Hawthorne Writing Mentoring Resources

The following is a list of several resources I consulted and used in various fashions during my month of writing mentoring at Hawthorne School:

6+1 Writing Traits:
http://www.plattscsd.org/parents/6+1overview.pdf

Poetry BLMs and Activities:
http://etfo-ots.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Poetry-Unit.pdf

A mid summer's night dream resource:
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/msnd/

Textbook:

Peterson, S. S. (2008). Writing across the curriculum: All teachers teach writing. 2nd Ed. Winnipeg: Portage & Main Press.



Speed Scrabble Game:

Students will use Scrabble letter tiles from the board game Scrabble to create their own crosswords. This game can be done individually, in pairs or in teams. This game is a fun way to have students expand their vocabulary  and improve their spelling while being creative in creating their own unique crossword. It’s also a great alternative to playing an entire game of scrabble (which can take an hour + especially with low ability spellers) as speed scrabble can be done in a very short amount of time. The game can be shortened or extended based on the amount of tiles you give each student/group.

How to play:

Each student is given 10 scrabble tiles at random from the bag. Using those tiles students must create their own crosswords, by spelling words with their tiles.  All of their words must be attached together in some fashion just like a crossword. If I student gets stuck with their letters (no vowels or difficult letters) they are allowed to trade up to 4 of their tiles back into the scrabble bag for new ones. Students can be awarded points for their created crosswords based on the time it takes for them to complete the task, based on the length of their words or the difficult (point values) of their letters.