Martha Lamb, Curriculum Specialist Catawba County Schools, February 2007 SLAP That Paper! Add Details & Elaborate

SLAP That Paper! Tell a Story What does it Look like? Invite them to be All that! Pop a question!

Tell a Story Tell a little story that explains your point or gives an example of what you are writing about It might be a story from one of your experiences, or something that happened to a friend You can make it up and tell it as if it is the truth

What does it Look like? Write descriptively Instead of telling about something, show it Use any of the 5 senses: tell how it looks, feels, sounds, smells, or tastes Give any other information you know to describe something

Invite them to be All that! Think of a way your reader would like to be described OR Think of a group your reader would like to be a part of –Name it, and invite your reader to be all that!

Pop a question! Ask a question with an obvious answer that supports your position, for example: (for someone who is in favor of seat belts) Would you rather wear a seat belt or die on the highway?

Tell a Story You see, we have already been to the Biltmore House in Asheville. We went last year when we were in the sixth grade. Yes, it may cost less, and yes, it’s not a long ride, but we have already been there.

Tell a Story You see, we have already been to the Biltmore House in Asheville. We went last year when we were in the sixth grade. Yes, it may cost less, and yes, it’s not a long ride, but we have already been there. Imagine the scene that would take place if we went to the Biltmore House again. The bus finally arrives in Asheville, and we drive down the long driveway to the big mansion. You turn around and face the students, and this is what you hear the kids say: “Here we are, the Biltmore House, AGAIN. Do we HAVE to walk through all three levels? Can we just skip the house and go to the gift shop? What do you mean, we’re going through the gardens? It’s just a bunch of trees and plants. Can we just wait on the bus?” You feel disappointed, but it all could have been different if you had let us go to the White House instead.

What does it Look like? It is also important that you realize that the White House is a very educational place. Isn’t that the most important thing to schools? We could see where our president lives. We could also visit other nearby attractions, such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian, and the Pentagon.

What does it Look like? It is also important that you realize that the White House, a beautiful white-columned mansion rising up from its grassy lawn on Pennsylvania Avenue is a very educational place. Isn’t that the most important thing to schools? We could see where our president lives. We could also visit other nearby attractions that represent so many important aspects of our nation’s history, such as the larger than life statue of one of our nation’s greatest presidents, the Lincoln Memorial. We could also gaze upon the structure built to honor our country’s very first president, the Washington Memorial. We could run our hands along the engraved names on the Vietnam Memorial and try to remember the many thousands of soldiers that lost their lives trying to keep our nation free. We could recall the horrible things that happened to the Jewish people when we visit the Holocaust Museum. We could also visit the Smithsonian, and the Pentagon.

Invite them to be All that! Please make the right choice for us, the choice that gives us more education and more fun: send us to the White House in Washington, D.C.

Invite them to be All that! Intelligent principals know what is best for their students, and the best trip for us is one that is new, educational, and fun. Please make the right choice for us, the choice that gives us more education and more fun: send us to the White House in Washington, D.C.

Pop a question! Another thing to consider is that we kids could have a lot of fun on a trip to the White House! We would get to stay in a hotel, go on tours, shop, and even go to the national zoo.

Pop a question! Another thing to consider is that we kids could have a lot of fun on a trip to the White House! We would get to stay in a hotel, go on tours, shop, and even go to the national zoo. Would you prefer for your students to have fun on their field trip, or be bored out of their brains?

SLAP That Paper! Tell a Story What does it Look like? Invite them to be All that! Pop a question! SLAP your way to success in writing!