Posts Tagged writing

Writing Prompts: How to Make Yours Shine

By on December 4, 2024   /   Articles, For Writers  
A writer's Notebook
Writing prompts, whether in a classroom or workshop setting, can be hit or miss–especially if the prompt is too general. If you ask students to choose an object in the classroom, for instance, half of them might focus on the ancient clock on the wall and how slowly the second hand moves from numeral to numeral. Or, if you ask students to write about a specific event in their lives, they might fall back on vague and/or generic descriptions that lack the tension required in strong writing. (The “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” and “I Remember…” prompts fall squarely into this category.)

Don’t get me wrong: Tried-and-true writing prompts are good in a pinch. But there are some excellent craft books available to help teachers, workshop leaders, parents and caregivers to infuse excitement and originality into their everyday prompts.

 

Help Is On the Way

Writing Workshop book

One of my favorite writing-craft gurus is Ralph Fletcher, an educator who’s been helping other educators since the early 2000s. His first craft book, co-authored with JoAnn Portalupi, Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide, is a great guide for teachers, students, and workshop leaders. In this book, Fletcher breaks up ideas into days and weeks to help with lesson plans. His most recent book (pictured above), A Writers Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You, helps writers to see their world and, perhaps most importantly, how to react to what they see. 

Advice from Ralph Fletcher

Ralph Fletcher


1. Make sure each writer has a writer’s notebook.
2. Provide adequate writing time of at least five minutes and up to 15 or 20 minutes, if everyone’s fully engaged. Ideas don’t just fly across space to land in a writer’s brain (well, at least not all the time).
3. Share a piece of your own writing before everyone starts writing. And write with them.
4. It’s okay to let workshoppers draw rather than write as all forms of creative expression are encouraged.
5. Help your group to find ideas by asking questions and sharing prompts.

Some great first workshop examples include:
–What do you know a lot about?
–Do you play sports, or enjoy an activity such as dance or chess?
–Who’s a special relative you spend lots of time with?
–Do you collect stuff?

Fletcher, a big believer in tying writing prompts to reading, provides some great ideas for read-alouds connected to writing:

—The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. Write about a time you had relatives come to your house. What were you celebrating?  

— Marianthe’s Story: Painted Words Spoken Memories by Aliki. What is a color-filled memory you have? 

 — If You Find a Rock by Peggy Christianson. Write about a found object and the things you might do with it.              

— My Map Book by Sara Fanelli.  Create a map of an object or place. Explain in writing how the object works or what makes this place special.                                  

When time is up, ask participants to share their work, even if they’re not finished, and encourage them to come back to these pieces later. You never know what a bit of time and distance can reveal.

And finally…

If all else fails, you could probably encourage writers to write about all the places chewing gum gets stuck. But I need to add one more thought on my favorite writing prompt from Ralph’s toolbox. Have students write or draw what makes a safe place. The result of this prompt is both surprising and revelatory… in equal measure. 

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STEM Tuesday– Spy Science and Cryptography– Book List

By on December 3, 2024   /   Cryptography/Spy Science, STEM Tuesday  

From ancient ciphers to modern-day digital encryption techniques, this month’s book list explores the science, technology, engineering, and math that make code-making (and code-breaking) possible.

 

 

 

 

The Enigma Girls written by Candace Fleming

It all began with a letter in an unmarked envelope received by ten teenage girls. It was World War II, and the British were desperate to break the German Enigma code. Instead of turning to cryptographers, these women were responsible for Bletchley Park, a well-kept secret operating under the code name Station X. Award winning author Candace Fleming spins an engaging narrative based on true facts.

 

 

Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis’ Secret Code by Rebecca Barone

Rebecca Barone jumps across the European continent to trace the history of the Enigma machine, an encryption device invented by the Germans and thought to be unbreakable. Barone highlights the international collaboration among Polish, French, and British spies and codebreakers that made it possible to break the Enigma cipher and secure victory for the Allies during World War II. This well-researched nonfiction book reads like a spy novel, and readers will be riveted from the first page to the last.

 

 

Can You Crack the Code?  written by Ella Schwartz and illustrated by Lily Williams

This book focuses on the history of ciphers and codes. It’s well laid out with great illustrations and would be a great fit for aspiring cryptographers and anyone who loves secret codes, ciphers, and puzzles. It includes historical stories and explanations on how letters, numbers, and symbols can translate into understandable text. The book also features sample codes to solve yourself and resources at the end.

