Writing Strategies

Raising Dragons is a wonderful, whimsical tale of a young girl who adopts a dragon and raises him on her farm, against the better judgment of her parents.  Theirs is a sweet and loving relationship, and the two become very close.  But eventually, the dragon outgrows his rural home, and they must find a more suitable place for him to live.

It’s always a good idea to read a story first for enjoyment.  Let your students enjoy the story, giggle at the dragon’s antics, and ponder what could happen after those new dragon eggs hatch!  Then, when you’re ready to teach a lesson, ask your students to turn a more critical ear to the plot and the details.  And don’t forget to introduce the vocabulary before you begin.

Vocabulary that may be tricky…

• perch - a raised seat or position
• sow (sown) - to plant seed for growth especially by scattering
• varmint - an animal that is considered a pest
• beholden - being indebted for a favor or gift
• medicinal - tending or used to cure disease or relieve pain
• gout - a disease marked by a painful inflammation and swelling of the joints
• ablaze - being on fire
• “eat you out of house and home” - to eat most of the food that someone has in their house

* Teaching Organization *
Herding Cats 

Ruth Culham suggests using Raising Dragons as an example of the Organization trait.  “The book shows all the steps and stages that a young dragon goes through on his way to becoming independent,” she says.

There are three components to Organization: writing the introduction, developing the middle of the paper, and writing the conclusion.  (In her primary 6+1 text, Ms. Culham calls them bold beginnings, mighty middles, and excellent endings.)   Raising Dragons is a fine example of all three!  Ms. Nolen begins the story with a quick hook: there’s a dragon on the farm!  What a perfect way to engage the reader!  Her “mighty middle” lays out the problems – and benefits – of adopting a dragon as a pet.  And the conclusion gives us a sense of closure, only to surprise us with a twist and leave us wondering what will happen with those other dragon eggs!  This book is a great springboard for a lesson on how to construct a story by carefully crafting the beginning, middle, and end.  The Organization chapters of Ruth Culham’s 6+1 Traits books are chock full of ideas for teaching these important pieces.

* Additional Writing Ideas * 

1.      Write a Friendly Letter to Hank! 

• For younger students, it may be enough to instruct them to write a letter to Hank, telling him that the dragon eggs have hatched, or introducing each of the new dragons by sharing one characteristic.  For example:  “We named the first baby Sarah.  She is the silliest one and she loves to be tickled!”
• For older students, you could give them more structured R.A.F.T.S. Lesson.  Then, they would write the letter to Hank with the elements that you determine:

Role:                 The little girl (Hank’s “Cupcake”)
Audience:          Hank
Format:             Friendly Letter
Topic:               The new eggs have hatched and the dragons are doing fine!
Strong Verb:      Reassure 

With this example, your students should write a letter to Hank reassuring him that the young dragons are doing well on the farm.  Of course, he’ll need some details to really convince him that they’re not causing too much trouble!  You could also change this activity a bit by changing your topic to “The new eggs have hatched and we need your help!” and the strong verb to “persuade”.  Then your students would have to persuade Hank to return to the farm to help the family to care for the new batch of dragons.  Again, you’d better provide some a good description of what’s happening on the farm if you want Hank to come back! 

• For a sample of a friendly letter, and to walk your students through the steps of creating a letter of their own, check out the Friendly Letter Generator at http://readwritethink.org/materials/letter_generator/!

2.      Can’t I keep them, please???

Have your students write a Persuasive Essay from the point of view of the little girl.  Propose this situation:  Ma and Pa are ready to find new homes for the seven new dragons.  They’ve grown too big to sleep in the barn, they’ve eaten all the frogs and fish that the creek had to offer, and the neighbors are complaining about all the noise!  (Who knew dragons could be so loud!)  This is the girl’s last chance to talk them into keeping the dragons.  Do your best to convince your parents to let the dragons stay! 

3.      Dragons For Sale!

(See the Organization chapter of 6+1 Traits for more teaching ideas!)

6+1 Traits of Writing by Ruth Culham