I know this is old but I am stuck in February. . . and after reading responses, felt that this question had more possibilities.
If one wants to add voice to magazine type articles and keep the article from being "bland," one must write MORE than facts by adding one or more of the following: • strong voice - when the writer is talking to the reader • opinion - what the writer believes • story - that which contains story elements like character, setting plot, movement through time. Example: All insects have six legs (fact). Ants are insects(fact). Some ants bite people(fact). One time my little brother was playing with ants and they crawled up his pants. My mom sprayed my brother with the water hose to get them off. (story) They are horrible little creatures (opinion). Have you ever seen them on a kitchen counter (strong voice)? Millions can show up just to eat the jelly off the crust of a sandwich(opinion). Children can divide a sheet of paper in half length wise. On one side they list the facts. On the other is a reflection about each fact. It is in the reflection part (what I think about the fact) that Voice traits come out. Example: Fact: All insects have six legs. Reflection: If I had six legs I would be able to run farther than humans (opinion). I think Moms would be irritated if kids had six legs and they had to buy shoes for all of those feet (opinion). Why do insects need six legs (strong voice)? Hope this is helpful. Ruby ----- Original Message ---- From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, February 5, 2008 9:24:34 PM Subject: [MOSAIC] Voice Help! My students are currently working on writing magazine articles about the topic of their choice. They are really into this because they are responsible for writing the article and formatting it as well. I am noticing that while the student’s work is very organized with good topic sentences and supporting details, as a whole, their articles are very bland making it almost painful to read at times. Does anyone have any suggestions or mini-lessons focusing on the author’s voice? I have tried to give them various models of the purpose and importance of voice in writing, but many of them are not taking any risks in their writing. Any ideas? _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
