Tag: kids

Freewrite Wednesday

Freewrite Wednesday: Friendship

Hannah Spuler

Ready to free your writing? Let’s do a freewrite together!

edit friendship people-1560569_1920


What makes a good friend?

Questions to get you started:
Who do you know that is a good friend? What do they do? What do they say? How have you been a good friend in the past? What do you love about one or all of your friends? 

Set your timer for 10 minutes and write, write, write!
Have an especially meaningful freewrite? Share it in the comments or on my Facebook page.

About Freewrites: A freewrite is exactly what it sounds like: free! Use a freewrite to practice channeling thoughts from your mind to the paper. Never done a freewrite? Learn more in my Guide to Freewriting 

Poetry Tuesday

Poetry Tuesday! July 31

Hannah Spuler

Hello! Welcome to Poetry Tuesday: the day we dip (or dive) into the lovely world of poetry!

Each Tuesday from June 19 to August 21, 2018, I’ll share a Poetry Activity, a Poem Study, plus an Advanced Poetry Lesson. Feel free to enjoy one, two, or all three of these fun resources! (Click on the title links)

Poetry Activity (for kids, adults, and everyone in between): Analyzing Poems

Poem Study:  The Arrow and the Song by Henry W. Longfellow

Advanced Poetry Lesson: Limericks (Week 1 of 2)

Poetry Tuesday

Poetry Tuesday

Poetry Activity: Analyzing Poems

Hannah Spuler

Hello! Welcome to Poetry Tuesday: the day we dip (or dive) into the lovely world of poetry!

edit drops of water-815271_1920
Interested in poetry?
Analyze a poem using this activity for kids, adults, and everyone in-between.


A.  Introduction
Today we will dive a little deeper into the poetry pool. Sometimes poetry can be a little tricky to understand, but with the right tools, you can draw quite a bit of meaning off the page!


B. Read the poem aloud
Little Things

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.

Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.

Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Help to make earth happy
Like the heaven above.

~Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney


C. Respond
Write down or share aloud your response to the poem by answering these questions:

  1. Who or what is the poem about?
  2. Is the poem about something/someone real or pretend?
  3. What’s the mood of the poem? (Emotion: Funny, serious, silly, sad, excited, thoughtful, or something else)
  4. Does the poem rhyme?
  5. Does it have a steady meter? How many beats (stresses) per line? (See About Meter)
  6. How did the poem make you feel?
  7. Where is the truth in the poem? Is there anything that’s not true?
  8. What do you know about the person who wrote this poem? Where can you find out more?
  9. Would you recommend this poem to a friend?


C. Additional Poetry Challenge
Write your own version of the poem, replacing some of the words, or rewriting the whole thing but making it similar to its mood, meter, rhyme scheme, or subject.

Pleased with your poem? Share it in the comments or post it on my Facebook page so we can all read and enjoy them!

 

Hungry for more? Check out this week’s…

Poem Study:  The Arrow and the Song by Henry W. Longfellow

Advanced Poetry Lesson: Limericks (Week 1 of 2)

 

Poetry Tuesday

Poem Study: The Arrow and the Song

Hannah Spuler

Let’s read a poem and study it together!

edit arrow archer-2345211_1920

Not sure how to study a poem? Here are some ideas! Choose one or all of these:

  1. Read aloud and enjoy the poem
  2. Neatly write out your favorite stanza for handwriting practice or…
  3. Copy and paste the poem into your word processor and print it out
  4. Draw a picture about the poem

  5. Circle or color-code the words that rhyme!

  6. Read more about the author’s life
  7. Share with someone you love <3


The Arrow and the Song

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroken;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

~Henry W. Longfellow

 

Hungry for more? Check out this week’s…

Poetry Activity (for kids, adults, and everyone in between): Analyzing Poems

Advanced Poetry Lesson: Limericks (Week 1 of 2)

Fun List Mondays

Fun List Monday, July 30

Hannah Spuler

What are Five Things You Like to Do With Friends?

Isn’t it striking how much your interests change as you get older? Playing with “My Little Ponies” in the sink, swimming, eating candy necklaces… these are all activities I enjoyed with my childhood best friend. Now I prefer hanging out in a coffee shop, laughing till I cry, taking walks, or playing music with my friends.

What about you? What are up to 5 things you like to do with your friends?

friends EAS

Write a list with me! Every Monday I will post a fun list. Fill out your list and enjoy it by yourself, share it in the comments or on my Facebook page. Not convinced? Read about how lists encourage better writing here.

