These are my favourites - if this is your work, could you get your teacher to give you a special award - in my school we get a 'Heads Special' Award and I think getting your work published on VCOP Teacher is a great achievement, well done!
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Hello Mrs Townsley's Class
These are my favourites - if this is your work, could you get your teacher to give you a special award - in my school we get a 'Heads Special' Award and I think getting your work published on VCOP Teacher is a great achievement, well done!
Saturday, 11 October 2008
Open it by adding more detail and making it interesting
Tasneem went to the park.
Can they add more detail and make it more interesting?
- Tasneem trudged angrily to the park.
If you think your friend can do better ask them to try again!
- Long-haired Tasneem, who had a chocolate-chip ice cream, trudged angrily to the park because she had a meeting with an alien, to discuss something important.
Thanks to Tasneem for this example.
Portmanteau words
- brash - brave/bold and rash
- edutainment - education and entertainment
Using a dictionary, can you find two words and make up a portmanteau word? How many can you make in two minutes? Can you put them into a poem?
What did you have for dinner last night?
For dinner I had chicken.
It was a golden-brown chicken.
It was a roasted, golden-brown chicken.
It was a crispy, roasted, golden-brown chicken.
It was a mouth-watering, crispy, roasted, golden-brown chicken and it was delicious!
By Meg
Thursday, 9 October 2008
It was so quiet...
How's writing in your class? Have you used the chillimeter yet?
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Wishlist poem
Let me be deep in snow,
let my carrot nose be the juiciest,
let the sun take pity on me,
let me rest by the safety of the house,
no rocks or stones thrown by small boys.
Don’t let my stick arms be weak,
let my hat be warm, big and snug,
let the snowflakes fall softly,
tickling my smooth white cheek.
Let the new fallen snow settle deeply,
fresh, cool, quickening my icy brain.
Let my melting snow be re-built every day
with loving caring hands,
and please, please,
let the hands be those of a caring child.
Matilda Benjamin (9)
If - can you write an If poem?
if you were the yoghurt then I'd be the spoon
if you were the paper then I'd be the pen
if you were the egg then I'd be the hen
if you were the dog then I'd be the bark
if you were the torch then I'd be the dark
if you were the hinge then I'd be the door
if you love me then I love you more.
Vicki-Lee McCann (11)
More great poems by children on this website
http://www.maninthemoon.co.uk/poemskids.html#ew
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Magical Mystery Tour
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Questions
You only have three questions to ask. Think carefully. What would you ask and why?
Apostrophe song - cn you write one?
by Eileen Thorpe
Apostrophe, apostrophe
You drive me oh so batty.
Apostrophe, apostrophe
Your overuse is a travesty.
Some people just can’t get enough
They must think you’re hot stuff
Apostrophe, apostrophe
Some rules to avoid catastrophe.
It’s hers and theirs and yours and its when you want to possess a bit
And when you need to pluralize,
You don’t need to apostrophize.
And what of words that end in esess?
An apostrophe will only make a mess’s.
I wonder why you so confuse
I’m sure you’re tired of this abuse.
Apostrophe, apostrophe
You drive me oh so batty.
Monday, 4 August 2008
Adjectives in poetry
http://www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/resouce.htm
If you like creating poetry its full of good ideas
Adjectives are describing words. If I say "Tom is playing with a red ball." then the word red describes the ball. Write a poem by repeating the first line but each time adding another adjective.
For example.
On my way to the zoo I saw a bear.
It was a brown bear.
It was an ugly brown bear
It was a wild, ugly, brown bear
It was an angry, wild, ugly, brown bear
It was a hungry, angry, wild, ugly, brown bear
It was an escaped, hungry, angry, wild, ugly, brown bear
And it wanted to eat me!
Now create a start sentence and get creative (if you’re stuck use the sentence about Tom)
WoW word detective
Pick a connective and uplevel
Then look at verbs can you keep meaning but make them more powerful?
Now are there adverbs you could add to describe these verbs?
Could you add in any adjectives?
If you've run out of ideas use one of these as a starter then add a connective then your own ending before doing the above.
The cat sat on the mat.
The grass was wet.
The rain didn't stop.
The boy knocked over the drink.
The dog ran down the road.
The mouse hid in the cup.
The cat went to the shop.
The girl walked across the grass.
The sun came out.
