Thursday, April 26, 2012

Instead of Said

Hello Everyone!
Just another quick post tonight. (I know all my posts have been quick lately) Today we worked a little more on dialogue in our reading and writing.  We worked on different ways to say "said."  "Said" sometimes gets a little boring and the pictures in our heads are not as clear as when we use words like "hollered" or "whined." We brainstormed other words to use instead of "said" on to our newest anchor chart. The kiddos then had the opportunity to become Sentence Surgeons again.  This time they had to choose a sentence (the patient), and cut out the "said."  Then they selected a new word to use instead of "said." After performing the surgery, they had to share their new improved sentences with the class.  Great job, Doctors!!! 













Thanks for taking a peek today!!
 "Stop by agin soon," said  pleaded Mrs. V. :)
Joyfully!
Nancy

6 comments:

  1. I love the "surgery" to improve the sentences! What a fun activity for the kiddos.


    First Grade Delight
    imgoingfirst@gmail.com

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  2. Hi! I just found your blog and LOVE it! This sentence surgeon idea is fabulous, but I can't download it. Could you please email these activities to me at neesy81aol.com? Thank you so much!

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  3. Thanks everyone! Genese- Check your e-mail! I just sent you the unit! I also added a new link to this post so you can get it here as well!
    Thanks!
    Nancy

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  4. No, no, no. I wish all teachers would take this poster down! It is wrong to teach kids to use words other than said or asked! Any editor in the world (me being one of them, clearly) will tell you a piece submitted with words like "pleaded" or "whispered" (worse yet — shrieked?!) will get thrown out as garbage. You might think 1) this is just a good way to learn vocab at a young age and 2) they'll learn the correct rule by high school. There are tons of other fun ways to learn vocab, like spicing up regular sentences rather than quotes or making these posters for other over used words. And no one teaches the real stylistic rule in high school. People don't learn this until they get their first notes back from an editor and then they think their editor is wrong or trying to be too journalistic — and really it is the teachers getting this horrible idea forever ingrained in the memory of young kids that are wrong. None of these children will ever be writers!

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