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Welcome to Prompt of the Week! Feel free to use these prompts for journal entries, quick writes, or jump starts that could later be developed into an essay. Please scroll down to visit archived writing prompts. If you have any questions, please contact Suzy Grissom at suzgri@msn.com. PROMPT OF THE WEEK 2008-09 8/18/08 Welcome back! What was the best thing about your summer? Any milestones? Favorite activities? A great trip?? Write about it and include lots of sensory details! 8/25/08 Goals-What are you most excited about with the new school year? What is your favorite subject? What are you going to do better this year? 9/1/08 Phew! I took a long weekend! What was your favorite happening (big or little) this past weekend? Or, celebrating Labor Day, what type of work do you enjoy? What "labor of love" has someone done for you? 9/8/8 Write about the seasons as we begin to feel a hint of autumn in the air! 9/15/08 Write about your passions. What is something you love to do? Why is it important to you?
9/22/08 If you could travel anywhere or to any time in history, where would you go? what time period would visit?
9/29/08 Design your own animal. Describe what your animal looks like. What sound does it make? What does it eat? Is it prey or predator?
10/6/08 "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger," is a proverb. What does that mean to you? Write about a time when you embraced that proverb. What happened?
10/13/08 "A friend loves at all times...." is another proverb. Write about a time when you were a loving friend. What happened?
10/20/08 If you could meet one person in history, who would it be? What would you ask them? What would you say to them?
PROMPT OF THE WEEK 2007-2008 8/20/07 What were your milestones this summer? Did you learn a new skill? Perfect an old one? Go to camp and learn something amazing about yourself? 8/27/07 What are your goals for this school year? (We ask ourselves this every year, don't we?) What are your bigger picture goals for your life? Where do you want to be next year at this time? In ten years? 9/4/07 Which member of your family would make a good character for a book? Explain your choice or write a plot synopsis (look up synopsis in the dictionary) of the book. 9/10/07 Patriot's Day (9/11) makes us reflect on heroes and heroism. Who are your heroes? What qualities make them heroic? 9/17/07 Speaking of heroes... create your own super-hero (the Rationalizer is my favorite). What special powers would this super-hero possess? How would he or she uses those powers? What would his or her name be? 9/24/07 Well it's official... Summers over. What are sensory details? (sights, sounds, smells, tastes) of autumn? How is it different from the other seasons? Which season is your favorite? 10/1/07 Write a list of five people you admire. Explain why you admire each one of them. Select one and relate an anecdote that illustrates why they are admirable. 10/8/07 If you could predict the future, what would you want to know? How could you use your knowledge to help humanity? 10/15/07 If you could eliminate either crime or pollution, which would you choose and why? 10/22/07 What do you like about your town? What would you like to change about it? How could you do it? 10/29/07 Who is your favorite cartoon character? Why? 11/5/07 What do you think is the worst problem the world faces today? Why? What should people be doing to solve this problem? Or, younger kids, what is a problem you struggle with? What could you do to solve this problem? 11/12/07 We enjoy many freedoms in our country, thanks to our veterans. Write a thank you note to a veteran, either someone you know or imagine. 11/19/07 We have so much to be thankful for! What are you thankful for? Write about them! 11/26/07 What cheers you up when you are grumpy? Write about a time you were grumpy. How did you handle it? What happened? 12/03/07 You probably enjoyed many delicious dishes at your Thanksgiving celebration. Explain how to prepare one of them. Unsure? Ask your parent or explain how to set the table, step by step. Writing that explains a process is an art and is something that occasionally shows up on the CA writing assessment. (Speaking of that, the writing assessment workshop is coming for fourth and seventh graders in January! Check out ww.cde.ca.gov and search for samples of assessments. 12/10/07 Did you get to attend the Nutcracker ballet? Seen any good movies lately? Write a review of a performance. Help your reader decide if this movie or performance is worth attending. Unsure of how to write a review? Check your newspaper, TV Guide, or online reviews to get ideas. Think of audience and purpose. 12/17/07 See you in 2008! What are your new year's resolutions? Or, did you keep any from last year? What are your hopes, dreams, and goals for 2008? Put them in writing!WELCOME to 2008! 1/14/07 What are your New Year's Resolutions? Have you kept them or broken them already? How will you keep yours? Did you make them last year? Did you keep those? Ask Mom or Dad to seal them up in an envelope, address it to yourself and ask them to mail it to you when you need a reminder. 1/21/08 With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the Presidential campaigns in full swing, we think and hear a lot about how people are going to change the world. If YOU were the President of the 1/28/08 Think about people in history. If you could have 5 minutes to speak with one person from any period in history, who would it be? What would you talk about? 2/4/08 Wasn't the Super Bowl a great game? (We're Giants fans.) Write about a time when you were part of a great game (or... make it up, AKA fiction). 