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Grading Essays Made Easy |Homeschool Life | Literature | Miscellaneous
Proofreading Tips | Writing Prompts
Writing/Teaching Tips | All
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Want homeschool writing tips? Encouragement? Help grading those essays? Practical advice for your homeschool writing class? Insights into literature? Free writing prompts and tutorials?
Whether your student is reluctant or brimming with excitement, you’ll find solid, proven ideas here that will make your teaching life easier. And take advantage of the many writing prompts and tutorials posted here.
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Be sure and browse the weekly writing prompts for middle schoolers and high schoolers.
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Write a Story from an Animal’s Perspective
How do you write a story about Alaska before people arrived? You make animals the main characters, which is exactly what James A. Michener does in Alaska.
Michener creates Matriarch, a mammoth that is old enough to be the grandmother of many other mammoths. Through her eyes, we see the landscape and experience the early troubles of the area now known as Alaska.
An Alaskan Matriarch
Here’s a passage from Alaska in which Matriarch first encounters . . . well, I think you’ll figure out what’s going on here: (more…)
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with this Family Writing Prompt
Let’s celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by highlighting a short story by Colombian-born Gabriel García Márquez.
Many stories can be put into one of two categories when talking about how the ball gets rolling: (more…)
What Will Your Character Find in a Secret Room?
Secret rooms in movies and books promise excitement. How does one find the room? How does one enter? What could be hidden in this mysterious vault?
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is introduced to readers as being the result of an amazing find, a secret cache tucked away in the dusty, forgotten second floor of the custom house where Hawthorne worked for a while.
Here’s how he creates excitement for his narrator’s find and, therefore, the story: (more…)
Fire Prevention Day—Narrowing Down a SubjectTopic
Note: This is part one of the Intro to Writing series. Find links to the other tutorials here.
What do you do when your teacher gives you a subject to write about, but that subject is too broad?
For instance, what if your teacher says, “Write about natural disasters”? Right off the bat, you know you are in trouble. That subject is too large; there are too many possibilities. It would take a few books to cover everything, and your essay is due in two days. (more…)
