Teaching
Word Choice
Section 11
CD Contents
Precise Vocabulary
p. 2
Bull’s Eye icon
p. 3
Shades of Meanings
pp. 4-6
Shades of Words
p. 7
Web of Synonyms
p. 8
R.I.P. Words
p. 9
Retired Words
Strong Verbs
p. 10
p. 11
p. 12
R.I.P. Verbs
Gettin’ Better Verbs template
Avoid Weak Verbs— Autumn original and revision
Sensory Description
p. 13
p. 14
p. 15
p. 16
p. 17
p. 18
p. 19
p. 20
p. 21
p. 22
Autumn
At the Bakery
Sensory Star student sample
Sensory Star template
Fall-Walk Single Sentence Contest Entries
Mouthwatering Menu— original
Mouthwatering Menu— revision
Mouthwatering Menu— Shoeshine Diner
Mouthwatering Menu— Rainforest Revolution
Mouthwatering Menu— Little Rowhouse
Show, Don’t Tell
p. 23
Faces template
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
1
Word Choice
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Trait Icon
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
2
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Shades of Words collected by North Dearborn Elementary fourth grader (Guilford, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
3
Shades of Words
Red
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Shades of Words crayon example
Blue
Green
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
4
Shades of Words
Red
Blue
Green
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Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Shades of Words Template
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
5
Shades of Words
Purple
Orange/Yellow
Brown/Gray
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Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Shades of Words Template
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
6
Web of Synonyms
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Shades of Words: Web of Synonyms by Horace Mann Elementary second graders (Huntington, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
7
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
R.I.P/ Dead Words
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
8
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Retired Words
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
9
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
R.I.P/ Dead Verbs
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
10
Gettin’ Better Verbs
DIRECTIONS: Replace each get/ got with a stronger action verb without repeating any verbs.
1. When I went to camp, I got a head cold.
__________________
2. After dinner, my dad got a phone call from his boss.
__________________
3. Jerry listened to the teacher explain the lesson, but he still didn’t get it. ________________
4. When will we get our school pictures taken?
__________________
5. Ellen got an A- on her test.
__________________
6. When dad sold his lawnmower, he got $1500.00 for it.
__________________
7. Mom got all the items on her grocery list with a coupon.
__________________
8. My dad thought he knew the directions, but he got mixed up. __________________
9. We got to the theater late and missed the opening act.
__________________
10. My sister got free tickets for the concert next week.
__________________
11. During our camping trip, I got bit by several mosquitoes. __________________
12. My teacher asked me how I got my unusual name.
__________________
13. Dad got lost when we went on vacation this summer.
__________________
14. Mom got really upset with my brother.
__________________
15. Do you get that you shouldn’t use “get” as a verb?
__________________
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Replacing Weak Verbs: Sentences spoken by Indian Springs Middle School students during passing period (Columbia City, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
11
X
Autumn
The sky is filled with leaves, autumn’s snow, on the
X
earth. The giddy children have the brittle leaves in piles
and can smell their earthy aroma. Chocolate chip cookies
X
X
X
are baking to gooey perfection in toasty kitchens as the
X
wind goes around the house. The trees are sad as they
X
let go of the crimson leaves. The Harvest moon is behind
X
a cloud and is high up above during this autumn night.
Avoid Dead Verbs!
Autumn
Leaves tumble out of the sky, autumn’s snow, dust-
ing the earth. The giddy children gather up the brittle
leaves and bury themselves in their earthy aroma.
Chocolate chip cookies bake to gooey perfection in toasty
kitchens as the wind dashes around the house. The trees
shiver and sigh, losing their feeble grasp on the crimson
leaves. The Harvest moon peeps out behind a cloud and
governs the autumn night.
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Avoiding Dead Verbs: Writing by St. John-Emmanuel Lutheran School eighth grader (Monroeville, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
12
Autumn
I sip my hot apple cider as I look out the window to
watch the leaves slowly float to the ground. The woods
are filled with trees of various shades, ranging from
blood red scarlet to pale yellow-tan. I observe my
family carving creepy faces into pumpkins, and that
familiar scent of the slimy insides, of the pumpkins,
enters my nose. Squealing neighbor kids are jumping in
lumpy piles of leaves while their mother rakes up more.
A pumpkin pie comes out of the oven, warm with melting
whip-cream running down the sides.
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Sensory Description: Writing by St. John-Emmanuel Lutheran School seventh grader (Monroeville, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
13
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Sensory Description: Writing by South Adams Middle School fourth grader (Geneva, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
14
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Sensory Star by Highland Terrance Elementary School fifth grader (Ft. Wayne, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
15
Sensory Star
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Sensory Star template
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
16
Fall-Walk Single Sentence Contest Entries
One freezing cold day the sun’s warmth vanished away.
A brownish oak leaf lies on the ground with white frost outlining it like lace.
The giant oak tree with the shape of a moon in it waits for fall to be over.
The tip of one small leaf is all that remains green on this plant.
When the wind blows, the weeds make a noise like a shaking rattlesnake tail.
The blowing wind carries the light seeds into the field.
I walk in the wind as the crackling leaves cling to my feet.
The snake hole was too small for my hand to fit in it.
In the chilly air, flying beautifully, two birds circled through the soft but smeared clouds.
Dead, ripped-up yellow grass blows all over the dirty ground.
The leaves turn scarlet, dandelion, and cherry in the fall.
The wind blows wildly through the bare tree.
Red and blue birds sing to the world, and when the wind stops blowing, they start to sing again.
A robin chirps madly at a squirrel.
In the shiny, blue sky not many clouds float over the trees with no leaves.
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Fall Walk Contest Entries by Lincoln Elementary School fourth graders (Huntington, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
17
Mouthwatering Menu— First Draft
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Mouthwatering Menu: First draft by Leo Elementary School fifth grader (Leo, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
18
Mouthwatering Menu— Revision
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Mouthwatering Menu: Revision by Leo Elementary School fifth grader (Leo, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
19
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Mouthwatering Menu example by Triton Elementary fourth grader (Fairland, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
20
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
20
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Mouthwatering Menu example by Triton Elementary fourth grader (Fairland, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
21
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
21
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Mouthwatering Menu example by Triton Elementary fourth grader (Fairland, IN)
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
22
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
22
Section 11: Teaching Word Choice lesson
Show, Don’t Tell
Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades 3-12 , Kristina Smekens & Maureen Scane
 2010 Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
23