word choice Archives - Page 4 of 6

August 13, 2015September 1, 2015

The Mermaid’s Shoes

The Mermaid’s Shoes
by Sanne te Loo (Author/Illustrator)

Booktalk: On the last day of vacation, Mia finds something special on the beach–a mermaid’s shoes!

When she puts them on her feet, she knows she has found her true identity. She’s really a mermaid! She makes her own mermaid’s tail and goes on a quest to find a place to fulfill her destiny. Is it the local aquarium? Maybe the river that runs through the town? In the end, this mermaid finds the perfect place to perch.

Snippet:
Mia still wore her mermaid shoes as she fell asleep. Her dreams flowed with friends from the sea. Fantastic fish with spots and stripes swam around her. One even looked like a horse.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Sentence Fluency After Mia finds the swim fins at the beach, she puts them on and wears them throughout the story, even when she goes to sleep!

Mia still wore her mermaid shoes as she fell asleep.

After she falls asleep, we see her dreams–in the words–and in the art on the page.

Her dreams flowed with friends from the sea. Fantastic fish with spots and stripes swam around her. One even looked like a horse.

Trait: Word Choice The details of her dreams flow in the art and in the words. Notice the use of alliteration here. The two middle sentences use words that begin with f and then words that begin with with s, both sounds that the sea makes.

Her dreams flowed with friends from the sea. Fantastic fish with spots and stripes swam around her.

These alliterative words make the sentences pleasing to read aloud. Sentence fluency and word choice work together with a poet’s touch in this translation from the original Dutch.

August 10, 2015September 1, 2015

Identify and Evaluate Advertising

Identify and Evaluate Advertising (Info Wise)
by Valerie Bodden (Author)

Booktalk: Here’s another hot topic for the back to school shopping season! What is advertising, and why should you care? Learn how to think critically about advertising. Who created and paid for an ad? What do the people who made the ad want you to do? Why does it matter if a website includes advertising? Find out how to pinpoint and evaluate common persuasive techniques used in advertising, including the bandwagon approach, emotional appeal, repetition, and more.

Snippet:
What is Advertising?
Every year, companies pour more than $500 billion into producing and distributing ads around the world. Why? It’s simple: they want to convince you to buy their products.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Word Choice The book’s goal is clearly stated in the title. In four short words the scope of the book is defined:

Identify and Evaluate Advertising

Notice that there are two steps in the book title and both are stated as verbs: Identify and Evaluate. And what will readers be identifying and evaluating? The noun in the title: Advertising.

Trait: Organization The simplest way to organize a nonfiction book is to begin at the beginning. First, you define the topic. The chapter title asks a question.

What is Advertising?

The first two sentences in chapter one begin the explanation.

Every year, companies pour more than $500 billion into producing and distributing ads around the world. Why? It’s simple: they want to convince you to buy their products.

It’s Nonfiction Monday!