Alpha Smarts in your Language Arts class
Nouns – “Nouns About All Around”
Give your students a break from the classroom and lead them on a noun tour! Divide your class into four
groups (1) people; (2) places; (3) things; (4) ideas, thoughts, and emotions. Designate 3 members in each
group as the recorder, noise monitor, and reporter. The recorder takes the Alpha Smart on the tour wand
writes down all the nouns that are spotted by her teammates and fit in her group’s category as they walk
around the school. Instruct the noise monitor to keep down his group’s noise level. Upon returning to class,
the reporter gets to read aloud his group’s noun list.
Book Talk:
Gather a selection of novels with dialog passages and ask the students to select and type a quoted passage
from a book, exchange books and enter another quoted passage, and continue until they have created a
conversation.
Brainstorming Synonyms:
A synonym is a word that has a similar meaning to another word. Your group will identify synonyms for
common words. You will later use the original words and their synonyms to create a writing aid for the class.
Begin identifying synonyms by brainstorming with your group.
Below are step-by-step instructions:
1. Open AlphaSmart F 2.
2. Read a word in the list out loud.
3. Have each group member write synonyms for that word on a sheet of paper.
4. Have each group member share the synonyms he or she wrote. Record ALL synonyms suggested in the
AlphaSmart below the original word. DO NOT DISCUSS THEM YET.
5. Read the word from the list and each synonym suggested. Discuss any word that everyone in the group
does not agree is a synonym. Remove words if necessary.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 until there are synonyms for each word in the list.
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Using the Thesaurus:
A thesaurus is a reference tool for finding synonyms. Use the thesaurus to add to your list of synonyms. The
goal is to identify AT LEAST four synonyms for each word. Below are step-by-step instructions.
1. Use the thesaurus to look up synonyms for words in your original list.
2. Add new synonyms to those suggested during brainstorming.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until all words in your original list have been looked up in the Thesaurus.
Collaborative Story Writing:
Your group will write three stories together. The beginning of each story is provided. You will write a plot
for the first story, provide a climax for the second story, and write a conclusion for the third story. You will
have 15 minutes to work on each part of a story. Below are step-by-step instructions.
1. Open AlphaSmart F 2.
2. Read the beginning of the story.
3. Develop the plot for the story. You have 15 minutes.
4. When 15 minutes is up, pass your AlphaSmart to the right.
5. Read the unfinished story. Further develop the plot, including a climax. You have 15 minutes.
6. When 15 minutes is up, pass your AlphaSmart to the right.
7. Read the unfinished story. Write a conclusion. You have 15 minutes.
Take Note of That! : Six Traits: Ideas and Content Lesson
Step 1: Students observe projected images, or images located in traditional science resources, such as
textbooks and journals, they record observations. Guide observations with open ended questions such
as, “What do you notice that someone might overlook if they were not observing carefully?” and “What
do you see that is extraordinary or unusual?” and “What piques your interest?”
Step 2: Share observations
Students name and save AlphaWord documents. Beam observations and compare.
Step 3: Share with another
Launch AlphaWord and open a new document. Students share their noted observations with varied
intended audiences. For example, describe the image as if the student were writing to a musician or a
journalist, etc. Beam to share narratives and note how the ideas and content of the writing changed
when the interest and characteristics of the intended reader changed.
Step 4: Making the familiar strange
Share the book, Alphabet City , Johnson and Gilson, Eds. (This book features photography of everyday
objects in an urban setting, such as a manhole cover or park bench, and finds each letter of the alphabet
suggested by the shapes of the objects photographed.) Challenge students to take Alphas outside and
find letters of the alphabet in the immediate surroundings. Students write descriptive sentences
explaining where to find each letter. Beam and send students to find each other's letters. If digital
cameras are available, students could photograph objects, write text with Alpha Smarts and create an
alphabet book for primary grades.
What Goes Up . . . Six Traits: Organization Lesson
This second trait – organization – gives the writing a sense of direction and purpose. Good writers employ
any one of a number of writing organization schemes: compare and contrast, deductive logic, point by
point, using a timeline – just to name a few.
Activities that seem distant from the writing process often develop important writing skills.
As the students engage in testing activities, they develop lab notes and other narratives that are highly
organized. Students develop organization in writing as they make predictions, record notes, explain
results and share what they learn about experiments. In literacy circles, it’s known as compare and
contrast.
It is what you Say! Six Traits: Developing Word Choice
Round-Robin Beaming Edit
Working in small groups, students edit sentences to add power.
1. Write a sentence in a new file to one student in each group. That student opens the file and
replaces the chosen word with a more powerful word or phrase.
2. Select another word or phrase and beam to the next student in the group. Continue editing the
sentence until almost all words have been replaced. Share sentences. Here's an example of a
completed Round Robin Beaming Edit
Starting:
When he saw the squirrel, the small dog ran across the yard.
Ending:
At the moment he spied the bushy-tailed acorn warrior, the miniscule friend-of-man bolted the full
measure of this urban acre.