 

 

Create Your Own Secret Language written by David J. Peterson and illustrated by Ryan Goldsberry

This how-to book will help children learn how to create their own secret language, codes, ciphers, and hidden messages. David J. Peterson is an expert language creator who invented languages for Game of Thrones, the Marvel Universe, and more. KIds can learn how to communicate in secret whether it’s written, drawn, or spoken. The illustrations are especially useful.

 

 

 

Code Cracking for Kids by Jean Daigneau

Another essential volume about codes and ciphers, this book provides a comprehensive history of “secret writing,” from hieroglyphics and invisible ink to ciphers, bar codes, and semaphores. Sprinkled throughout the text are instructions for 21 hands-on activities that give aspiring cryptologists a chance to try their hand at making and breaking their own codes.

 

 

CodeBreakers by DK Publishing

This book provides an overview of the greatest code makers and code-breakers in history through easy to read stories to engage young readers. Examples are deciphering the Rosetta Stone and cracking the Enigma code during World War II. The book includes a reference section with key facts, timelines, and a glossary of terms. It’s easy to navigate with eye popping illustrations.

 

 

Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers by Lee Francis IV, Roy Boney Jr., Arigon Starr, Jonathan Nelson, Renee Nejo, and Lee Francis III

Created by six Native American authors and illustrators, this fascinating graphic novel tells the history of Native American code talkers in the United States military. While the Navajo code talkers of World War II are the best known, this book sheds light on the many other tribes who served in Navy, Army, and Marines, beginning with the Cherokee and Choctaw during World War I. Because tribal languages were not based in Latin or written down, they became the basis for an unbreakable code that led to victories in both world wars. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in codes and cryptography!

 

 

Top Secret: Spies, Codes, Capers, Gadgets, and Classified Cases Revisited by Crispin Boyer

This book is essentially a kid-focused encyclopedia covering a slew of interesting and historical information in a fun and creative way, from Egyptian hieroglyphics to gaming nomenclature. Young readers will learn tricks of the spy trade, get the scoop behind sleuthing, and discover all kinds of skills, like how ninjas walked on water. The texts are easy to read and are paired with engaging pictures and illustrations.

 

 

 

How to Be an International Spy by Andy Briggs

Structured as a training manual for wannabe spies, this engaging book contains factoids about intelligence agencies around the world, demystifies the lingo used in espionage, and features profiles of real spies from history. There are extensive sections devoted to cryptography, digital espionage and cybersecurity, high-tech tools (including instructions for how to make your own), and even tips and tricks for conducting surveillance and going off the grid.

 

 

 

Top Secret Science: Projects You’re Not Supposed to Know About by Jennifer Swanson

Scientists have been on the front lines of secret projects throughout history, from encryption to weapons development to human experimentation. Part of the Scary Science series, the six short chapters in this easy-to-read book introduce readers to the Manhattan Project, Operation Vegetarian, Nazi experimentation, and more.

 

 

 

This month’s STEM Tuesday book list was prepared by:

Author Lydia Lukidis

 

Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 50+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights (Albert Whitman, 2024), DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023), which is a Crystal Kite winner, Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honor, and Cybils Award nominee. A science enthusiast from a young age, she now incorporates her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Another passion of hers is fostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops she regularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in the Schools program. For more information, please visit www.lydialukidis.com.

 

author Callie Dean

 

Callie Dean is a researcher, writer, and musician living in Shreveport, LA. She writes stories that spark curiosity and encourage kids to explore their world. Her first picture book will be published in 2026. For more information, please visit https://calliebdean.com.

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STEM Tuesday — Human Body– Writing Tips & Resources

By on November 19, 2024   /   Human Body, STEM Tuesday  

I am in constant awe of the human body. The sheer magnificence of what our bodies do every second of every minute of every day is remarkable.

Recently, neuroscientists at Princeton released a complete neural map of the fruit fly’s miniscule brain. This connectome showed all the connections and cell types in the brain giving insight into processing that can help understand the nuts and bolts of a neurological system. Since the fruit fly brain resembles the basic functionality of a human brain, but on a larger magnitude and complexity, knowing how the system works fundamentally will lead to discoveries toward treating human neurological diseases. 

