Figurative Langauge, The "Author's Tool Belt" & 5th Grade Writers by Kathy Halsey

I have been co-teaching/volunteering as a "Writer-in Residence" with Lydia Tokarz, 5th grade gifted E/LA teacher and her class for 3 months now. Lydia and I hope to turn this experience into a professional book for educators and writers alike. We work together in a language arts block Mondays and Fridays. Today is a sneak peek into the fun 5th graders have writing picture book biographies. Yes, they study mentor texts like us in our project #Write4Real, crafting their own PB bios. 

We have dumped our info into rough drafts and are letting our writing "rise" by revising. Two weeks ago we focused on Figurative Language, a CC standard. ( We ARE fitting Common Core into this project. Our advice: teach from your passion and work the standards around it.) Lydia is so creative, and she made up this chant for her kiddos about Figurative Language. They've recited it for me, acted it out, can identify it in others' work. NOW they are making it real in their OWN writing.

Figurative Langauge Chant

by Lydia Tokarz

An author wears a tool belt of figurative language. 

Figurative language helps a reader visualize.

I say simile, you say..."like or as" 

(right hand, left hand)

I say metaphor, you say..."is" 

(hands on hips)

I say personification, you say..."person"

(motion head to toes-Vanna White style)

I say hyperbole, you say "exaggeration" 

(spirit fingers)

I say idiom, you say "funny expression"

(thumb on nose waving fingers)

I say onomatopoeia, you say "pow, pow!!" 

(Comic character double punch) 

Together in our Readers' Circle we read Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle (Pura Belpre Award, Illustrator) twice and discussed its evocative use of language. 

We always read aloud, and strive to use diverse, recent mentor texts. Next, students paired up, we divvied out books, and dove into language, recording our results on a class poster which delineated poetic devices. Each pair shared their findings, and finally we gathered into critique groups to discover/add these elements to  our manuscripts.

Here are a few of our texts and findings:

Firebird  is filled with great text: exaggeration - "The space  between you and me is longer than forever;" simile - "like the dying sun over the horizon;" metaphor - "You are the sky and clouds and air."

In Shooting for the Moon: The Amazing Life and Times of Annie Oakley they discovered onomatopoeia - "BANG!" and consonance - "the fierce wind whipped."

 

And suddenly, after another group noted that Balloons Over Broadway's title was itself figurative language, kids began pointing to titles that flanked the room shooting out, "Mrs. Halsey, Mrs. Tokarz, look, Star Stuff, Earmuffs for Everyone! Figurative language is everywhere." What a great "aha" moment for us all. 

Two fun craft books for student writers we'd also like to recommend that our kids enjoy were If You Were Alliteration by Trisha Speed Shakan and her companion book, If You Were Onomatopoeia. 

#Write4Real continues until spring break. We'll keep you informed of our progress. Other amazing moments on our journey thus far include:

•  a Skype visit with author friend Miranda Paul, One Plastic Bag
•  student writers receiving email from Walter O'Brien, founder of Scorpion Computer Services and executive producer of the TV series Scorpion. Two fifth grade boys emailed questions to fill in their research holes. 
• sharing our impressions of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast with author Josh Funk. We may Skype with him this coming Friday. 

My "aha" moment so far: Make writing real, share your passion and your work with students. You teach them and they teach you. It's a win-win for all even if you are still not published.You have so much to share about the TRUE process of writing.

AS FAST AS WORDS COULD FLY ~ by Pamela M. Tuck

Guest Blogger: Pamela Tuck

Today's post is written by Lee & Low's 2007 New Voices Award Winner, Pamela Tuck. Grog sent Pamela some questions and here are the answers.

GROG: What is AS FAST AS WORDS COULD FLY about?

 

Pamela Tuck: As Fast As Words Could Fly is a historical fiction picture book that highlights 14-year-old Mason Steele, who takes pride in turning his Pa's excited ramblings about the latest civil rights incidents into handwritten business letters.

 One day Pa brings Mason a gift from his civil rights group: an old manual typewriter that Mason cherishes.

When the civil rights group wins a school desegregation case, Mason discovers that he will attend a formerly all-white high school. Facing his fears and adversity from students and faculty, Mason excels in school -- particularly typing. Mason decides to bravely take a stand at the county typing tournament, using his typing talent to break racial barriers.

This story is based on the life of my father, Moses Teel, Jr.


GROG: Why do you want to share this story?

Pamela Tuck: I wanted to share this story because I enjoy enlightening children with stories that expand their knowledge beyond what they’ve been exposed to. It’s an honor to add my father’s story to African-American history, but my main focus is to encourage children to always strive to do their best and to believe in themselves. I hope that my story will demonstrate to children that they don’t have to do something big to do something great, and they don’t have to be famous to be recognized.

GROG : How did you put it all together?

Pamela Tuck: In writing my father’s story, I first interviewed him and LISTENED to each emotion, conflict, failure and triumph he expressed. I wrote a loose outline for the story and chose a focal point to build around. I also referred to Paula Yoo’s Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story, and Mildred D. Taylor’s Mississippi Bridge for dialogue and concept ideas.

GROG : How can this book be used in schools?


Pamela Tuck: As Fast As Words Could Fly is set in 1960s Greenville, NC, and is full of historical, social justice, and human themes, which are outlined in a downloadable teaching/discussion guide annotated for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts. (Teacher’s guide can be found on the Lee & Low Books website: www.leeandlow.com )

GROG : What advice can you give new authors?
 

Pamela Tuck: I think the most common piece of advice that has worked for me is to READ! READ! READ! It's important to read books in the genre you're interested in writing. Pay attention to the author's style and how the characters, plot, and flow of the story develop. I would also suggest joining a writer's group. I am a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and they have a wealth of information for writers that range from generating story ideas to marketing your book. Open yourself up to criticism, but learn to sift it: take what will make you a better writer and let the rest go. Try to develop a routine of writing a little (or a lot) each day to keep those creative juices flowing more readily. And last, but not least, believe in yourself. That belief with resonate in your writing.

GROG would like to thank Pamela M. Tuck for sharing her book with us. If you have not read this book, you should. Please visit and like Pamela's page https://www.facebook.com/asfastaswordscouldfly. Visit and like our GROG page https://www.facebook.com/GROG.writers. And do not forget to comment below so you may receive an entry in the GROG give-away.