Friday, 1 August 2008
Alliteration poem
Guess who I am?
Example
"If only I didn't take after my Dad with his size 14 shoes! I'd be with that dishy chap with servants waiting on me. Ho hum!"
Food Glorious Food
Think about a meal you really enjoyed. Start to describe the food in detail.
- what did it smell like
- what was its appearance
- its taste and texture
- how did it make you feel
Think about wow words and phrases that describe the food. Look at your examples can you comment on any of your ideas that work well. Try to turn your notes into complex sentences.
Adverb poem
Slowly the tide creeps up the sand,
Slowly the shadows cross the land.
Slowly the cart-horse pulls his mile,
Slowly the old man mounts his stile.
Slowly the hands move round the clock,
Slowly the dew dries on the dock.
Slow is the snail – but slowest of all
The green moss spreads on the old brick wall.
JAMES REEVES
Write an adverb poem. Remember to plan all your ideas first before you start.
Adverbs list
quietly, gently, softly, lightly, swiftly, brightly, loudly, frantically, jocularly, sternly, jovially, awkwardly, cunningly, cautiously, furiously, monstrously, desperately, bravely, luckily, mysteriously, tragically.
How was it performed?
Adverb practice
Adding adverbs will help you describe "how" the action was performed.
The snow started to fall.
Make sure you choose the right adverb!
More sentences to explain how it was performed:
- Misty gazed across the field.
- The car careered forwad and smashed into the fence.
- The birds flew into the treetops.
- The prince sat down in the kitchen with a sipper in his hand.
- Connor awoke and climbed out from beneath the covers.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Can you judge a book by its cover?
Arghh!!!!
Scaaaaary Settings
- How about writing the plan for the story? What will happen to your character?
- How will you create an exciting opening and a suprising ending?
- Why not write the part when your character reaches and enters the house; how does he/she feel? What do they find in the house? Try and use longer sentences for description and shorter sentences for action/suspense.
- Try and create a character who lives in the house. Who is she/he? What do they look like? What type of personaility do they have? Try and think about what kind of person would live in that house.
Be scarrrrrrrryyyyy!!!
A-Z
Then try it with with Wow verbs and adverbs. As a challenge, you could try and create exciting sentences using ideas from each letter!
Overheard Conversations
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Cartoon Capers
Senses Detective
Looking at the picture imagine you are there and make word lists for each of the five senses- Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell, Feelings(how do you feel when you look at it or would you feel if you were there)
Extension- Use your word list to write a short snappy paragraph for a tourist brochure really making me want to visit. Remember all the rules of good sentences writing!!!
Verb family race
HAVE family - have, has, had
DO family - do, does, did
2/3 players
- decide which player has what verb family
- read your class novel together looking out for your verb family
- try to spot your verb family working together helping another verb
Scoring
1 point everytime you spot your verb family helping others!
Winer is first player to get to 10 points.
Openers - what can you do with these words?
summoned trepidation anticipation
sense of dread anxious accusing
butterflies in my stomach stuttering heart beating
hoarse whisper
Up Level it!
Dangerous Job - Amazing Life
Write the opening to an incident which was dangerous and exciting.
You could be any of the following people involved in an exciting incident:
- police officer
- fire officer
- mountain rescuer
- soldier
- paramedic
Think about the dramatic and dangerous incident - make it really exciting!
- make a list of adjectives that you could use to create danger
- show different points of view
- use adverbs
- set the scene carefully
- build up tension
Have a look at your Opening - have you shown the danger?
Monday, 28 July 2008
Sentence Detective
After we've been swimming, we'll drink hot chocolate in the cafe.
You write like you do in a hangman game. (Make sure you show punctuation so you can quiz your partner about what each punctuation mark signifies.)
-----/--'--/----/--------,/--'--/-----/---/---------/--/---/----.
You can guess either letters or whole words.
Scoring system:
- start with 10 points
- wrong guess costs 3 points
- correct guess 2 points
- try to complete the sentence before your points are used up
You can ask your partner to explain reasons for their choices.
Saturday, 26 July 2008
Give it some ummmmppphhhh!
The girl, whose courage and daring had been so amazing, stood on the edge of the cliff and shivered as she stared at the water below. Her name was Cherry and she wanted to get home.
What's in the news?
