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Great Resources for Busy Teachers
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Great Resources for Busy Teachers |
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Six Traits Writing Workshop Ideas Organization Word Choice Sentence Fluency Voice Conventions THE TRAIT OF WORD CHOICE Every word in a picture book must be precise. The text is condensed, but not dense. It must be rich and create strong mental images in the reader's mind. A good story is filled with strong sensory images and uses figurative language effectively. The books listed here are fine examples of word choice. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen The Pumpkin Blanket by Deborah Turney Zagwyn What You Know First by Patricia MacLachlan The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant Creating mental pictures in the mind of the reader is the writer's art, and using sensory images are the tools. Children need to learn how to open up their senses and create word pictures using their senses. Poetry is one way to explore sense, and the use of picture books that use lots of sensory images is another model to follow. Hello Ocean
by Pam Munoz Ryan Owl Moon by Jane Yolen Alliteration is a poetic device that can be used in all types of writing. Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds of several words in a group. Chicken Little by Steven Kellogg If You Were a Writer by Joan Lowry Nixon How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss Shrek by William Steig Animalia by Graeme Base Metaphors is the stuff that life is made of. Metaphors make comparisons. Poetry is one place to search for examples of metaphors. The picture books listed here have outstanding metaphors to use as modeled examples. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold Owl Moon by Jane Yolen The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg Encounter by Jane Yolen The Tale of the Mandrian Duck by Katherine Patterson Similes compare two things using "like" or "as". Owl Moon by Jane Yolen Quick As A Cricket by Audrey Wood Swimmy by Leo Lionni The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore The Bone Talker by Shelley Leedahl Amber on the Mountain by Tony Johnston Personification brings inanimate objects to life. Stories with animals or toys talking are examples of personification, but personification at its best is when the writer gives "human-like" qualities to objects that seems to give the objects a life of their own. For example: "The grandmother oak sheltered the children beneath her gown of leaves and wrapped them in her protective arms." An oak tree is not a grandmother, nor does it wear a gown or have arms. These are qualities and features of a human being. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig Flossie and the Fox by Patricia McKissack Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia McKissack Saving Sweetness by Dian Stanley The Pumpkin Blanket by Deborah Zagwyn Onomatopoeia are words that make noise like "crunch" and "munch" and "vroom" and "boom". Noisy words are fun to use in writing. Kids love them and they can really help add new dimensions to their pieces. The Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown Mirandy and Brother
Wind by
Patricia McKissack Hey You! C’Mere by Elizabeth Swados Night in the Country by Cynthia Rylant Double Trouble in Walla Walla by Andrew Clements Sometimes called "mood pieces," picture books that use poetic language tend to have beautiful rhythm and pace, flowing voice, and poetry-like words. Picture books with poetic language are lovely to read and soothing to listen to. My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray Twilight Comes Twice by Ralph Fletcher Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr. The Wise Woman and Her Secret by Eve Merriam Welcome to the Green House by Jane Yolen Verbs are the powerhouse of voice. Verbs are active. They are action. They take writing from passive to active. A strong verb punches writing up and gives it strength. This list is of picture books that uses verbs effectively. The Magic Pebble by William Steig Kites Sail High by Ruth Heller
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