2/11/08 Finish the statement: Love is....Write about an example of true love What does love mean to you? 2/14/08 Who was your favorite President of the 2/25/08 The Tehachapi News is running a Leap Year special. Have you had anything special happen on a Leap Year? What happened? Write about it. 3/3/08 You've heard the expression, "March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb." Has that happened this year? What do you think that expression means? Do you enjoy hot weather or cold weather more? What activities do you like to do during your favorite type of weather? 3/3/08 If (or should we say, when?)you were a famous author, what types of books would you write? What age readers would you write for? Write a short outline for your first book. 3/17/08 Happy Spring Break! Happy 3/24/08 Welcome back! The poor seventh graders had to write a persuasive letter for their writing assessment. Your turn! Write a letter to the Governor of California expressing why homeschooling is a valid, excellent educational choice. 3/31/08 The cliché goes, "Laughter is the best medicine." Describe the time you laughed the hardest. What was so funny? Were you laughing at someone else's expense? Add dialogue to make your writing more interesting. PROMPT OF THE WEEK 2006-07 4/21 - 4.25 What do you imagine your summer to be? What plans do you have? 4/14 - 4/18 You are visiting the zoo and come across an animal that no one has ever seen before. Describe the animal. 4/30- 5/4 Most of us at some point have had to wear something we did not want to wear. Write a story about what happened when you had to wear something that you didn't want to wear. Where were you going? What did the article of clothing look like? 4/23 - 4/27 You find a baby bear on your porch this morning. Write about what happens. 4/16 - 4/20 You got stuck on being lost for 24 hours. Write about what happened. Were you scared? What did you do to stay safe and pass the time? 3/26 - 3/30 Imagine you are on a magic carpet. Think about where you would go and what you would do. Write a story about your adventure. Include specific details. 3/19 - 3/23 Everyone has lost something. Write about a time either you or someone you know lost something. What happened? 3/12 - 3/16 Everyone needs help sometimes. Write a story with a good beginning, middle, and end about what happened one time when someone helped you. 3/5 - 3/9 Everyone has lost something. Write about a time either you or someone you know lost something. What happened? 2/2 - 3/2 Everyone needs help sometimes. Write a story with a good beginning, middle, and end about what happened one time when someone helped you. Your parents are super however, imagine that one of them is replaced for a day by Superman or the super-hero of your choice). What would your day be like? Tell about it. Valentine's Day is coming up. Love is in the air. Define "love." Write about a time someone was loving towards you. What happened? Why was that important? Or, write about a time you were loving to someone. What did you do? Over the holiday, one of our favorite stories to read is "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote. (You should read it!) Write about one of your favorite holiday memories from our last break. Include sensory details. What made it special? -Resolutions: Write about the New Year's resolutions you made this year. Have you kept them so far? Did you have the same ones last year? Are you sticking to them? It has been SOOO cold! On one day in particular, I noticed that my knit gloves stuck to everything metal and my face hurt... and that was during the warmest part of the day! Write about the cold using only your sense of touch. I love winter and just today I was noticing the differences in the colors, the trees, the smells from other times of the year. Describe winter using similes and metaphors. (Remember a simile compares two different things using "like" or "as" to make the comparison. For example, "The tree in winter was as gray and craggy as an elephant's skin." Remember, a metaphor compares two unlike things without the words "like" or "as." So, a metaphor would be: The tree in winter was a craggy, gray elephant. Your turn! Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday makes us think of his famous "I have a dream" speech. What is your dream for our world? Write about it. 1/29 - 2/2 We just celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King. Write about a time YOU stood up for someone or something. What happened? Tell a GOOD story with a beginning, middle, and end. Add some dialogue to spice things up. 12/4 - 12/19 The holidays are coming! Write about a favorite holiday. Be sure to answer the following questions: 1. who was there? 2. When was it? How old were you? 3. What were some of the sights? Smells? Sounds? Tastes? 4. Was there anything special that anyone said? 5. Were there any special traditions? 11/27 -12/1 We've talked about sensory details and their importance. What if one of your senses was taken away. Which one would you choose to lose? How would life be different? Describe a typical day without that sense. Or, be creative... wear earplugs then write how life was different. 11/13 - 11/22 PROMPT IDEA #1 As we recently celebrated Veteran's Day, it's a good time to write about war and peace and patriotism. Here are some quotable quotes to inspire your writers: PROMPT IDEA #2 We recently voted. Use the recent elections as a chance to talk about democracy and the election process with your student. Then have him/her write about it. Or, use a quote from Abraham Lincoln, "No man is good enough to govern another man without that other man's consent." What did Abraham Lincoln mean by that? How does that quote relate to the "Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination for injustice makes democracy necessary." (Reinhold Niebuhr, 1892-1971) 11/06-11/10 Parents: There's always interesting stories in the news. Pick one (or two) and talk about it. Have your student write a summary of the story or write a letter to the people involved. (One week we wrote sympathy notes to the family of Steve Irwin, for example). 