Create a New Park
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS I recently visited The Headlands, an International Dark Sky Park west of Mackinaw City, Michigan, on the shore of Lake Michigan. A dark sky park is an area set aside for night-sky viewing and is away from man-made lighting so that the night sky...
If You Could Not Speak for 15 Years, What Would Your First Words Be?
Many reasons exist for someone not speaking. For instance, someone may be afraid to speak and be an elective mute. Some may have been born with physical problems that make it difficult to speak. Others may have lost the ability to speak due to an illness, which is what happened to Don in this video. Watch it and choose a writing prompt.
The Hamburger Menu
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS McDonald's Big Mac. Burger King's Whopper. Hardee's Thickburger. Rally's and Checker's Big Buford. Is your mouth watering yet? Let's celebrate hamburgers and cheeseburgers with a menu of writing prompt choices.Now it's your turn: Choose from the...
I Believe . . .
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS I find writing prompts in the most unusual places, and this week's prompt is no exception. Have you ever eaten at a Fazoli's restaurant? Their slogan is "Real Italian. Real Fast." They may have the best breadsticks on the planet. Their cups and...
3 Ideas to Help Your Writers, and Only 2 of Them Are Crazy
SHARON'S BLOG I understand at the outset of this article that the word "them" in my title is ambiguous. Does it stand for the writers or for the ideas? As you can see, writing is hard. At least, that’s what students tell me. It makes their hands hurt. They don’t know...
So Long, Pluto!
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS Can you believe there's a day named Pluto Demoted Day? It is August 24, when in 2006, Pluto was demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet. Recent photos of Pluto by NASA’s spacecraft New Horizons have been fascinating. Here’s one of them, with a...
How to Overcome a Reluctant Writer’s Resistance
SHARON'S BLOG Are you encountering resistance when you ask your students to write? Is there crying involved? It is intimidating for students to stare down a blank piece of paper or an empty computer screen. Middle and high school students have revealed to me why they...
Give Us a New Month
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS There are twelve months in a year. How many months have you lived through? By now, anywhere from 120 to 168 months. January is named after the Roman god Janus. He had two faces and could look forward and backward. March is named after the god...
Feeling Twitchy?
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS It was a common practice long ago that travelers in inns slept in the same bed, even if they didn’t know one another. This seems strange to us and, yes, a little creepy now. Here is a passage from Moby-Dick by Herman Melville in which the...
One Sure-Fire Way to Create Writing Prompts for Your Students
SHARON'S BLOG I have a secret to tell you. I'm not really sure I should. After all, it feels a little like a chef revealing the secret ingredient to a closely guarded family recipe, but I'm going to share it with you anyway. As you may know, I create many writing...
Writing tools for all ages!
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