Canvasing Writing Ideas

This is a larger view of the picture needed to complete one of the lino writing activities.


Click on the canvas and begin your assignment for improving on writing attention getters, using vivid verbs and specific nouns, and writing with syntactic variety.

Here are the results to some great collaborative writing! Lino Activity

Walkin' in Memphis with MapSkip

Our latest writing assignment was to write a five paragraph essay about helping our friends from Nespelem School learn a little bit about our life in Memphis, TN. We wanted to show them around town by identifying and writing about the city's hot spots.

The writing process was used to help turn a few ideas into a well developed ESSAY. Some of the great attention getters that were used to hook the reader are as follows:

• What city has the best barbecue, is home to the king of rock-and-roll, and is always hopping?
  
• The sweet sound of Memphis blues fills the streets of Memphis.
• "Yes!" I exclaim, with a rib in my hand, while the Memphis Tigers' point guard, Tyreke Evans, makes a three pointer against Tennessee. Oh, how I adore the Memphis Tigers and ribs.
• This city is like a playground for hyper children, but even more entergetic. This awing urban area is known as the soul of the Mid-south.
• Exhilarated, enthusiastic, and fully prepared, the sightseers are eager to arrive.
• "Walkin' in Memphis" is a song of the great City of Blues.
• Get ready to “put on your blue suede shoes” and head to the “land of the Delta Blues!"
• Dismissing the powder-like snow from my mind I thought about Bar-B-Q, basketball, and blues. As I took off on a plane from Denver I wondered what it would be like to show an out of town person the sights of my hometown, Memphis.
• The birth place of the blues, the new city sensation, and the loving generations make up the great city of Memphis!
  
• Sights, sounds, and great food are all a part of one of the greatest cities in the United States.
• Rendezvous, Graceland, and Beale Street are Memphis at its finest, but the Tigers, Grizzlies, and all the Rock n' Roll are, too.
• Flashy lights and beautiful music bring the town of Memphis to life everyday. When Memphis comes to life you have no chance of stopping it.
• The sky revealed its blanket of blue over Memphis, the city of history. Over time, many things have changed in our aged city, but some have not moved on.

After putting the finishing touches on the essays, it was time to take our visitors to these locations on the map. Each student located a favorite Memphis site and added a descriptive paragraph of support from the essay. Before long, stories were present all over the city and pictures were uploaded to provide a great visual.

To complete our unfinished project, we will be adding our voices which is another great feature of MapSkip. We hope our friends from Nespelem School will enjoy learning about Memphis history and its many wonderful sites. Before long, they will have the option of listening to them as well. Click on the picture for a short cut to MapSkip.

Here is a direct link to St. Jude in Memphis, TN where a student added his voice. Click here!



We have received a wonderful message from the co-founder of MapSkip where he comments on the fabulous work that the PDS boys have done! Check it out by clicking on the links below:

First Message
Second Message
Third message
Fourth Message

Prezi Presentation Using Linking Verbs

We have been practicing using linking verbs, distinguishing between linking and action verbs, and justifying why one is better to use to enhance writing than the other one is.

Prezi.com is a nonlinear presentation that allows so many options that a PowerPoint can't. It is a great way to display information, and at the same time, provide visual representations by uploading pictures, drawing arrows or lines, highlighting, etc. It is a great way for a visual learner to analyze a sentence for parts of speech. The frames on Prezi can help to organize and keep ideas separate, and a path can be created for the order in which the information can be presented.

I am looking forward to an opportunity for the students to be able to have their own account because it will benefit all of the different learning styles.

PDS Meets Nespelem School

Google Map of Grand Coulee Dam, WA and Memphis, TN

Out of the several listed "hot spots" of Memphis, which three would you recommend to Nespelem school? Give specific reasons to support your location of choice that is flagged on Google Map.

Connecting Perspectives

Connecting Perspectives: Honor the Past to Plan the Future



Nespelem School

Living History | Linking Friends | Honoring Pasts | Valuing Visions

A WebQuest for 5th Grade Language Arts and Humanities


Presbyterian Day School