10/30-11/3 The seasons are a changin'... the time is set back. What are the best things about this time of year? Include sensory details that appeal to sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. 10/16-10/20 We've certainly had some wonderful school experiences...and the year is young! Choose one of your special experiences... it might be a great field trip (Pulford's, Mercy Air, hiking) or it might be a great class (Nanotechnology, Guitar, Art) or Tall Ships! Whatever you've enjoyed the most... write about it. Include SPECIFIC DETAILS (sensory or otherwise) and explain why this was such a wonderful experience. 10/9-10/13 "Change is Good!" the banner at K-Mart says. (All I know is I can't find anything!) Is "change" always "good"? Write about a time when there was a change for the better... or worse! Note to parents: Have your writer focus on specific details. 10/2-10-6 Last week we visited a friend who had a cold. We took her a get well teddy bear and thought she was going to be fine. The next morning she was airlifted to Children's Hospital with severe asthma! We were worried sick. By the time she got to the hospital, she was responding to the asthma medication and was sent home. What a rollercoaster! Write about a time when something unexpected happened... or a time you were concerned for a friend. Include lots of specific details. (That's what we realized we REALLY like at the Writing Workshop last week!) 9/25 -9/29 Your students should be keeping a journal and writing everyday! Below are six possible journal topics for the week: My idea of a perfect day.... If I was a ________________ in the ocean.... If I were a _______________ in the sky.... My hero is ... because.... My greatest fear is.... because.... I had the (scariest, craziest, funniest, weirdest....) dream. It went like this.... Set the timer. Have them write in their journal for ten minutes. Ask them to read their writing aloud. Better yet, write with them! Make corrections very gently. At the end of the week, have them choose one journal entry they really like to rewrite, add dialogue, add details, etc. "A writer writes!" 9/18 - 9/22 Point of View, that is, who is telling the story, is important as the story itself. It affects how the story is told. This week, try writing from a different point of view. It could be shifting from first person (I) to third person (he, she). It could mean shifting from an involved narrator (the character telling the story) to an uninvolved narrator who has nothing at stake in the story. With my younger kids, we chose an animal we were studying or interested in and wrote from that animal’s point of view. Older students (grades 5-8) can take a piece they've already written and rewrite it, changing the point of view. For example, "My Family Had the Best Summer Vacation" becomes "The Grissoms' Camping Trip." Get it? 9/11 - 9/16 What do you want to be when you grow up? This is one of our favorite subjects of discussion. Why is that something you want to pursue? Now the big question, what are you going to do to achieve that goal? We've talked a lot about goals the first two weeks of school... goals are great but how do you accomplish them? Note to parents: You want to get your student(s) writing on a daily basis. I treat this as a journal entry which I do not grade. I do correct very gently. Then we take their favorite journal entry and develop it into an essay. I also use the journal entries to see what needs work or what they don’t understand. Last week we had a great lesson on contractions because of problems in a journal entry. I call it Prescription Grammar... just fix what ails 'em! 9/5 - 9/8 The first few weeks of school we spend a bit of time talking about goals... mainly academic but also personal, spiritual, physical. An important part of goals is what we do to achieve them. What are your goals? Short term? Long term? What are you doing right now to try and achieve them? And hey, take a minute to look up the word "goal" in the dictionary. That's a great way to start your writing. Note to parents: At this point in the school year, it's just great to get your student(s) writing again. In fact, try sitting down and writing with them. You have time. The laundry and the phone calls can wait. You'll be amazed at how difficult it is to sit and write on a given topic in a short time AND what good modeling it is! Then read aloud what you've written. See if they'd like to read theirs aloud as well (no pressure). Have fun! Also, feel free to look up archived prompts from last year. Have your students writing four days a week. You'd never send them into a soccer game without drills and practice! Why assign an essay when they haven't practiced? 8/28 - 9/1 I had the best summer. It all started when.... or My favorite part of summer vacation was.... These make great journal entries that can later be developed into narratives, complete with dialogue, etc.. At our house, we used these for the first day of school. We are writing on day #2 about our goals. We will begin by defining the word, "goal." Day #3 we'll write about our immediate goals... day #4, long term goals... then, on Friday, we'll write about how to achieve long term goals. Are the short term goals helping us get there? Coming next week: How to Use the Prompt of the Week to get the most mileage! Happy writing!
