Teacher Instructions
pick one
r e l e v a n t |
d e t a i l s |
This is an exercise in choosing relevant details. First, ask students to pick one of the following topics.
salt, pizza, cereal, a particular fast food restaurant, Thanksgiving dinner
Then give students five minutes to write down absolutely everything they can think of about their topic—everything. They should write as fast as possible.
After five minutes, ask students to stop and read over what they have written. Then explain that you are going to give them three more minutes. They should stretch their brains and see if there is anything else they can say on their topic. Remind them that they should write down anything they can think of even remotely related to their topic.
Then have students look over what they have written again. It is likely that a lot of what they have written is rather dull. Ask, “What is most interesting to you? What surprises you? What is funny?”
Finally, ask students to pull out something from what they have written and use it as the basis of one focused paragraph. Remind them that they may use anything they have already written but should leave out details that don’t relate to the subject of their paragraph. They are likely to need to add other details to develop the topic of the paragraph.
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Student Instructions |
Name __________________________________ |
clichÉ
We all use clichés. Clichés are standard words and phrases that we use without even thinking. For example, when someone wants to say a boy is acting just like his dad would in similar circumstances, the person might say, “He’s a chip off the old block.” Chip off the old block is a cliché. Here are some more examples of clichés:
She loses her temper at the drop of a hat.
He’s such a genereous guy. He’d give you the shirt off his back.
The problem with clichés is that they are so worn-out from overuse that they don’t always convey a lot of meaning. Replacing them with new, fresh phrases can make writing more interesting. The sentences above might be rewritten like this, for example:
She loses his temper over just about anything, even a drop of water spilled on the counter.
He’s such a generous guy that if he had only a can of green beans left to eat in all the world and you needed it, he would hand it right over.
Below is a story filled with clichés. Underline all 14 of them.
“I just made the best cookies I’ve ever tasted!” said Marcella.
“Well, you’re sure tooting your own horn,” said her sister Carmen. “I’ll bet I’ve made plenty of cookies that are just as good.”
“I doubt it. These were special. I threw in just about everything but the kitchen sink, so they cost an arm and a leg. They may be expensive, but they are definitely worth it.”
“Let’s have a contest. Let’s both bake another batch, and if my cookies aren’t as good as yours, I’ll eat my hat.” Carmen was madder than a wet hen. She hated how her sister was always bragging. “I could beat her with one hand tied behind my back,” she thought.
“Could I get a word in edgewise?” interrupted their mother parade, but we are not having a cookie baking contest in this on your hands, I’ve got three closets that need to be cleaned, work, you know.”
The girls looked at each other. “Hold your horses, Mom,” were just kidding around. Let’s not make a mountain out of a “Let’s put that contest on the back burner for now,” said
“Well, no one can ever say you two work your fingers to said Mom, “although you may be fast thinkers.”
Now rewrite the story, eliminating the clichés and replacing them with more descriptive wording.
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Student Instructions |
Name __________________________________ |
Watching a Character
Good writers usually tell about characters through their actions. Instead of writing that the hero of the story “is an athletic guy who is very strong,” the writer is more likely to write something like this:
Bruno tossed bales of hay on to the haystack, hoping to finish in time to go for a three-mile run before dinner.
The above sentence tells us, through his actions, something about Bruno. A weak little guy would probably not be tossing around bales of hay. Knowing that he wants to run tells us that he is probably physically fit, especially if he’s running for three miles.
Imagine a character of your own. Is it a child? A teenager? An adult? What kind of personality does he or she have? Is the person generous, selfish, boring, happy, pessimistic, optimistic,
beautiful, handsome, old, young, conceited, shy, talkative, rude, kind, or what?
Think about the character and then create a situation involving your character eating or serving food. By writing about what your character does, tell us at least two important things about the person. Don’t tell us what the character is like. Show us.
“Action speaks louder than words but not nearly
as often.”
—Mark Twain
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Student Instructions |
Name __________________________________ |
Strain Your Brain #1
Complete the following:
1.Write a sentence in which every single word starts with either “a” or “m.” The sentence must be at least 8 words long and involve food.
2.Put this sentence in a short paragraph where it makes sense: Finnegan felt foolish looking at the fettuccini.
3.Write one paragraph that uses all these words: banana, purred, spaghetti, lawn mower, blender, lemon.
4.Write three sentences that use the word sipped. Create a completely different picture with each sentence.
5.Your company is selling Plinkmottle. In one paragraph, describe Plinkmottle so that (a) we know what it is and (b) it sounds desirable. Don’t tell us what it is, though.
Lisa: “Do we have any
food that wasn’t brutally slaughtered?”
Homer: “Well, I think the veal died of loneliness.”
—The Simpsons by Matt Groening
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