Monday, September 27, 2010

What Do You See?


I created this painting in a fun art class I took this year. The painting is abstract, but when I look at it now I see a dog with a black nose, two red eyes, and a red dot on its forehead.

When we look at images, we all see something different. I see a dog. Someone else may see a swirling storm, a party with colorful streamers, or a creature from the deep bringing its head to the surface.

What do you see? Let your imagination loose. Write a story about what YOU see in this picture.


Monday, September 20, 2010

Shoes



Shoes travel with us wherever we go. If only they could talk!

Write about a pair of shoes that have been important in your life. Maybe they're the shoes you wore when you scored the winning soccer goal. Or the ballet slippers you practiced in so often they fell apart. Or the flip-flops you wore to the beach with your grandparents. Or the ugly brown shoes you had to wear the first day of school. Or your favorite pair of high tops that someone stole.

Or make up a story about shoes. Try writing about a pair of shoes in a first-person "I" voice, from the shoes' point of view. Here's the start of a story:

The day Jake and I started school together, I know he was embarrassed to be wearing me--the ugliest pair of shoes in the entire 6th grade. See, Jake's dad was out of work, and his mom found me in the thrift shop. I was all they could afford. If only I could speak! I was longing to tell Jake that I may be be the ugliest shoes in the 6th grade, but I have magical powers.


Thursday, September 16, 2010

The 5 Senses with Color


Here's a fun prompt using our 5 senses to make our writing come alive.

Presenting........ the 5 senses!

1. sight
2. taste
3. smell
4. hearing (sound)
5. touch (feel)

What is your favorite color? Maybe it's green, or blue, or something exotic like periwinkle or blood-red.

On a sheet of paper, or in your writer's notebook, write down your favorite color.

Now think about the 5 senses. What does your color look like? Taste like? Smell like? Sound like? Feel like?

Here's an example for the color yellow.

Yellow looks like the skirt my mom wears in the summer.

Yellow tastes like ripe bananas in a big bowl.

Yellow smells like the lead in pencils.

Yellow sounds like the sun crossing the sky.

Yellow feels like a cool drink of lemonade down my throat.

What does YOUR favorite color look, taste, smell, sound, and feel like? Use your imagination and have fun!