Welcome to the Storyworks Writing Center! Throughout the year, we'll be stocking this page with materials that will enhance your writing curriculum, including teacher tips, writing activities and resources. We'd also love your ideas. If you have a great writing activity that works well with your students, send it in. If we put up your idea, we will send you a $25 gift certificate for Scholastic products. |  |
Writing Activities for November/December 2009
Note: These also appear on the current reproducibles and activities page under the appropriate story or poem.
- Rhyming
Rhymes are sublime! Students practice using rhymes in their poetry, alone and with a partner! - Science Detective's Notebook
Students practice their best sleuthing skills in this activity! A science detective's notebook full of critical-thinking questions, space for note-taking, and more! - Summarizing/Differentiating Details
Students learn to differentiate between important events in the article and the supporting details. - Reader Response Template
A fabulous customized paragraph-writing activity - Understanding Character
What makes zany Zaritza tick? - Comparing and Contrasting
Students compare and contrast the two volcanic eruptions.
Other Writing Activities, Back from the Archives
For every issue, we'll post a different reproducible from our popular "Writers' Workshop" series. Stay tuned!
- Writers' Workshop: Descriptions
Students practice writing descriptive paragraphs. - Writers' Workshop: Writing Action
Students practice writing action sequences in their fiction pieces.
Teaching Tips from Mary Rose
We have learned so much from award-winning teacher Mary Rose, and so have the thousands of teachers who have attended her workshops and read her professional books. Back by popular demand, we are providing Mary's ideas and wisdom on a variety of writing and reading topics.
- Notes for Writing Mentors (Teaching writing: An overview)
- Poetry 101 (Tips on how to read and teach poetry)
- R.E.A.D. (An easy way to teach proofreading skills)
- Reading Nonfiction (Helpful strategies for reading nonfiction)
- Reading Creative Nonfiction (What makes creative nonfiction different?)
- Go Back and Check! (More tips on how to proofread)
- Reading Aloud (Find out why this step is important in the classroom.)
- Story or Essay Beginners (Five easy tips for the best story or essay openers)
- The Homework Monster (Assigning homework that's useful and doable)
A Writing Checklist for Young Authors
As part of our ongoing effort to help you enhance your writing curriculum, we asked one of our favorite teachers, Ed Wolf, of Westport, Connecticut, to share some of the secrets from his highly successful classroom program. He's prepared a checklist that your students can use every time they write. Click here.
Contact Us:
Do you have a teaching tip about writing to share? Is there a book or resource about writing that you think every teacher should know about? Let us know by sending an e-mail to LTarshis@scholastic.com