by Sharon Watson | Jun 15, 2014 | High School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
Self-storage units are springing up in the United States like mushrooms in a warm, shady, moist lawn. You see those units around town with the garage doors lined up in row after row and perhaps wonder what could be behind all those doors.
When people have too much furniture or too many belongings in their houses or they move to a new location, they need a space to store that stuff.
Or maybe an entrepreneur sells items on eBay and needs the storage space for them. That’s where storage units come in very handy.
And it’s all a lot of fun until someone can’t pay the monthly rent anymore.
What happens to these storage units full of belongings when the rent is not paid? (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jun 15, 2014 | Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS
Did you know that you should not spray Windex in your eyes? You did?
But did you also know that you should not use hair coloring as ice cream topping? Hmmm? Did you? Or that your TV’s remote isn’t dishwasher safe?
These and other crazy warnings (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jun 11, 2014 | High School Tutorial, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial
SHARON’S BLOG
It’s easy for our students to make these common mistakes in persuasive writing. I’ve seen them in any number of newspapers and magazines in letters to the editor, and they abound in student essays. I’m guessing you have seen them as well.
I won’t keep you in suspense. Here’s the list: (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jun 8, 2014 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
The Florida Everglades’ delicate and balanced ecosystem is being threatened by new species of plants and animals that have no natural predators. For instance, Old World climbing fern, which is not native to Florida, is smothering plants that grow naturally there and that are needed for food and protection to other species.
The Burmese python, which used to be imported to Florida for pet stores, (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jun 3, 2014 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Middle School Prompts, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
SHARON’S BLOG
Introductions can be boring. Super boring.
Young writers think they have to fight with a blank piece of paper for that first, amazing sentence before they write anything else, and so they get stuck.
Cue the tissues. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
A mom recently asked me to look at her son’s essay. He was entering a state-wide speech contest on the topic of responsibility and had written a solid essay—except for the introduction. He was going to put his listeners to sleep with it.
We were all sitting at his kitchen table. I turned to this teen and asked him, (more…)
