Show, don't tell!: A Writing Mini-Lesson

Using descriptive language is a must if students want to be great narrative writers.  Many times students will just tell what the character is feeling.  For example,  they might write "Ben was mad."  That's it. Readers crave more! Don't just tell and leave it that.  When writers SHOW a reader what the character is feeling, it gives the reader a better mental picture and insight into the character. An example of showing is, "Ben stomped into the room with narrow eyes, a red face, and nostrils flaring.  He put his hands on his hips and pointed a finger at his older brother.  See the difference?  Now, we can tell that Ben is really mad!  We have a mental picture of  him stomping into the room and showing anger towards his brother.  Writers need to SHOW, don't Tell!

I got the idea for this anchor chart from Pinterest (Oh, how I love Pinterest for great teaching ideas!).  The "Showing Emotions & Feelings" chart was posted by www.hootyshomeroom.blogspot.com.  It was the inspiration for the chart I created with my students.  Thanks for the idea Hooty's Homeroom!

Here's a great book you can share with your writers to introduce this writing mini-lesson.  It's called Show, Don't Tell:  Secrets of Writing by Josephine Nobisso.  It's a long book, so you may want to only read an excerpt.

I started this writing lesson by having my students draw 6 squares on one sheet of their reader's notebook and 6 square on another sheet.  This gave them plenty of room to jot down their ideas.

Then I had them write the emotion and feeling words in each box.  The words included:  excited, sad, shy, shocked, tired, cold, hot, afraid, embarrassed nervous, and angry.  You could have them brainstorm their own words as well.  

As a class we brainstormed ways as writers we could SHOW the emotion, rather than just telling about the emotion or feeling.

Here are some examples of some of the questions I asked students during the lesson.  For the word "angry", I asked questions such as: 

• What does angry look like?
• How is your body language /posture when you're angry?
• How do your eyes look when you're angry?  What does your face look like?
• What actions are you doing when you're angry?

We repeated the questioning and brainstorming process with each emotion.  I recorded student responses on chart paper and students jotted their ideas in their reading notebooks.

Students can refer to these charts in their notebook as they write narrative stories.  It will remind them of the the descriptive language to show, not tell when writing!

Roasted Broccoli

Really, I am a veggie lover.  I have a great fondness for carrots, squash, zucchini and all sorts of beautiful green veggies, BUT there are two veggies that I've never been a fan of.  One is broccoli and the other is corn.  Please don't judge me!  In an effort to eat healthier, I am trying to conquer my fear of broccoli.  I've tried it steamed many times and just can't handle it yet.  So, tonight I got brave and roasted it with a little olive oil and roasted garlic.  Ok, why oh why didn't anyone tell me that when you roast broccoli it is amazingly delicious!  I think I might like it now. Actually, I think I might love it now. Now, if I can just learn to conquer the corn!  Baby steps, people.  Baby steps.

Here's what you'll need:
2 cups raw broccoli, cut into smallish pieces
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons roasted garlic
salt and pepper

Makes 2 servings

Here's what to do:
Mix the olive oil and garlic in a mixing bowl.

Toss the broccoli with the olive oil and garlic.

Spread broccoli on a sheet pan.  I lined mine with parchment paper for easy clean up!  Add a little salt and pepper.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

It comes out roasty, toasty delicious!  Do you have a broccoli or corn recipe to help me (and others like me) love them?  Send it my way!

Dad's Sausage Supper

This was my Dad's all time favorite dish that my mom made while I was growing up.  It's full of delicious, colorful veggies.  I lightened up my mom's recipe by using smoked turkey sausage.  Plus it's a quick and easy recipe!  It comes together in about 30 minutes.

Here's what you need:
1 package smoked sausage (I used Eckridge Smoked Turkey Sausage)
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 medium white onion, thinly sliced
1 can diced tomatoes (if you want something spicy, use Rotel tomatoes)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
salt and pepper
rice for 6 servings (I used brown rice)

Makes 6 servings

Here's what to do:
Cut sausage into round slices.

In a skillet on medium heat, begin to saute sausage until it browns.

While sausage is cooking, slice onions.  Then add to skillet with sausage.  Stir mixture.

Slice green peppers and add to skillet with sausage and onions. Stir mixture.

Slice red peppers and add to green peppers, onions, and sausage. Stir mixture.

Add salt, pepper and garlic.  Cook until peppers and onions are tender.  It usually takes about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add 1 can of diced tomatoes with juice.  Stir mixture and let simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare rice according to package directions.  Serve sausage, pepper, onion, and tomato mixture over rice.

This is the basic recipe, but if you want to change the protein to chicken or shrimp, that would taste great too. You can also make a vegetarian version by using mushrooms, eggplant,or tofu.  If you like something spicier, add Rotel tomatoes or a few dashes of hot sauce.

8 Soups to Warm You Up!

One of my very favorite episodes of Seinfeld is "The Soup Nazi".   I love it for several reasons.  First, I just love the show.  A great comedy that always makes me laugh.  Secondly, I just love soup.  I love all kinds- creamy, chunky, spicy, cold, hot.  You name it.  I love it.  And lastly, I would absolutely love a restaurant that would just serve soup, except without a temperamental Soup Nazi that yells "No soup for you!!"

Here are a few of my favorite soup recipes to warm up your soul during these last winter days.  Just click on the links!

