Name: ___________________________________________________ Hour: ______________ Date: ______________
Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street- Idea Development Activity
Mr. Sims, the actor
What advice about writing does he give Eva?
Mr. Morley, the mousse maker
What advice about writing does he give Eva?
Paraphrase his advice with your own words:
Paraphrase his advice with your own words:
Record the best sentence from the Baby Joshua
page that follows his advice:
Record the best sentence from the Baby Joshua
page that follows his advice:
Alexis Leora, the dancer
What advice about writing does she give Eva?
Mrs. Martinez, the soup maker
What advice about writing does she give Eva?
Paraphrase her advice with your own words:
Paraphrase her advice with your own words:
Record the best sentence from the Baby Joshua
page that follows her advice:
Record the best sentence from the Baby Joshua
page that follows her advice:
The Alleyway
Steve enjoyed being a dogcatcher…until tonight. His trusty
“catching net” displayed scratches from hundreds of dogs who
had tried to bite him during capture, but Steve always managed
to go home unharmed. The alley that lay before him tonight,
however, seemed more dangerous than any he had ever seen.
Dented garbage cans lined the alley walls like soldiers, perhaps
armed and ready to harm him. The alley’s walls- bright red in
daylight- turned puce on this overcast night. Steve stepped
forward, his huge hands gripping his net, and he moved towards
the one garbage can that was trembling at the back of the alley.
Was the dog he was looking for hiding behind it?
This paragraph was influenced by the four pieces of advice given in the book,
Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street. Look closely at the sentences and phrases
in the seven sentences above. Whose advice from the book seems to have
influenced this piece of writing, and where do you see their influence?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Could this paragraph become part of a longer story? What could the longer story
be about?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Brainstorm the names of interesting jobs that people have.
 Brainstorm the names of interesting places.
 Brainstorm the names of interesting items that people might have
in their pockets, on their persons, or that can be carried in the
hand. Feel free to add adjectives.
Brainstorming for Ideas
Details
Ideas
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Topic
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• ______
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• ______
• ______
Details
Ideas
______
Topic
• ______
• ______
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• ______
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Name: _____________________________________________________ Date: _________________ Hour:____________
90th Street Brainstorming Worksheet- Play with idea development before composing your paragraph
My Person:
My Place:
My Thing:
(write it below)
(write it below)
(write it below)
(write a sentence or phrase in
these spaces)
(write a sentence or phrase in
these spaces)
How might you describe this (write a sentence or phrase in
noun using Mr. Sim’s advice these spaces)
to ____________________?
How might you describe this
noun using Mr. Morley’s
advice to
______________________?
How might you describe this
noun using Mrs. Martinez’s
advice
to_____________________?
What’s a “What if?”
question about this noun
that Alexis Leora’s advice
might inspire?
Now…use your favorite sentences and phrases from above to write a descriptive paragraph that mentions your
person, your place, and your thing.
Name: _______teacher model____________________________ Date: _________________ Hour:____________
90th Street Brainstorming Worksheet- Play with idea development before composing your paragraph
How might you describe
this noun using Mr. Sim’s
advice to focus
on
interesting
details?
How might you describe
this noun using Mr.
Morley’s advice to find
poetry in your
words?
How might you describe
this noun using Mrs.
Martinez’s advice to
spice it up with
action?
What’s a “What if?”
question about this noun
that Alexis Leora’s advice
might inspire?
My Person:
My Place:
My Thing:
(write it below)
(write it below)
(write it below)
A dog catcher
An alley at night
A net
(write a sentence or phrase in
these spaces)
(write a sentence or phrase in
these spaces)
(write a sentence or phrase in
these spaces)
His name is
stitched into his
uniform with
bright yellow
thread.
These bright red
brick walls turn
puce in this
darkness.
The aluminum
pole is scratched
from previous
dogs’ gnashings.
He shivers
suspiciously with
sweat and seems
scared. He has
huge hands.
(alliteration)
This net is a
weapon against
his fear.
(metaphor)
Stumbling in pot
holes… spinning
around when he
hears creaks and
thunks.
Garbage cans line
the walls like
soldiers. The cans
dare him to look
behind
them.(simile &
personification)
One garbage can
quakes with
tremors…
something hides
behind it…
What if the
dogcatcher finds
his own dog
behind that
garbage can?
What if the alley
has one of those
motion-detecting
lights that come
on?
What if there’s a
hole in the net that
he doesn’t know
about?
It scrapes the
alley’s sides as the
dogcatcher moves
forward toward the
can.
Now…use your favorite sentences and phrases from above to write a descriptive paragraph that mentions your
person, your place, and your thing.