PRINCE FINDS SOUL-MATE
Extension: you could show two different versions of the same story
Odd words story starter game
astronaut scooter crumpet rucksack
bath football hippo toaster
tent pumpkin trainers christmas tree
Crazy Questions!
Noun Doodling
road
busy road
alarmingly busy road
the alarmingly busy road
The alarmingly busy road near the Old People's Home.
Try noun doodling with these nouns:
table statue cardigan trainer dog
grapefruit gate lane supermarket
boy bike basketball car
Wish You Were Here
- opening/greeting
- hotel
- weather
- entertainment
- what you miss about home
- signing off
Connectives, connectives, connectives
- Just then
- Fortunately
- Moreover
- Consequently
- Later
- Meanwhile
- For this reason
- Also
- On the other hand
- Therefore
- At that moment
- Anyway
- Nevertheless
- Despite this
Use in any order!
Extension
Sort into the different jobs done by the connectives. For example: to add to, to contradict, to explain cause and effect and to indicate time.
The Questionator
Openings
Just in case you need reminding, here are some examples of openers:
- use a connective
While Dad sat on the sofa, Mum cooked the tea.
- try an 'ing' clause
Waiting for his tea, Dad watched the 6 o'clock news.
- try an 'ed' clause
Shocked by the breaking news, Dad called Mum in from the kitchen.
- use a simile
Like an olympic sprinter, Mum rushed in to watch the breaking news.
- try an adverb
Solemnly, she sat and watched the disaster unfold.
- use one word
Sad, she went back into the kitchen to continue cooking.
- use 'But'
But Dad realised he was no longer hungry, as he was so worried that his parents were caught up in the hurricane disaster.
- use a prepositional phrase
At the end of the worktop in the kitchen, Mum stood with tears slowly falling down her face.
Can you write an example of each opener?
Vocabulary - Using a dictionary
VCOP Teacher is not a walking dictionary - this is a dictionary and this year you WILL use them!
Dictionaries contain lots of information about each word:
- its definition
- what word class it is (n= noun; v = verb; adj = adjective)
- its origin
- related words or sayings, if it has any.
Use your dictionary to check these spellings:
horrable
gigal
gigantick
curcumfrence
parrale
centimeter
approximatly
horrizontle
parlament
govenment
emmegration
riegn
disapoint
mariage
sucess
tomorow
Write the words correctly - can you put them in a sentence?
Friday, 25 July 2008
Vocabulary - More Stolen Words
Well, as you quite rightly know, we do steal them from other countries but where do our other stolen words come from?
Have a look at these words and make some guesses?
jangle autobiography August pizza
wellington banquet solo sandwich
sphere thump photograph biro gurgle
splash spaghetti soprano cuckoo
hiss alto concerto
What country are some of these words stolen from?
Our words are also stolen from names, old languages and sounds. Can you find more?
Did you spot any connections between words?
What do we call it when words sound like the sound the word makes?
Can you build up a Stolen word collection from other countries, old languages, names or sounds?
Vocabulary - Stolen words Challenge
- The Netherlands
- France
- India
- America
- Australasia
The Stolen words:
- cafe
- moose
- kangaroo
- shampoo
- smuggle
- pyjamas
- blizzard
- sketch
- verandah
- moccasins
- dingo
- boutique
- toboggan
- billabong
- banquet
- buoy
- chauffeur
- kiwi
- okay
Now can you put them into a Red Hot Sentence?
Connectives Game
Rules:
You take turns to say a line in a story which you then hand on to your partner by suggesting a connective, e.g.
Child 1: Once there was a woodcutter who
Child 2: spent many hours in the forest because
Child 1: his wife spent so much money at Marks & Spencer, he had no choice to work while
Here are some connectives for you to play with!
- meanwhile
- furthermore
- however
- nonetheless
- alternatively
- although
- because
- nevertheless
- whereas
- whoever
- consequently
- because
- besides
- until
- yet
- since
- henceforward
(If your teacher hasn't got the following book then nag her until she buys it - Jumpstart ISBN 1-84312-102-6)
Get it from Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843121026/interactiveda3311-21
Wow Word Catcher
Thinking about your writing!
Daily use of your VCOP Journal will certainly improve your writing. Now let's get started!
Think about your writing, what do you like to write?
What does your teacher nag you to do?
What do you keep forgetting?
When were you most proud of something you had written?
What are your strengths?