Longman Keystone • Building Bridges
Unit 7
DAILY WRITING FLUENCY PROMPTS
Lesson 1
Accessing Prior Knowledge
Have students make a list of things they already know about plants.
SAY: Make a list of things you already know about plants.
Lesson 2
Freewriting
Draw students’ attention to the photograph of the giant redwood trees on page 168 of the
Student Book. Ask students to freewrite on how they would feel to be in a forest of
redwoods.
SAY: Imagine you are in a forest of giant redwood trees. Freewrite about how
you feel.
Lesson 3
Exposition
Ask students why it is important to know about plants. Have students explain their
responses.
SAY: Why is it important to know about plants? Explain your response.
Lesson 4
Compare and Contrast
Have students compare and contrast an algae plant with a saguaro cactus. Ask how these
plants are alike and how they are different.
SAY: Compare and contrast an algae plant with a saguaro cactus.
Lesson 5
Journal Entry
Have students write a journal entry about their favorite flowers, birds, and insects.
SAY: What are your favorite flowers, birds, and insects? Write about them in a
journal entry.
Lesson 6
Brainstorming
Have students work in pairs. Ask them to think of another kind of cycle, besides the plant
life cycle. [You may want to suggest the seasons of the year.] Have them draw a diagram
and label it.
SAY: Work with a partner. Think of a kind of cycle. Draw a diagram and label
it.
Longman Keystone • Building Bridges
Unit 7
DAILY WRITING FLUENCY PROMPTS
Lesson 7
Metacognition
Ask students how they feel they learn new information better, by reading words or by
studying diagrams and pictures. Have them explain how they think they learn.
SAY: Did you learn more about plants by reading or by studying diagrams and
pictures? Explain how you think you learn best.
Lesson 8
Exposition
Have students pick their favorite part of “Amazing Plants.” Ask them to write an
explanation of this information.
SAY: What information did you find the most interesting in “Amazing Plants”?
Write an explanation of this information. Use your own words.
Lesson 9
Poem
On the board, write this line from “Garden Song,” page 175 in the Student Book: “We are
made of dreams and bones.” Have students write the first draft of a poem using this as the
first line.
SAY: Write a poem that begins with this line: “We are made of dreams
and bones.”
Lesson 10
Visualizing
Have students close their eyes and listen while you describe a scene in a forest. Then ask
student to write what they can imagine would happen there.
SAY: Close your eyes. Imagine a forest, a place with many large trees. Sunlight
comes down in streaks through the leaves. A clear river runs through the forest.
Now, write what you think could happen here.
Lesson 11
Captions
Have students choose one illustration from “Apollo and Daphne” and write a caption that
tells what is happening.
SAY: Choose one illustration from “Apollo and Daphne” and write a caption
that tells part of the story.
Longman Keystone • Building Bridges
Unit 7
DAILY WRITING FLUENCY PROMPTS
Lesson 12
Literary Response
Ask students what they think of the ending of this myth. Have them explain whether it is
happy, sad, or something in between.
SAY: What do you think of the ending of this myth? Do you feel sorry for Apollo?
Do you feel sorry for Daphne? Why do you think people told this myth?
Lesson 13
Play
Have students think about how they would show Daphne turning into a tree on stage.
Have student write an explanation of the best way to show this.
SAY: How would you show Daphne turning into a tree on stage? Explain how
your idea would work.
Lesson 14
Pre-writing
Have students choose a thing in nature to tell about in a myth. Have them write notes on
what would happen in the myth.
SAY: Choose a thing in nature to tell about in a myth. Write notes on what would
happen in the myth.
Lesson 15
Poem
Have students choose a plant to write a poem to, as the poet did in “Giant Silent
Redwood” on page 183 of the Student Book. Suggest that students use the line, “tell me
what you know.”
SAY: Write a poem to a plant. Ask the plant to tell you what it knows.
Lesson 16
Comparative Adjectives
Write these words on the board: tall, taller; loud, louder; nice, nicer. Review the
meaning of the words. Ask student to write sentences with each comparative form.
SAY: Write sentences comparing two things. Use the words taller, louder, and
nicer.
Longman Keystone • Building Bridges
Unit 7
DAILY WRITING FLUENCY PROMPTS
Lesson 17
Description
Have students describe a fruit they like. Have them tell about the skin, the seeds, and the
taste.
SAY: Describe a fruit you like to eat. Tell about how it tastes, what the skin feels
like, and whether it has one seed or several.
Lesson 18
Exposition
Have students write two paragraphs. In one they can tell something they learned about
plants. In the other they can tell something they learned about animals, in this or an
earlier unit.
SAY: Write a paragraph telling something you have learned about plants. Write
another paragraph telling something you have learned about animals.