Show, not Tell-- Exploring Author's Craft

"Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin’s hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry’s eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water. . . ."

-Harry Potter, The Prisoner of Azkaban

Whew!  Talk about character description: "glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed"  Adjectives GALORE!

This reminds me of the "Tell -- Show" strategy I used to use with my 5th-grade students (see this link to find this lesson)

The task as a writer is to get all of those important details into the mind of the reader.  For this activity, have students take ONE sentence from their story and place it on the left side of a two-column chart.  On the right hand side, place the heading title, "what your reader needs to know."

Here's an example:

So, instead of saying, "A hand popped up" The author (J.K. Rowling) builds the image though lots of details.

In a WW format, students can pick one average sentence from their writing, complete the "Tell-Show" activity and build an amazing sentence.  This is a great step to later refer to in the revising stage of writing.  During revising with future drafts, students may need to pick 2 sentences, for example, to improve using the "Tell-Show" strategy.

I look forward to discovering more of J.K. Rowling's craft for details as I continue through Book Three in the Harry Potter series!

Petrified

Petrified

Definition: So frightened one is unable to move.  Terrified.

Yes, there is a dark force lurking at Hogwarts-- the air of Syltherin--and no one knows who are what is causing students to become petrified, turning to stone. This is due to the Chamber of Secrets, who according to legend, can only be opened by the air of Syltherin.   The latest victim, Hermione Granger.  When something petrifies Harry's best friend, things are getting serious.  

I'm in the thick of the plot and clues are starting to unveil.  One big question rolling around in my brain relates to Harry's belonging.  Does he really belong in the  Gryffindor, or, was he truly meant for Slytherin.  It was the Slytherin house the sorting hat recommended. The hat felt strongly of his connection to the Slytherin house.  Some are saying Harry is the air of Slytherin.  We learned up to this point in the story that he can speak in Snake tongue.  This along with more and more connections are being shared between Harry's wizard abilities and Voldemort's (the "you know who" evil wizard!)  

Is Harry the yen and Voldemort the yang?  This is a strong internal struggle for Harry at this point in the story.  We want to root for Harry and we know he represents good, but why is he so connected to the Slytherin house? Without knowledge of about his family (since they all died when he was born), we just aren't sure . . . .yet.    

And, another question at this point in the story  . . . why isn't anyone considering Voldemort as the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets????  Sometimes I want to give Harry and his friends a few tips on who to consider!  Seriously!  

I am nearly finished with this novel and anticipate much will happen here in the next few chapters.  

Dr. K

And the Magic Continues

I'm excited to share that my daughter and I are now into the 2nd Harry Potter book!  Even better, the audio on hold is now available so my commute to campus will help my progress (and the 4-hours I will be in the car tomorrow when I dive to Ft. Wayne and back for a presentation :)   What I wanted to point out this week is the use of transitions.  In a book series, the author has a difficult task, which is recapping the story from the previous book(s).  It's been a while since I've read books in a series.  I found Rowling is a master and embedding the history of the story within the first few chapters of the book.  

In chapter 2, Harry gets a warning from a house elf named Dobby.  Dobby talks in third person-kind of like Elmo in Sesame Street.  Rowling is able to weave it the tension between Harry and the "you know who" (aka Voldemort) that began in the first book and will continue through the plot of this narrative.  

"“Dobby heard tell,” he said hoarsely, “that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time, just weeks ago . . . that Harry Potter escaped yet again.”

Here you can see that this opens up the conversation to revisit the climax in the first story.  Well, Dobby has a warning.  Harry is NOT to go back to Hogwarts because bad misfortune is lurking.  This sets the tension and now the plot thickens!  

On another note, for anybody who has read the series, Isn't the Weasley family just hilarious!  

Wow, this week I finished The Girl Who Drank the Moon--so much emotion in this Newbery winning novel.  

The anticipation--as Luna approached 13 years, I felt the anticipation of her magic ready to burst!  

Pain--If felt the mother's pain for the loss of her child, being taken to be sacrificed unnecessarily.  

This story is so well plotted, it became impossible to put down.  She develops strong female characters.. all who at some point in the story carry a supernatural ability.  It's about growing up, finding your center, and then your way back home.  

I'm noticing the swing in narrators lately in the books I've been reading.  In Ch8, the narrator begins to speak on behalf of the Protectorate. Sharing the cultural beliefs and background for their traditions.   This craft of using narrator switching to reveal points of view is one I would share, examine, and implement in a writer's workshop classroom.  This reminds me of Wonder, in which chapter transition to various viewpoints.  

I found this review comment and found it sums the text up nicely, 

The swiftly paced, highly imaginative plot draws a myriad of threads together to form a web of characters, magic, and integrated lives. Spiritual overtones encompass much of the storytelling with love as the glue that holds it all together. VERDICT An expertly woven and enchanting offering for readers who love classic fairy tales.

–D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH"

Until next week!