Like this activity? See other Fun List Mondays here!

Story Share Topic!

Story Share Topic: Desert island

Hannah Spuler

Ready for this week’s Story Share Topic?
Join in the fun! Write your story and send it in for a chance to have your story shared on the site!

This Week’s Story Share Topic:

edit desert dunes-1673766_1920 copy

Write a story about a character who is stuck on a desert island with only a kitchen pot, half a bottle of sunscreen, and a mirror.

How does your character survive? Does he/she ever get off the island? Who or what does the character meet while there? Keep it between 100 and 1000 words and send in your awesome stories!

To share: Send your story next Friday to Fridaystoryshare@gmail.com

FAQ: If you don’t want to share your story, can you still write one? Absolutely!
Do you have to write a story on this particular topic? Nope! Writing stories is a great creative writing exercise, no matter what the topic. The topic is a prompt to get you started!

Writing with little ones? Read this post about how to include young children in writing activities.

Furry Thursday

Furry Thursday, No. 6

Hannah Spuler

Can you guess the animal based on the clues?
Smash up science and English parts of speech together with this guessing game!

adjectives: furry, nimble, chattery, mischievous, quick, intelligent, curious
verbs: swing, climb, lumber
nouns: trees, vines, bananas, troop, omnivore
biomes:  tropical rain forests, grasslands

Think you know which animal?
Click here for the answer!

Simplified definitions:
Adjective: a describing word, placed before a noun (or pronoun)
Noun: a person, place, thing, or idea
Verb: an action word
Biome: the type of environment where living things make their homes, a habitat (ex: desert, rainforest, tundra)
herbivore: plant-eater
carnivore: meat-eater
omnivore: eats both plants and meat

Furry Thursday chipmunk

Freewrite Wednesday

Freewrite Wednesday: Dessert Island

Hannah Spuler

Ready to free your writing? Let’s do a freewrite together!

dessert island


Pretend you are stuck on a dessert island.

Yes, you read that right… I’m talking DESSERT as in cookies, ice cream, and chocolate. Set your timer and write about this fantastic island for 10 minutes! Have an especially fun freewrite? Share it in the comments or on my Facebook page.

Questions to get you started:
What does it look like? What kind of desserts are there? Where are you going to sleep? How are you going to get off the island? Do you even want to get off?

Set your timer for 10 minutes and write, write, write!

About Freewrites: A freewrite is exactly what it sounds like: free! Use a freewrite to practice channeling thoughts from your mind to the paper. Never done a freewrite? Learn more in my Guide to Freewriting 

Poetry Tuesday

Poetry Tuesday! July 24

Hannah Spuler

Hello! Welcome to Poetry Tuesday: the day we dip (or dive) into the lovely world of poetry!

Each Tuesday from June 19 to August 21, 2018, I’ll share a Poetry Activity, a Poem Study, plus an Advanced Poetry Lesson. Feel free to enjoy one, two, or all three of these fun resources! (Click on the title links)

Poetry Activity (for kids, adults, and everyone in between): Acrostic Poem

Poem Study:  The Sun Has Set by Emily Jane Brontë, or Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Stevenson

Advanced Poetry Lesson: Ballads

Poetry Tuesday

Poetry Tuesday

Poetry Activity: Acrostic Poem

Hannah Spuler

Interested in poetry?
Write an acrostic poem using this activity for kids, adults, and everyone in-between!

 

A. Choose a word for your poem
Pick a word. It could be your name, but if your name is either super short or super long, you might want to choose a different word. For the sake of this example, I’ll choose my last name: Spuler

B. Write your word
Now write your word vertically (up and down) on your page, starting at the top and going down:

S
P
U
L
E
R

C. Write your poem!
Now think of words that start with the letter on each line. Try to use words that describe or relate to the word you chose. I chose my last name, so I’ll describe my family:

Spirited
Poetic
Unique
Loving
Expressive
Resourceful

D. Share your Poem in the comments or on my Facebook page, or…

E. Try this challenge!
Make an acrostic poem with the word SUNSHINE, except this time change the location of the words. For example….

                Simmering
              fUn
shines oN my face
      BurnS
              H
I
N
E

Pleased with your poem? Share it in the comments or post it on my Facebook page so we can all read and enjoy them!

 

Hungry for more? Check out this week’s…

Poem Study:  The Sun Has Set by Emily Jane Brontë, or Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Stevenson

Advanced Poetry Lesson: Ballads