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

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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 . . .

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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 . . .

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Motif: Don’t Say Goodbye to Winter Yet

Motif: Don’t Say Goodbye to Winter Yet

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Let’s celebrate one of literature’s coldest motifs: ice queens.

What is a motif?

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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Hobbit Day

Hobbit Day

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

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 call

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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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 . . .

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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.

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Composition: Let’s Make it Easier

Composition: Let’s Make it Easier

You’ve just read the title of this post and are laughing uncontrollably. I get it. Writing is hard. My students confirm this, and so do yours.

Many moms report that their students have ideas in their heads but can’t get them on paper. Let’s start fixing that today.

What creates this strange head-to-hand disconnect? One major reason is that students don’t organize their thoughts or plan their papers. Big mistake. They think it’s a time waster; but you know otherwise.

The following is a short activity on opinion writing, devised for success. Practice these four steps to writing with your students. They won’t actually be writing this essay, which is one of the reasons this activity works so well.

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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?

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