  

Moonlight Magic

This 2017 Newbery Award winning book has been on my reading "bucket" list for some time, and when I saw a digital copy was available in Overdrive, without needing to place a hold, I jumped on it! 

The story begins in a town known as "Protectorate" which is run by a group called the elders.  Every year the people of Protectorate leave a baby to be sacrificed to the witch (creepy right?!?), only the witch is kind.  When the sacrificed baby accidentally drinks in the moonlight, the witch names her "Luna" and decides to raise the child, taking her home to her friends, a swamp monster, and tiny dragon.

So, within the first five chapters, I am making many connections to other novels.  When I read about the elders and I read about Antain, the elder in training (who seems to be the only boy who questions this insane practice!), I think of The Giver and connect Antain to Jonan's role in The Giver.   When I read about Luna who, thanks to the moonlight, has been enmagicked and unaware of her magical abilities, I think of Harry Potter, who lived until the early adolescence not knowing he was a wizard.  Like Harry Potter, Luna also has a mark on her forehead-- a crescent moon--similar to Harry's lightning bolt.  

I can't help but wonder how inspired this author was by many of the wonderful novels, and perhaps folk tales, that perhaps paved the path for this magical plot.  

I anticipate Luna's magic becoming a big complication to this plot, and of course, the inquisitive mind of Antain playing a role in her discovery.  

More to come next week!

Dr. Kinglsey

Diving in to the end!

Dear Students,

Wow!  What an amazing semester!  Is the book challenge really coming to an end?  It's been such a joy peeking into the books you are reading on your book blogs!  

With Alice, I’ve been reading Lea Dives In, which is the book that accompanied her American Girl Doll, Lea, she got for her 8th birthday. I first heard ALL about Lea’s story from the saleswoman at the American Girl Doll Store (to me it was almost quite creepy how invested she was with the stories for each doll!). Anyway, Lea is setting off on a trip to Brazil to stay with her brother who is studying in the Rainforest.

We find that Lea’s late grandmother was quite the traveler and brave. Lea has been given her grandmother’s journal and the author weaves diary entries from her grandmother throughout the story’s narrative. Lea, however, has a fear. A deep fear of the ocean. I’m excited to read about how she overcomes this fear and how her bravery might set a positive example for my daughter.

I also like the idea of travel journals and think this would be a good extension for our upcoming trip to Florida. Alice could write about her adventures in the same way Lea is doing in this text. Also, little facts and information about Brazil are uncovered as we read. It’s nice to be able to learn a bit about a different culture through this text.

I’ve also downloaded an audio book from the Overdrive app.  I know I've mentioned this before, but you should really check out the Overdrive app.  You can connect your public library card to this app and check out ebooks and audio books to play through your computer, tablet, or smartphone! I love to check out audio books and play them in the car through my Aux input while driving back and forth to Kokomo.

I’m looking forward to listening to the rest of this novel!

Happy reading,

Dr. K.

What if you had all the answers??

I have been plugging my way through my next children’s book, All the Answers by Kate Messner. It’s a genius idea and the story’s plot is well crafted. Here is the book’s preview on her website:

What if your pencil had all the answers? Would you ace every test? Would you know what your teachers were thinking? When Ava Anderson finds a scratched up pencil she doodles like she would with any other pencil. But when she writes a question in the margin of her math quiz, she hears a clear answer in a voice no one else seems to hear.

With the help of her friend Sophie, Ava figures out that the pencil will answer factual questions only – those with definite right or wrong answers – but won’t predict the future. Ava and Sophie discover all kinds of uses for the pencil, and Ava’s confidence grows with each answer. But it’s getting shorter with every sharpening, and when the pencil reveals a scary truth about Ava’s family, she realizes that sometimes the bravest people are the ones who live without all the answers…

The books begs the question, “Is knowledge power?” or is “the less you know is sometimes better?” Immediately, I think about genetic testing as Alzheimer’s runs heavily in my family. I’ve contemplated if I would want to know if I have the gene for this debilitating disease for prevention purposes or would that knowledge destroy my outlook on life? I believe the latter to be true, so I opt to live blind and hopeful a cure will be discovered before I lose my mind (as if I haven’t already!)

Ava is an anxious child and how she uses the pencil is quite interesting. Although the pencil was first discovered by using it on a Math test, she implements a rule NOT to use it for tests (because that would be cheating). As the story goes, she gets greedy for answers, answers that may have been better left unknown. Her anxiety keeps her away from new and unknown situations, afraid to tackle challenges that seem scary. My oldest is going through this as well. Ava, like my daughter, questions why she has to feel this anxiety. Why does it affect her and not her peers? As I’m heading into the end of this book, I’m anxious to see how she faces her family’s challenge (not going to give that away to you!), and how this challenge might change her outlook on life. Will she surprise herself by taking the lead and being brave for the sake of her family?

This book begs a question for discussion:

“What if your pencil has all the answers?”

Until next week!

Dr. K.