We see the word “stuff” and “thing” far too frequently in our student
pieces! Strong nouns are words
that help surpass the word choice for “stuff” and “thing” Examples of these
words: cheeseburger, aunt ,
sister, cousin, car, dog, or street.
Word choice is one of the essential keys to moving a piece to next
level. Student pieces are more
powerful with specific details (they provide a specific information for their
reader).
For instance, a second grader is writing about walking his/her dog. Dog is left open to interpretation of
what kind of dog is the child walking with an unclear vision of the
action. This is not a powerful
visual for the reader. If the same
child replaces the word dog with Pit-bull or Great Dane, well the piece has a
whole new meaning and picture in the reader’s mind of the dog dragging the child
along! The child is barely holding
on to the leash, since that specific dog is so much bigger than a Second
grader.
Have children be very specific of names, addresses, numbers, amounts, or brand
names etc in their planning and writing. This will help them move their
pieces. Word choice should be a
focus craft twice a week and repeated every week.
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