PROMPTS OF THE WEEK 2005-06 10/21 – 11/4 Sensory details--autumn is in the air. What does it smell like? This morning I smelled a wood-burning stove and immediately thought of Autumnal things. The golden leaves are poised and ready to abandon trees! What are some other sights of autumn? We had crisp Tehachapi apples for a snack... what are some other "tastes of autumn"? We crunched the layer of leaves on the lawn.... What are some other sounds of autumn? Use SPECIFIC adjectives to describe your sensory details! 11/7 -11/11 Welcome to week 2 of Prompt of the Week. I thought this might be a time to explain it a bit. You can use it several ways, depending on the needs of your student writer. First, use it for a journal entry and leave it at that. I like to have my students write in their journals a minimum of 3 days a week. I DON'T grade their journal; I do make GENTLE corrections. (For example, crazy spelling of a word they need to know: "That's a great try but the real way we spell it is....") Journal writing should be selfish, not worried about the reader. Second, use the journal to be developed into an essay later in the week. Have your student writer return to the journal entry and develop it. Discuss how they could improve their writing; complete a web using the journal entry. Also, have them read it aloud, proofread, edit, and rewrite. Third, use the prompt for timed writing. Print it and give your student one hour (or more or less, depending on your needs) and have them write, much like the writing assessments of last week. Or, give them ten minutes to write to the prompt without stopping. Got all that? Great! Here's the prompt: Last week we wrote about autumn using our senses. This week I'd like you to return to that prompt and write to it but from a different point of view. How would autumn feel to an old dog? If you were an old dog, would you welcome the feel of the cold in the air? What smells of autumn would you appreciate? How about the sights and sounds? What if you were a bird or a squirrel preparing for the winter? Or, try writing from the perspective or point of view from a person different than you. This is a great exercise for any type of writing! 11/14 - 11/18 As the holidays approach, let's write about a favorite holiday memory. One tool I like to use to get my writers writing is to ask them a series of questions on our topic. It's just another way to get them started. They can answer in phrases or sentences then we'll write from that.... 1. Looking back my favorite holiday was.... (it could be Thanksgiving, a birthday, Fourth of July, whatever) 2. How old were you? Did you look different than you do now? What did you look like? Were you wearing anything special? 3. Who was there? Describe some of the people who were there. 4. What were you celebrating? Are there any special traditions in your family that were part of this celebration? 5. Where did this celebration take place? What did this setting look like? 6. How did you feel about the celebration? Were you excited? nervous? 7. Do you remember anything that was said that was meaningful? (This could be written as dialogue later.) What was it? 8. What were some of the smells? Some of the sounds? 9. What was your favorite part of the celebration? Why? 10. How did the celebration end? Now that you have your answers, let's go 1-10 and rewrite your answers in complete sentences. Then read your writing sentence by sentence. Ask yourself, could I add more details (specific is terrific). 11/21 - 11/25 "What I Am Thankful For" This could be a poem, or just a journal entry, or again, developed over the course of several days by adding details, proofreading, reading aloud, etc.. 11/28 - 12/2 "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!" What do you want for Christmas? What was the best Christmas present ever? Why was it so special? Who was it from? Was that what made it special? Describe it. Again, treat this as a journal entry or, use it as a pre-write and develop it with dialogue and details 12/5 -12-9 As we approach our last week of school for 2005, let's reflect back on our first week of 2005. Did you have school goals for this year? What were they? Have you accomplished any? all? What are your goals for 2006? How will you accomplish them?Again, this is fine for a journal entry but could always be developed into more. 12/12 - 12/16 Good friends.... The holidays are a great time to think about and spend time with good friends. What is your idea of a good friend? Who is your best friend? What is he/she like? What is something they often say or do? What makes them special? Again, use this as a journal entry or develop into more. A good dictionary of quotations will have many listings of what "famous people" have said about friends/friendship. Choose a quotation for your student and have him/her write about it. 1/3 - 1/7 New Year Resolutions: Benjamin Franklin said it best when he said, "Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve." What are your resolutions? How do you plan to stick to them? What are your resolutions regarding school? Parents: A cool thing to do with this is to have your student write a letter to themselves, address the envelope to themselves, etc. regarding their resolutions. Then you mail the letter to them in March or April (or whenever they need encouragement). Again, this could be merely a journal entry or developed into more. Use the dictionary to define terms. For example, how does Webster's define resolution? 