole essay every time they put pencil to paper. One of the best ways to unplug the fear of writing is to do some of the prepare-for-writing tasks but never write the whole paragraph or essay.

It’s called practice, as when members of a basketball team practice dribbling or passing. The team does not play a game every time they get together. They practice pieces of the game.

So let’s practice brainstorming and organizing ideas.

Read More

New Tutorials to Document Sources

New Tutorials to Document Sources

SHARON’S BLOG

Okay. I’ll admit it. I abhor the nit-picky rules about citing sources and making a works-cited page. The rules are tedious. They’re boring. And they’re nerve wracking.

So, if it is hard for adults (which I like to think I am), what must our children and teens think of it? After all, writing a report is hard enough without all the “extra” stuff about citing sources.

On top of that, the rules change! About a year after The Power in Your Hands was published, with its lessons on citing sources and documenting a report, the Modern Language Association changed their rules.

What is a student to do?

Read More

Fun with Outlines. No, Really.

Fun with Outlines. No, Really.

SHARON’S BLOG

Could your students use a little help creating outlines? And what does a bowl of salad have to do with outlines?

My husband tells me he always made his outlines after he’d seen what he had written. I imagine this is fairly common.

But is an outline necessary? Not exactly. You can read about my sticky-note method here.

What is important, though, is organizing the material, and that is where students have trouble. They do not want to take the time to organize their thoughts, ideas, or material before they write.

Personally, I benefit from even a casual outline. That way, I don’t have to start with the introduction and work my way down to the conclusion; I have the pleasure of beginning wherever I like, where I feel the most comfortable. Then I can fill in the rest of my article later by using the organized points in my informal outline.

Whether your students use sticky notes or a more formal outline, they’ll benefit from these familiar outline ideas.

Read More