Category Archives: Fiction in education

Fiction writing aimed at the secondary level

Allusions

The man awoke in an unrecognized ancient building. He attempts to leave, only to find doors lock and windows barred. Then, he discovers other people inside as bewildered as he is. They are all being held as prisoners. The only … Continue reading

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The Teenage Genre

When a library placed a book in the young adult or YA category that used to mean two things: The book was within the reading level of 12 to 18 year-olds, often a sixth to eighth grade level, and the … Continue reading

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Whose Needs to Be Involved in Reading Curriculum?

Parents, children and school personnel all need to be involved reviewing books for the literature curriculum. I’ll tell you why. In sixth they had us read the Iliad and I wasn’t getting it. I asked my mom to read it to … Continue reading

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Choice

Ninth grade literature class–I was not aware that I had been chosen for the class of only twelve students. We read a few short stories in common and discussed them. The lengthier novels we selected for ourselves and read them … Continue reading

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A new definition of literacy

A child of mine made a joking statement that if we wanted to raise the level of writing we needed to lower the number of people who are literate. The supposed logic behind this suspect claim is that the books … Continue reading

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What makes a character, a character?

Recently I was following a thread of writers discussing how to find names that make characters memorable.  Honestly, I believe that writers should be looking at the reverse situation.  It is the skillful creation of a character whose strengths and … Continue reading

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Keep it moving

One of the solutions touted to teach writing to the literary challenged adolescent has been the use of a device called the “freeze frame.” Named after the cinematographic technique that stops the action for added intensity. It was intended to … Continue reading

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The writing game

I have yet to see an app that adequately teaches and assesses writing skills. However, the realm of computer games can help. The students don’t play a ‘writing’ game, but they write the scenarios of the game itself. The more … Continue reading

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Looking for an antihero

Most of the students are already dreading their “special” assignment. As they walk dawdling into the room and see the prompt “Write about someone who was a good influence on you” the moans begin to crescendo. Many students quickly run … Continue reading

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The rise and fall of…

Sit still in a swing, and it is a bit boring. Start moving, pumping with your arms and legs to move in an ever higher arc, and it becomes a thrill ride – at least until you become tired. Then … Continue reading

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