by Sharon Watson | Feb 21, 2016 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Literature, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
A story’s point of view (POV) can affect how the story feels.
For instance, The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis is written in the third-person omniscient POV: The narrator knows everything, even things that some of the characters do not. The invisible narrator in omniscient POV can tell readers what one character is feeling or thinking and then turn right around and ramble around in another character’s heart and mind and report that to us.
The omniscient point of view is out of fashion today. It followed all the major characters and reported on their happenings. We today want to journey through a story with only one or two main characters because it feels more personal that way.
Here’s a portion of the second paragraph of “The Wood Between the Worlds” in The Magician’s Nephew. The protagonist Digory has just arrived in that forest by means of a magic ring: (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jan 10, 2016 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for racial equality in the 1950s and early 1960s before he was assassinated, but he did not advocate violence as a means of reaching this goal.
Read the following excerpt taken from Stride Toward Freedom, written by him in 1958: (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jan 4, 2016 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Literature, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
From Sunny to Frigid
Buck is a dog who grew up in sunny San Diego, California, but suddenly finds himself thrust into the frigid world of the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon Territory, Canada, in the late 1890s. You can read about him in Jack London’s The Call of the Wild.
Here’s Buck and his first encounter with . . . well, I’ll let you figure it out: (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Nov 15, 2015 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
Is it tough to come up with ideas when your teacher gives you a writing assignment?
And if you have ideas, is it hard to plan and put them into an effective order with main and supporting points? This prompt will help with these problems.
Many students feel that brainstorming is a waste of time, but you’ll see otherwise in this prompt as you brainstorm the benefits of bike riding. Also, you’ll practice organizing your ideas so they make sense. These worksheets will make your tasks much, much easier. (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Nov 8, 2015 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
We honor our U. S. veterans on Veterans Day every year.
Do you know someone who has served in the U. S. Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, National Guard, or Reserves? Chances are you know quite a few men and women who have served, defended, and protected our country and those of our allies.
Working in the Armed Forces is very different from working in the private sector. Let’s explore this idea.
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by Sharon Watson | Oct 25, 2015 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
Proofreading is not a happy activity. It takes attention to detail and maybe even some groaning.
After all, you feel as if your first draft is enough. You’re done. Finished.
Students tell me that writing the first draft and then proofreading it is like writing their paper twice.
The Bad News
.Here’s the bad news: The skill of proofreading your own papers is essential to the writing process. Why?
First, you learn to write more effectively.
Second, you show respect for your teachers by handing in a well-thought-out paper with few mistakes.
And third, you begin to understand that there is an audience at the other end of your essays. You aren’t writing simply to keep yourself busy; you’re writing to communicate, educate, explain, persuade, or entertain.
The Good News
Here’s the good news: You’re about to learn four sure-fire ways to catch more mistakes when you proofread..
(more…)
