Bite Size Writing Assignment: Why I Love Spring

Now that springtime weather has arrived in most parts of the country, why not have students write a paragraph or two about why they love spring. This short essay doesn't have to be about the thing your student loves best about spring, but anything he or she loves about the season.

The first thing that pops into my mind is warm weather. Since I live in a colder climate (Minnesota), warm springtime temperatures are a welcome change from cold, ice, and snow. But the warm weather isn't the only thing I love about spring, and maybe not even the thing I love most. I enjoy the way the snow melts on my gravel driveway, making rivers of water that rush down toward the road. I remember as a kid my brother and I would have races in such rivers, making boats out of sticks.

Have your students take some time looking outside and brainstorming some reasons spring is such a pleasant season. Perhaps the reason doesn't have anything to do with nature, but that spring ushers in some sort of beloved event, like baseball or fishing. After the brainstorming session, assign an allotted time (about 15 minutes) for writing a paragraph or two. The most important part of this assignment just may be discovery. As your students contemplate why springtime is wonderful, they might be surprised at the reasons that come to mind.

Bite Size Writing Assignment: Describe an Object

For today's writing assignment, have your student(s) describe an object. This assignment can be done anywhere and the object being described can be living or not.

Description is a key element in good writing, especially fiction. It provides vivid pictures in the mind of the reader. Describing things well is a valuable writing skill. This exercise can be short or long and done over and over again. Practice will only help your young writer(s) improve.

Instruct your student(s) to select an object to describe. Then, have them sit with paper and pencil and, after some observation, write a description. Don't worry about complete sentences, simply instruct the student(s) to write anything that comes to mind regarding the object. One word or complete sentences are acceptable, as many as possible. They should write until they cannot think of anything else to say about the selected object.

EXAMPLE: I am looking at my dog, asleep on a bed. Following is my descriptive writing exercise:

White and furry. Peaceful. She breathes with rhythmic rising and lowering of the belly. Her hair is clean and shaggy. Perky ears appear as if she is listening, yet on she sleeps. Black nose and white eyelashes. Her lips are black, too. Relaxed. Legs crossed in back, on her side.

Later, if you want, you could have your student(s) take their descriptive writing and turn it into a sensible, creative paragraph describing the object selected.

Bite Size Writing Assignment: When I Grow Up

This week, have your student(s) consider what he or she would like to do for a job in the future. You may want to have a brainstorming session for students who do not have any ideas. Have the student write down a list of things they like to do and things they are good at. Then, help them come up with some jobs that fit those skills and talents, if they need the help.

Perhaps your student is musical and organized. That might be the making of a piano teacher. Maybe your student is mathematical and loves to sit and solve problems. Perhaps he or she will grow up to be an accountant. Maybe your student is everyone’s mommy and loves to help around the house and bake cookies. She may stay home and take care of her family.

You may find that your student(s) already have some ideas of their own about what to do for a living someday. Perhaps your younger student(s) will want to be a fireman or circus performer. Go ahead and let them be anything, in their imagination.

When brainstorming is done, ask your student(s) to write anywhere from a few sentences (very young students) to an entire page (older students). If your students are your own children, make sure you tuck this writing assignment away for later, just to see if their youthful dreams come true!

Bite Size Writing Assignment: Write, Show, and Tell

Show and tell has been a long-standing favorite of elementary school students. It doesn't have to be exclusively for younger students, though. It doesn't have to be just show and tell, either. Why not have your students write about something they love - and read it aloud - along with a show and tell project.

Have students pick out an object they enjoy. It can be a pet, a favorite picture, a relic from grandpa, or anything they choose. After observing the object for a time, each student should write a paragraph about it.

If the object is a pet, for example, the student should write about the type of pet it is and how it came to be part of the family. If the item is a relic, like an old watch, the student should tell where it came from and anything known about its history. If the object is a picture, the student should go into detail describing the people in it or the place where it was taken.

Encourage your students to have fun with this project. Then, after the writing is done, have the class or family members gather for an oral presentation of "Write, Show, and Tell."