Turning a Boring Sentence Into an Exciting one!

Our very first assignment in Session II was turning a boring sentence into an exciting one!  We talked about how great words make great sentences, great sentences make great paragraphs, and great paragraphs make great book reports, essays, and stories!

We all started off with the same base sentence: "The snowflake falls."  Then we added in one element at a time:
~ 2 adjectives describing the snowflake
~ an adverb describing how the snowflake falls
~ a phrase that tells "where"
~ a phrase that tells "when"

After that, we experimented with the placement of our phrases and read a few ideas aloud, while our classmates gave their opinions on what sounded best.  It was a wonderful exercise in teamwork and peer teaching.

We then had fun creating a snowflake with white paper and scissors.  (Who DOESN'T love making snowflakes?!)  We curved our sentences all around the paper, so twirling and spinning our snowflake would be a necessity in order to read the sentence.  Gluing it on blue paper and adding some art to match the sentence were the final touches.  Before long, the sentence that started out the same for every student turned out beautifully unique.  Here are just a few outstanding samples:

On a cold, snowy December afternoon, the delicate cold snowflake falls slowly in the huge, beautiful, white park.
- Maya, 3rd grade


On a chilly Christmas Eve, the gentle, light snowflake falls merrily on a white wooden park bench.
- Reeya, 3rd grade


After a freezing blizzard on a snowy January day, the cold, soft snowflake falls gracefully on a snow covered cottage in Canada.
- Abby, 3rd grade.


On a freezing winter day, the unique white snowflake falls softly on to the crisp cold snow.
- Arushi, 4th grade


The shimmering white snowflake lightly falls on to Cody's head while he is sprinting into the classroom.
- Clark, 4th grade


The sparkly, white snowflake falls beautifully on the tip of the snowy mountain after a freezing snowstorm.
- Miyuki, 4th grade


On the 15th day of Chinese New Year, the beautiful soft snowflake falls gently on my white bunny's cute little feet.
- Lillian, 3rd grade


I just love how different every sentence turned out!  They are all unique, just like real snowflakes!