Name: __________________________ Per: _____ Finding the Focus
Directions: Take each topic and narrow it down to make it personal
for you and manageable for a composition.
For Example:
Topic
Narrowed
Narrowed More
Specific Writing Idea
Your Turn:
Topic
Narrowed
Narrowed
More
Specific
Writing
Idea
Vacations
Pets
The dogs I’ve owned
My dog, Paisley
Paisley running into the
woods at Aunt Lisa’s.
Friends
Family
Home
My house in California
The backyard gazebo
Pretending to ride horses
and getting splinters.
Ideas for Great Hooks Image Paint a picture with words; create a world that the reader cannot wait to get into. Example: A Striking Statement Surprise the reader with something unexpected. Example: Hyperbole Start with a ridiculous exaggeration to get the reader’s attention. Example: Dialogue Starting with dialogue is like introducing the reader to one of your characters. Example: Onomatopoeia What noises are happening in your story? Example: Alliteration A sentence full of alliterated words is sure to sound clever to your reader. Example: Beginnings to Avoid:  “One Day”: One day I was home watching TV when…  “Hi”: Hi there. I’m going to tell you about the time my brother fell out of a tree.  Question: Do you know what it’s like to be in fifth grade? Well I do.  Definition: Friendship is when you and another person get along really well.  Re‐stating the Prompt: Honesty is important because everyone likes it when you are honest. Common Noun: names people, places, things, or ideas Ex/ clothes or city Your turn: ________________________________________ Proper Noun: a noun that names a specific person, place, or thing Ex/ Prosper or Ms. Eckert Your turn: ________________________________________ Collective Noun: a noun that shows a group of people or things Ex/ band or varsity team Your turn: ________________________________________ Possessive Noun: a noun that shows ownership Ex/ dog’s collar or Pilgrims’ ship Your turn: _______________________________________ Concrete and Abstract Nouns: people, places, and things are concrete nouns while ideas are abstract nouns Concrete: pencil, dog, tractor Abstract: courage, fun, honor Count and Non‐Count Nouns: count nouns can be counted while non‐count nouns cannot Count: orange, fish, feet Non‐count: thunder, rain, ants 1. Obedience is an important quality in my dog Paisley. 2. The RMS choir sang in harmony. 3. Joey rode his bicycle to Sonic in the rain. 4. My sister’s cup of cocoa spilled. Directions: Circle each noun and identify what type of noun it is. Personal: takes the place of a common or proper noun Possessive: a pronoun that shows ownership Example: I love to travel. Example: Emma took my pencil. Reflexive: a pronoun that refers back to the subject of the Indefinite: a pronoun that refers to something unspecific sentence Example: Anybody can sign up for the group.
Example: Hunter poured himself a cup of juice. Demonstrative: a pronoun that points to a specific Interrogative: a pronoun used to begin a question person, place, thing Example: Who is ready for the weekend? Example: Those are my books. Possessive Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person Singular I, me you she, her, he, him, it Plural we, us you they, them Reflexive Pronouns
1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person Singular myself yourself himself, herself, itself Singular Plural Used before nouns My, you, his, her, its Our, your, their Used alone Mine, yours, his, hers Ours, yours, theirs Indefinite Pronouns
Singular Plural ourselves yourselves themselves Plural Both Interrogative
what which who whom whose 1. Of all the selfies, I like those best. 2. After Mr. Bradley helped us, we thanked him. 3. I bought myself new clothes. 4. Everyone wants to go to Disneyland. anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something both, few, many, several all, any, most, none, some Demonstrative
Singular this, that Plural these, those Directions: Circle each pronoun and identify what type of it is. Teamwork works.
Themes That Work!
Helping others has rewards.
People don’t always stay loyal.
Change is difficult, but it can be positive.
Hard work pays off.
Time together with loved ones can build relationships.
Patience pays off.
People don’t know how much they love someone until they are gone.
Friends come and go, but family is forever.
Appearance can be deceiving.
Lying often leads to great consequences.
Good friends are hard to find.
Mistakes can be great teachers.
Respect is contagious.
Violence never solves problems.
Actions speak louder than words.
Even talented people need to work hard.
Acceptance is seeing with the heart and not with the eyes.
Achievement has rewards.
Miracles can happen.
Time heals broken hearts.
What is popular is not always right.
What is right is not always popular.
People can get comfort from many things.
Sometimes the bad in life can bring out the good in people.
Never underestimate yourself.
One bad thing may bring many good things.
No man is an island. People need each other.
The consequences of our acts are far-reaching.
People are always in a group, and when there is a group, there is fighting.
Peace is a very hard thing to find.
Thoughts are powerful forces that make things happen.
People need family and friends to survive tragedy.
People often take the most familiar things for granted.