Chicken Taco Soup

Tuscan Chicken Soup

Mom's Chili

Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Busy Day Beef Stew

Smoked Sausage with Red Beans Soup

Veggie Soup

Grandma's Potato Soup

Have you tried any of these recipes?  Leave a comment and let me know how you liked it!  Did you try anything different?  I'd love to hear your ideas for what works!

Million Dollar Words! Cha-Ching Baby!

After working with students on writing over the years, I've noticed the use of many "blah" and "boring" words. Word choice is one of the areas that is assessed on our state writing test and needs to be addressed when planning writing instruction for students.

To make "word choice" sound a little more exciting, I started using the phrase "Million Dollar Words" which means use words that are beyond "blah" and "boring" to make your writing POP with exciting words and interesting synonyms instead of those boring, blah, and overused words.

I teach students about word choice by introducing and/or reviewing synonyms.  Sometimes, it is just a matter of exposing students to new words.  So, we have to take time to help expand our student's vocabulary.

One of the lessons I teach is when students look up synonyms for "blah" words such as happy, sad, tired, etc... using www.thesaurus.com.  You can also check out a set of student thesaurus books from your school library.

 Below is a copy of one of the assignments I had my students complete.  They look up each word and write three or more interesting synonyms for each of the words.  After the assignment, students can keep this list of "Million Dollar Words" in their writing folder to use as they compose new pieces of writing.

This also ties into a previous post:  Put SAID to Bed: A Writing Mini Lesson.  There are tons of great ideas for more interesting words to use instead of  "said" when writing dialogue.

So, when students start writing, I say, "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"  They may not get the movie reference from "Jerry Maguire", but they know I mean to use those "Million Dollar Words" in their writing!

Cha-ching!

Add Pizzazz with Similes: A Writing Mini Lesson

One way students can add pizzazz to their writing is by adding figurative language such as similes. Similes bring a person, place, or thing to life by using "like" or "as" in comparisons.

Here's a quick writing mini lesson about using similes that you can do with your students.

Introduction
Read the book Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood to students.  Although it is a picture book for young children, it's chock full of great similes that compare a small child to different animals and insects.  It's perfect for this writing mini lesson.  While reading, point out to students that there is a pattern in these similes.  They all use an adjective such as "quick" and a noun such as "cricket".  The book also teaches antonyms such as "quick as a cricket" or "slow as a snail".

Brainstorm NEW Adjectives
Create a chart with the adjectives that were used in the book (see chart below).  Have students brainstorm synonyms to replace the words used in the book.  Students can use a thesaurus or explore www.thesaurus.com to find synonyms.  They can jot them down in their notebook or journal.

Create NEW Similes
After students come up with synonyms, have them use these newly found words to create NEW similes.  They can use the pattern in the book if needed.

Share
Students share their newly written similes with a partner, or during whole group share.  They will be inspired by all the creative figurative language that is shared!

So, there it is...a writing lesson that's easy and will help your students add pizzazz to their writing.

Sausage Gravy

This is a definite stick-to-your-ribs, down home kind of breakfast.  Sausage Gravy was a staple in our house growing up.  We didn't eat it every day, but it was an occasional weekend treat.  It was a favorite in the breakfast rotation menu.

I actually learned how to make sausage gravy from my friend Sonya who, by the way, is a fabulous cook. Of course, nobody makes it like my mom, or my friend Sonya, but I always give it my best shot.

This morning seemed liked the perfect morning for a hearty breakfast because THIS is what our backyard looked like today (see below pic).  These are my sous chefs- Minnie and Molly.

I made this gluten free version especially for my husband.  He LOVES biscuits and gravy and feels cheated when we go out to breakfast and it's never a menu option for him.

To make things easy, I made some drop biscuits from Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Bisquick Mix.  You just need 2 cups of Bisquick Mix, 1/3 cup shortening (I substituted a stick of butter), 3 eggs, and 3/4 cup milk. They only take about 13 minutes to bake in the oven.

For the gravy, just use your favorite gf sausage and gf flour mix.  I used the Dolmata brand that is seasoned (I'll include a pic) so it adds a great flavor to the gravy.  Really, you can use any brand or you can use corn starch too.

Here's what you'll need:
1 package sausage
3 cups milk
3 teaspoons flour
salt
pepper

Here's the flour I was telling you about.
It comes in regular, seasoned, and a pizza dough.
It needs to be kept in the refrigerator or freezer.

Here's what to do:
Brown sausage into crumbles in a skillet on medium heat.

Once sausage in browned and crumbled.  Sprinkle 3 teaspoons of flour over sausage. If you have a lot of grease, then you may need to add another teaspoon or two.

The flour will absorb the grease from the sausage.  Stir together and cook on medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add in 2 cups of milk.  I used 2 percent milk because that's all I had in the fridge.  Turn heat up to medium high so milk and sausage mixture begin to bubble.  Stir occasionally to thicken gravy.  They make special gravy spoons, but really why bother with something extra.  You just need a wooden spoon and stir, stir, stir. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.  It will bubble up when you're not stirring.  Just stir when you see it bubbling.

After about 10 minutes, add in another cup of milk and stir.  Add in salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for about another 10 minutes on low heat.

If gravy gets too thick, just add a little more milk.

If you have leftovers, just put gravy in a covered container and keep in fridge. It will keep for a few days. Or, you can even put in an airtight container, freeze and save for another breakfast!  Put a couple of your biscuits in a freezer bag. too.  Then, you can have biscuits and gravy on any morning.