The English teacher in me screams out. Fifteen words, that's it? I fight with kids to expand their writing. Now, I need to head in reverse. I learned to take a 500 word piece and turn it into 15 syllables. For a moment, the inner English teacher quieted as we wrote limericks, haikus, and quatrains. I realized less is more, sometimes. This activity is on the list of curriculum exercises.
Fifteen words or less
Specific, show, active, fact
Engage the reader
Esther Bateson
Basha High School
Chandler, AZ
Esther Bateson
Basha High School
Chandler, AZ
I'm right there with you Esther. Even though I haven't taught journalistic writing yet, I teach conciseness.
ReplyDeleteMany of you may be familiar with the Ernest Hemingway (attributed, but according to Snopes.com, not really) story that he was challenged to write a story that would only be a few words, but I'll add it to remind everyone who sees this:
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Whether or not he wrote it, sharing this with the students opens up a great opportunity to discuss the conciseness. I use it to teach short story elements (5 are there if you scrutinize).