1/16- 1/20 *We all had many nice days during winter break and, like snowflakes, no two were alike. What is your idea of a perfect day? Use specific sensory details to describe it. Or, organize it in chronological order. (First this would happen, then this, then this....) This prompt could stand as merely a journal entry or could be developed into a very nice five paragraph essay. *Bonus Prompt: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took a stand for what he believed was right. Write about a time when you took a stand for what was right. It could be as simple as sticking up for a sibling or something bigger. What was it? Describe what happened, perhaps in chronological order, and what you did. Did this incident change you? n what way? 1/23-1/27 Last week (1/17) we had the 12th anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake. We lived 3 miles from the epicenter and our home was destroyed. It was the scariest thing that ever happened to me. What was the scariest thing that ever happened to you? Why was it so scary? What happened? Use specific verbs and good sensory details to describe what happened. Did you learn anything from this? Explain. 1/30-2/3 My favorite of Aesop's fables is "The Fly Upon the Wheel." It goes something like this: What a dust do I raise," said the fly upon the coach wheel. "And what a speed do I go," said the same fly, this time from the back of the horse. What was "the moral of the story"? What was Aesop teaching? If you're not sure, talk to Mom or Dad about it. Can you think of a time when you were "the fly"? What happened? You could explain this in chronological order (this happened, then this happened). Do you know someone who is like the fly? Describe. 2/6-2/11 Post-Super Bowl: Suppose you awoke in the morning to find yourself drafted on to your favorite sports team. Tell a good story about what might happen. What sport? What team? What happened? (Parents: This was the prompt one year for the 4th graders) 2/14-2/17 (Fictional Narrative) If you could travel in time and meet Abraham Lincoln, what would you want to talk to him about? What would you tell him about 2006 and your life? (I know I'd tell him NOT to go to the theatre!) What would you want to ask him about? 2/20-2-24 Welcome back from "President's Day."Who is your favorite President of the or.... If YOU were President of the 3/1-3/3 Write about your special friend. Use sensory details (your senses) to describe what your friend looks like, sounds like (laughs like), etc. Tell a story (an anecdote) about something this friend did or does that makes them special. You could use dialogue to show your reader what your friend sounds like, talks like. (Parents: this is a good opportunity to pull out your grammar book and review punctuating and spacing of dialogue.) You could begin with a quote on friendship or a rhetorical question (What is a friend) 3/6-3/10 Imagine that you are traveling in a spaceship with several robots. Write a story telling about your adventure. What can each robot do? What is your function on the journey? Where are you going? Include specific details and... create a surprise ending! 3/13-3/17 Every writer has to write one of these stories at some point in their writing career so let's get ours out of the way and have some fun with it! Begin with: It was a dark and stormy night. End with: Then I woke up. You write the middle! Come up with an interesting conflict and create some crazy characters. 3/27-3/31 Good-bye's are never easy. Last week we said "good bye" to our beloved Mr. Hokit. Write about a time you had to say a difficult good bye. It could be about a good friend moving away or losing someone close to you. Who was it? Why were they special? Why did you have to say good bye? What happened? How did you handle it? This may be just a journal entry or developed into a 3-5 paragraph (or more) narrative. 4/17-4/21 This week we travel back in time, either at history camp or on Living History Day at the museum. If you could travel back in time to any time period, when would it be? Why? Who would you want to meet? What would you want to do? How would life be different than it is now? Be creative! Be specific! 4/24-4/28 Hopefully you all had a wonderful spring break... if not... some times the less-than-wonderful times are more interesting to write about. What was your favorite part of your break? Did you do anything memorable? What made it memorable? Who was there? What did you do? Or, if you could rewind your week, what would you do differently?
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