(Side Note: The one fact that caught my attention in the Princeton research was their measurement of the total length of neuron wiring in the fruit fly brain. Although the size of a grain of sand, the fruit fly brain contains about 300 feet of wiring. That’s the size of an American football field! Mind blown!)

When you think of the human body, Newtonian physics is usually not the first thing that pops into your head. Or second. Or third. It’s probably somewhere in the hundreds or thousands on that list. Despite the tendency to dissociate physics from biology, we will wander down that path today to incorporate Sir Issac’s three laws of motion into this STEM Tuesday Writing Tips and Resources post. Please pardon my creative liberty in interchanging Newton’s physics body with the human body. 

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

  • A body at rest remains at rest, and a body in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

A classic example of the first law of motion is to place a heavy steel ball on a flat surface or table. The ball remains static until it is pushed or the surface is titled. It then moves in a straight line until it falls off the table and lands on your big toe. Then it stops.

The first law also applies to the creative life. For the ideas bouncing around our brain’s connectome to exist, we have to make them exist. Just like the way our bodies feel and work better when we move them, i.e. exercise, the creative object needs to be in action. A creator has to apply a force instead of waiting for the heavy steel ball of an idea to move on its own. 

  • One has to write to write. 
  • One has to draw to draw. 

Simple creative physics I believe Newton would approve of.

  • The acceleration of a body depends on the mass of the object and the amount of force applied. 

As creators, we understand the power of creative momentum. When we are in that zone, we are cooking on our projects. The amount of force moves the mass of the object forward. However, when the words come hard and the mass overcomes the level of force we can generate 

The struggle is real. 

What can we do? I often fall back on my training as an athlete/strength coach and throughout my 35+ year research microbiology career and look to the Fail Cycle for guidance. 

  • Try something new or hard and fail. 
  • Step back and do the work to improve. 
  • Attempt the challenge again. 
  • Repeat until the challenge is overcome. 
  • Set a new goal.

The Fail Cycle philosophy provides a plan of attack. It allows for hope when it seems our creative path is blocked. Trying, failing, improving, and trying again is the tilt for our creativity table to get the heavy, steel ball of creativity rolling.

  • Whenever one body exerts a force on another body, the second body exerts an equal and opposite on the first.

Creative people have lives. Lives can, and often do, get in the way of creative work. If we have our heavy, steel ball rolling comfortably along, that second object exerts its opposing force. Life gets in the way. Sometimes we even get in our own way. No matter what the source, something inevitably affects the flow.

What can we do? Go with the flow!

Accept the fact these opposing forces are part of the game. Instead of coming to a halt, look at them as a redirect and redirect your energies accordingly. It’s not the easiest thing to do. 

I fall back on a 1980-ish interview with the great Ray Bradbury that showed him in his office surrounded by desks on three sides, each with a typewriter. He told the interviewer he always has multiple writing projects on each typewriter station. When he ran into a dead end on one project, he rolled his office chair to another typewriter and worked on the next project. He said his mind had been working on the other projects as they sat there, so his creative mind was ready to roll when he rolled to the previously abandoned project.

He redirected his creative energy to adjust to the opposing force. 

When that heavy steel ball falls off the table directly over your big toe, move your foot out of the way and follow where it rolls. 

I think Ray Bradbury and Issac Newton would have hit it off fairly well, don’t you?

Good luck! Keep creating and doing what you do. Now, more than ever, the world needs you and your work!

Thank you for reading!

 

Bokkyu Kim at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal-opportunity sports enthusiast, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/life/training-related topics at www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.com. Two of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101,  are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming Bluesky under the guise of @mikehays64.bsky.social and @MikeHays64 on Instagram.

 

The O.O.L.F Files

This month on the Out Of Left Field (O.O.L.F.) Files focus on the human body from the perspective of Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. 

What Are Newton’s Laws of Motion? Newton’s First, Second and Third Laws of Motion? (via ThoughtCo.com)

Mapping an entire (fly) brain: A step toward understanding diseases of the human brain (Princeton News)

Physiopedia: Introduction to Human Biomechanics – External Forces

     The basics of how the human body moves with a correlation to Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion.

Innerbody Anatomy Explorer

It’s a pretty cool site to explore twelve major anatomy systems.

Skeletal System

 

 

 

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