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By Aaron Kurtz
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Poetry

Children’s Books

Short Stories
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Popular Authors
o Shel Silverstein
• The Giving Tree
• Where the Sidewalk Ends
o Robert Frost
• Poems

Getting Ideas
o Brainstorming
o Random activities
• Topic prompts
 Poem
Forms
o Ballad
o Haiku
o Limerick
o Sonnet
o Blank Verse
o Sestina
 Activities
o Emulate the Masters
• Use as introduction
o Creative Workshop
• Use to develop skills
o Poetry Slam
• Use to express
creativity
 Develops…
o Structure
• Must follow verse
form
o Contained Creativity
• Must utilize a finite
length
o Creative Expression
• Endless possibilities

Popular Authors
o Chris van Allsburg
• The Wreck of the Zephyr
o Eric Carle
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
o Steven Kellogg
• Pecos Bill
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Getting Ideas
o Web outline
o Story generator
o Draw on experience
 Book
Ideas
 Activities
o Teach something
• How to…
o Children Book Unit
• Generate idea
o Relate a memory
• Favorite Christmas
• 2-3 days
o Emulate popular
book
• … from the Black
Lagoon
• Outline story
• 2-3 days
• Write story
• 3 days
• Illustrate story
• 1 week
• Assemble book
• 2 days
 Develops…
o Structure
• Must have
consistency
o Creativity
• Illustrating, story
content, and book
construction
o Perseverance
• Takes longer than
poems to create

Popular Authors
o Washington Irving
• “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
o O. Henry
• “The Gift of the Magi”
o Jack London
• “To Build a Fire”
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Getting Ideas
o Idea generators
o Brainstorming
o Story prompts
 Story
Forms
o Fiction
o Non-fiction
o Narrative
o Third person
o First person
o Genre specific
• Fantasy
• Western
• Mystery
 Activities
o Short Story Unit
• Generate ideas
• Pick an idea
• Develop idea
• Write story
• Edit/Rewrite
• Publish as one
volume
• Bookemon
 Develops…
o Major writing
elements
• Plot, setting,
characters,
continuity, fluency,
mechanics, etc.
o Discipline
• Takes time to create
and edit
o Accomplishment
• Seeing it published
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For the graph
o http://nationsreportcard.gov/writing_2011/
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Poem forms
o http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/197
o http://www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/form/sestina.htm