Alliteration

Summer is a splendid season to soak up the sun.

That's alliteration, when we use the same letter at the beginning of words. Alliteration is fun, it's rhythmic, and it's poetic. It has a nice sound. When readers see a sentence with alliteration, they enjoy saying the words out loud.

Let's try another one:

Larry was so lazy, he lounged till noon.

Not every word in a sentence needs to start with the same letter. Here's a line from The Jade Dragon by Carolyn Marsden and Virginia Shin-Mui Loh. The main character, Ginny, is thinking about the disappointing Christmas presents she received.

Socks. Underwear. A pair of pajamas. Pencils.

Say it out loud. The "p" sounds with their little puff of air show how frustrated Ginny is. Later on the page, she repeats the line, so we get to hear the "p" sounds again.

Socks. Underwear. A pair of pajamas. Pencils.

Try writing your own alliteration. It's fun, fabulous, and fantastic!

The Translation Game

Q B X M P C Y D A H U K S E Z N L T W O V F G

I J R

Here's a word game I learned from Nancy Lewars. It's a great game for summer, because you can play it outside while the weather's warm and sunny.

Three people sit in a row. The person in the middle is the Translator. The first person says something to the Translator in a made-up language (gibberish). The second person, or Translator, "translates" that to the third person in English. The third person answers the Translator in another made-up language (gibberish). The Translator then "translates" that back to the first person.

Sound complicated? It isn't. Here's an example:

First person: "Eee-ee ha la, moo hani la?"

Translator: "Why are you wearing a wool coat in June?"

Third person: "Sher trekk ponter dred trekk setin klakervin."

Translator: "Someone took my clothes."

First person: "Moo?"

Translator: "Why?"

Third person: "Sher trekk klakervin bettlever dagin."

Translator: "Because the clothes didn't belong to me."

You get the idea. Create a story using the Translation Game, and see how long you can keep it going. Have fun making up your gibberish language on the spot!

P.S. Lemonade goes great with this game.

School's Out for Summer!

SCHOOL'S OUT!

School's out for summer.

It's really a bummer.

Just kidding!

I miss all my classes

and wearing my glasses.

Just kidding!

The bus smelled so great.

I was never late.

Just kidding!

My teacher was cool.

I really loved school.

Just kidding!

I did all my work

and was never a jerk.

Just kidding!

Now summer's here

and I'm shedding a tear.

Just kidding!

I can ride my bike

and go for a hike.

I can sleep till noon

and act like a goon.

I can watch TV

and water ski

ride my skateboard all day

and play, play, play, play!

NOT kidding!

What do YOU think about school being out for summer? Write a poem about it!

Libraries

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE libraries!

What's better than a library? A story set in a library.

Think of all the story possibilities for a library:

• you get locked inside the library overnight
• you see someone stealing a book
• you're hiding from someone in the library bathroom
• you're at the library computer when a magical dragonfly whizzes past
• you find a talking tarantula with a chef's hat in the cookbook section

Try setting a story in a library. In YOUR library, no one will say, "Shhhhhh!"

Memory

Today is Memorial Day. It's a holiday, which means no school, right? It's good to know why Memorial Day is a holiday. On this day, we remember soldiers who have died. We also remember family members and friends who have died.

So Memorial Day is about remembering. It's about memory. Are you remembering someone special today? Maybe it's your grandma or grandpa. Maybe it's your pet. Or maybe you're remembering someone who's living--your mom, dad, aunt, or uncle in the military or away from home for another reason.

Think about someone you're remembering today. Write down five things about that person.

Today I'm remembering my mom who died a few years ago.

My Mom

1. Made the best chocolate chip cake.

2. Took the bus with me because she didn't drive.

3. Helped me with my spelling words (and that's why I'm a good speller).

4. Taught me some words in Polish.

5. Loved to go shopping.

What do you remember about a special person or pet? Happy Memorial Day!

Water, Water Everywhere....

When you get to a page in a book that describes the weather, do you yawn? It doesn't have to be that way! The weather--rainy, sunny, stormy, cold, hot, dry--can be a great backdrop to your story. The weather can reflect the way your characters feel, or just the opposite. Your character may be in a sunny mood, and not even a rain squall can dampen that.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is all about the weather. The story is set in the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Depression. The dryness almost lifts off the page.

In As Long As There Are Mountains by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, set in Vermont, Iris describes the rain: "The trees dripped rain, shrouded in fog, and seemed as pale and lifeless as ghosts, but they weren't lifeless at all. Their energy was stored deep inside to weather the cold winter." That could describe Iris herself.

A picture book can convey weather, too. Here's the first page of George Shannon's Rabbit's Gift: "Rabbit twitched his nose in the cold, damp air. Time to find food. More snow was coming. Coming soon." Even if you're reading that in spring, don't you want to cuddle up under a warm blanket?

Whether (ha-ha) you're writing about wet weather, dry weather, cold weather, or hot weather, you have an opportunity to convey mood.

Try writing a paragraph about weather. Describe a storm, a blizzard, a thunderstorm, or a heat wave. Think about how you have experienced those weather events. Now think about a character who experiences hail on his face, sleet under his collar, or snow in her boots.

Makes you want to cuddle up under a warm blanket, doesn't it?

Emotions

When people read our stories, they want to feel our characters' emotions. How do we put emotion into a story?

We can write about our characters' emotions by thinking about our own emotions. We don't have to be gushy or drip tears all over the page (or screen). But we can think about a time we felt the same way our character is feeling.

If your character is angry: think about a time someone made you really mad. What did you do? Did you want to hit someone? Did your heart start racing? Did your face get hot? Did you roll your hands into fists? Or did you go off by yourself to cool down?

If your character is happy: think about a time you felt true joy. What did you do? Did you jump up and down ? Did you cheer? Or did you sit quietly and let the wave of happiness wash over you?

If your character is jealous: think about a time you felt "green" with jealousy because your friend received a wonderful gift. What did you do? Did you make a sarcastic remark? Did you try to grab the gift? Or did you force yourself to make a kind remark, even though you didn't feel like it?

Look at the photo of the boy above. What do you think just happened? What emotion is this boy feeling? Think about a time you felt that same emotion. How did you react? Would this boy react the same way?

Write a paragraph describing how the boy is feeling. Maybe your description will make him feel better!