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..
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by Sharon Watson | Oct 25, 2015 | Encouragement, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids
SHARON’S BLOG
Why teach writing? After all, it’s tough. It’s confusing. And sometimes crying is involved.
If your writing class is flagging and your zeal is dragging, consider this post as a friendly smile I am sending your way.
So, what are some of the benefits of teaching our kids to write?
Benefits
1. Students become more organized in their thinking when they learn to write. Writing clearly involves organizational skills that will aid our students in other subjects.
Click here for middle school organizational skills. >>
Click here for high school organizational skills. >>
2. Writing causes students to think through topics or defend a position. Through this process, students gain an understanding of (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Oct 11, 2015 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Literature, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage
to lose sight of the shore.” –Christopher Columbus
Show, Don’t Tell
When an author wants to let readers know that a character is, say, courageous, she doesn’t write, “Chris was courageous.” Instead, she sets up a situation in which the character has to act bravely, even if he or she feels fearful, showing just how courageous the character is.
Christopher Columbus showed courage by doing something—crossing an ocean when many believed he would fall off the edge of the earth into oblivion.
“Show, don’t tell” is an important element of writing stories. You don’t want to insult your readers by telling them how characters feel or what a character is like. You want to show them by (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Oct 4, 2015 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
Many students tell me that after they do the hard work of coming up with an idea, they do not know what to put in the paragraph or even how to write the paragraph.
Is this an issue for you as well? Could you use a little help in this area?
{Looking for the MIDDLE SCHOOL version of this tutorial? >>}
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