by Sharon Watson | Apr 24, 2016 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Middle School Prompts, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
SHARON’S BLOG
Our word choices can have a huge impact on our readers. Or the words can muddle them. Let me give you an example.
If I write that a toddler is a good eater, I suddenly have a communication problem. The word “good” is not specific enough. Does “good” mean that the toddler is neat while eating? Does it mean that the child eats a large quantity of food or perhaps a variety of food without complaining? My readers will not have a clear idea of my meaning.
Your middle school students will learn this in the first writing prompt. I’ve written a very boring paragraph about something that seemed exciting to the student, but the words I selected were flat, overused, and not specific enough.
Teens will have fun with the second writing prompt as they practice using specific words and phrases to get a point across or create a focused mood.
Ready? Let’s go . . . (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Apr 17, 2016 | Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS
Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit a particular site in Scotland each year, hoping to see a monster. What are they looking for?
It turns out that tourists are not the only ones looking for something. Operation Groundtruth has begun a search for the Loch Ness Monster (“Nessie”), a monster some claim they have seen. They are using a marine robot equipped with sonar to search the depths of the loch.
Nessie, if she exists, is thought to be a marine reptile, perhaps a plesiosaur, left over from the age of dinosaurs.
What has Operation Groundtruth found so far? The steep sides of the loch, the deep trench of the loch, and even a World War II airplane lying on the bottom of the loch. No Nessie. Yet.
(more…)
by Sharon Watson | Apr 10, 2016 | High School Prompts, Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
SHARON’S BLOG
Burros, tall tales, and fears: You can find them all in the Grand Canyon.
In 1893, the Grand Canyon was made a Forest Reserve and then later a National Monument. It became a national park in 1919, just three years after the National Park Service was formed.
Which prompt about this amazing formation will your students enjoy? (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Mar 20, 2016 | Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS
Eggs have long been symbols of spring and of Easter. They represent new life and new beginnings.
So does Jesus’ resurrection. Death has been conquered! There is new life in Jesus.
You are hiding Easter eggs of various sizes for young children to find.
Inside each plastic egg is a jelly bean and a little object that represents part of the Last Supper, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. In other words, each object stands for a different part of the Easter account, like these: events, people, food, places where the events took place, truths, and so on. (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Mar 20, 2016 | High School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
There are many gut-wrenching parts to the death of Jesus and his resurrection.
One is how Judas, a “friend” for three years, hands Jesus over to his enemies—with a sign of affection.
Another is when Jesus willingly steps into a rigged trial, one He knows He will lose.
Another troubling part of this account is when Peter, Jesus’ right-hand man, denies knowing Jesus even after he’s been warned that he will deny him. You can read about this in Mark 14:27-31 and Mark 14:66-72.
Jesus knows what Peter is doing. In fact, the Bible says that while Jesus is being mistreated in the house of the high priest, he turns and looks “straight at Peter” (Luke 22:61 NIV). At that point, Peter remembers the warning Jesus gave him, and he runs out of the courtyard and weeps “bitterly.”
The amazing part of Peter’s betrayal is that (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Mar 13, 2016 | Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS
We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, the day the patron saint of Ireland died.
Many like to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day, but where did the tradition of wearing green come from?
Some say that leprechauns cannot see the color green; therefore, you are invisible to them and cannot be pinched.
Others say it is because green is worn in Ireland by Catholics and orange by Protestants. Or could it be that Ireland is called the Emerald Isle? Or that green is one of the three colors in the Irish flag?
Whatever the reason, we’re going to have some fun with the color green.
(more…)
