So Many Words…
So Little Time
Writing Extravaganza #3
September 2009
Janet Foss and Jeff Ingraham
ESU #3
jfoss@esu3.org jingraham@esu3.org
Learning Targets
Determine features in
writing that can add to
or diminish effective
composition.
Practice vocabulary
activities to improve
written composition.
Call it
out!
What are the first
words or phrases
that come to mind
when you think of
your students’
vocabulary and
their written
composition?
Research on Vocabulary Acquisition
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compiled by Doug Buehl
6% of language arts time focused on
vocabulary.
Most of this time students spend copying
definitions from the dictionary
There are 750,000-1,000,000 words in the
English language (excluding law, medical
terms)
Most people use between 5,000 and 7,000
words regularly.
What's Word Choice?
With good WORD CHOICE, the writer creates a
mental picture for the reader. The writer uses
strong action verbs to show the reader what is
happening. The adjectives are as descriptive.
The nouns are specific. Striking words and
phrases catch the reader's eye, but the language
is natural. Slang and clichés are used sparingly,
if at all. The writing is fresh, appealing, and full
of energy.
Consider What Makes Writing
Effective
Listen to an excerpt from:
Big gulp of sugar sours his outlook
Meet My Aunt Adi
How Effective is this writing?
Aunt Adi had come to visit our
family again. I hated it when
she visited. She was weird. She
wore weird clothes that smelled
like too much perfume. Her hair
was bright red and she always
wore really high heels.
Microsoft Word Revision Tools

Jeff’s tracking demo of revision tools in word
showing example
Rewrite a sentence to show not
tell
(1)Aunt Adi had come to visit our
family again. (2)I hated it when she
visited. (3)She was weird. (4)She
wore weird clothes that smelled like
too much perfume. (5)Her hair was
bright red and (6)she always wore
really high heels.
Google Docs
Choose precise words. American
author Mark Twain said it best:
"The difference between the
almost right word and the right
word is really a large matter—
It's the difference between the
lightning bug and the
lightning."
Showing Not Telling
Original Statement:
It was stormy.
Description:
rain, wind, dark, no electricity, lightening, thunder
Revision:
Rain pelted against the windows as branches from a
nearby tree brushed the side of the house. All of
a sudden there was a flash of light and a loud
boom, then the entire house went dark.
http://www.wordle.net/create

Tired word wordle here
Happy….
As a table group brainstorm
‘better’ words for happy.
Enter them into the Google
doc. Think of as many as you
can.
The dreaded….mad, mean, sad,
nice….
How would a person act if he or she was mad?
Mad
Stamps feet
Slam a door
Clench fists
Yell
Comic Life Demonstration

Jeff’s template of the comic life sample
References
Foster, G. and Marasco, T. Exemplars: Your Best Resource to Improve
Student Writing. (2007)
Fletcher, R. What a Writer Needs. (1993)
Olness, R. Using Literature to Enhance Writing Instruction. (2005)
http://www.ttms.org/writing_quality/word_choice.htm
http://www.writingfix.com/
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Group Brainstorm for Wordle Document
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZQ7Rh
68SEwJZGY4Yjg1NHpfNTc1Z3hjM3FjcnE
&hl=en&invite=CLeI0pUF
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Aunt Adi Word choice revision document
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZQ7Rh
68SEwJZGY4Yjg1NHpfNTc0ZjU2dmMyZD
Y&hl=en&invite=COSYg4wF