by Sharon Watson | Jun 28, 2015 | Encouragement, Sharon's Blog
SHARON’S BLOG
Your son is eleven years old. He wishes he could play ball as well as his dad does, and he hugs you freely. Your daughter is ten. She loves to look through your jewelry box, and she plays up to her dad.
Now jump ahead a few years to a time when your kids will no longer regard you as perfect. Your son is 17 and chafes at having to obey you and do his school. Your daughter is 16 and spends more time on her mobile device than it took you to deliver her.
These can be painful days for us—days when we feel our teens pulling away from us in their quest for independence.
They have a surprise coming. (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jun 20, 2015 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Middle School Prompts, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, tutorial, Writing Prompts
SHARON’S BLOG
True story: I was eating dinner in a restaurant recently when I heard a woman in the booth behind me state, “This is an abomination!”
My ears perked up. My curiosity was piqued. I rarely hear the word “abomination” any more and wondered what could be so horrific as to need that word. I imagined she and her dining partner were reading a magazine article on human trafficking or perhaps watching a YouTube video about persecution in Indonesia.
I strained my ears to learn what she was referring to. (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jun 14, 2015 | High School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
Many exciting stories have come from scientific ponderings. Take, for instance, Frankenstein. It was written by Mary Shelley while the scientific world debated the idea of reanimation. Could something dead, a frog, perhaps, be reanimated by electricity? And if a frog could be brought back to life, what about a human? And if a human could be brought back to life, does that mean we should?
So Dr. Frankenstein sews together pieces of cadavers and, after many failed attempts, actually brings to life this cobbled-together thing, this human, if you can call it that.
Eighty years later, H. G. Wells is exploring a similar topic in The Island of Dr. Moreau. Can humans and animals be joined together?
Science Goes Awry?
Fast-forward 200 years from Shelley’s Frankenstein. What happens if scientists (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jun 14, 2015 | Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS
Dogs and cats are going places they’ve never gone before. They’re visiting children in daycare, older people in assisted-living facilities, and patients in hospitals.
Love on a Leash is an organization that is filled with therapy pets—pets that are specially trained by their owners to make people happy, reduce stress, and help educate people about the benefits of owning pets.
One fun thing these dogs and cats do is go to school so children can read to them. Children who have trouble reading out loud or who are shy enjoy reading to a dog or cat that will sit there and listen to them. (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jun 7, 2015 | Literature, Middle School Prompts, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS
One of the first rules story writers learn is this: Show, don’t tell.
What does that mean? Check out the following examples to see what I mean.
Show It
When you write a story, try not to tell your readers what your character is feeling, like this:
Jeremy was angry.
Instead, show your character in action, like this: (more…)
