Happy Birthday, National Park Service!

Happy Birthday, National Park Service!


SHARON’S BLOG

The U. S. National Park Service is over 100 years old! This bundle of prompts for 5th – 12th graders contains over a dozen creative writing prompts on parks: city, national, and international.

For more information on the National Park Service, including a cool page on nature’s sounds, follow this link. >>

Ready to explore? Let’s go . . . (more…)

Equip Your Students with These 11 Essential Writing Tools

Equip Your Students with These 11 Essential Writing Tools


SHARON’S BLOG

Could your students use some writing tools?

Your students have to come up with a paragraph or an essay, but they do not know where to begin. They do not know where to get ideas, how to formulate a plan, how to narrow down their topic, how to organize their ideas, how to write a credible paragraph, and so on.

Does this sound familiar?

Then you’ve come to the right place! Use the links below to equip your students with the writing tools they need to be successful this year. Many of these links contain tutorials and free worksheets to download. I hope you like #s 10 and 11. Thousands of moms and teachers have already downloaded them and found happiness.

Ready? Let’s go . . .

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What Skill Do You Want to Learn from a Pro?

What Skill Do You Want to Learn from a Pro?


SHARON’S BLOG

What could Serena Williams teach you about smashing serves in the tennis court? Or maybe you’d like to learn from actor Dustin Hoffman about acting and “how to create memorable characters, rehearse a script and develop [a] comic instinct,” according to Parade.

Serena and Dustin are part of an online school called MasterClass in which masters of their craft teach online lessons on how to be successful in the areas of their expertise. For instance, best-selling author James Patterson teaches how to write, and Usher has online classes on how to perform on stage. (more…)

7 Prompts about God

7 Prompts about God


SHARON’S BLOG

Can your children and teens clearly express their ideas about God?

Students in my classes always have the hardest time when asked to write about God. They simply cannot share their thoughts, experiences, definitions of religious terms, or what God means to them. These are difficult concepts to grasp and communicate, and they are very personal.

These prompts about God are for 5th – 12th graders and are designed to give them a chance to explore concepts about God and express their ideas on this most important topic.

Ready? Let’s go . . .

*****

1. Describe

Describe God as completely as possible in exactly 50 words.

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A 100-mile Accomplishment

A 100-mile Accomplishment


HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Have you ever swum (swum?  That’s a word?) a mile?

How about two or three miles?

diana nyad

Diana Nyad

Diana Nyad, 64, made the more-than-100-mile trip from Cuba to Florida—by swimming the whole way!

Hallucinating from exhaustion and hypothermia, stung by a jellyfish, her throat closing up from the sea’s salt water, she kept on swimming for 53 hours. This was not her first try.  It was her fifth, and you can watch an inspiring interview with her on npr.org.  [Parents, you may want to check out the 15-minute video.]

But wait, there’s more!