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Writing Strategies ~ 6+1
Traits of Writing by Ruth Culham
Epossumondas
is a silly tale about a possum who doesn’t have the sense he was born
with! In the story, Epossumondas travels from his auntie’s house to
his mama’s house, day after day, delivering goodies that auntie sends
home with him. But Epossumondas has trouble getting the goodies home,
and his mama fusses at him every time! It’s a great story to
illustrate the writing traits of Word Choice and
Organization.
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Teaching Word Choice: Natural Language ~ Making it Sound
Authentic *
In Epossumondas, Colleen Salley carefully selected words that
continually remind us of the background of this story. Ms. Salley
grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, listening to the noodlehead stories
of Epossumondas. Many of the words and phrases in her story echo
that southern history, and enhance the sound and feel of Epossumondas.
Some words to ponder…
-
Epossumondas
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Patootie
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“loved him to death”
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“most everyday”
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“nearly always”
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“went along home”
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“you don’t have the sense you were born with”
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“don’t look much like _______ to me”
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bedraggled
Some characters that are authentically southern…
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alligator
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raccoon
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nutria – n. another word for coypu; the soft, thick, velvety fur of
the coypu, often dyed to look like beaver (coypu: a large South
American rodent that lives near water, closely resembling the
beaver)
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Armadillo
Lesson Idea for Natural Language: Your Personal Top Ten (from
6+1
Traits, pg. 168)
1.
Ask students pairs of students to create
lists of at least 50 words they like. (G-rated words, of course.)
Younger students may need to create shorter lists. Words may be those
that sound delicious, are tricky to read, or are just old favorites.
2.
Challenge each pair to pare down its
list to the top ten personal favorites. Share the lists with the
class.
3.
Then, have students create their own
individual “Personal Top Ten” lists, including words that are
interesting, textured, and tasty – words that a reader might enjoy
reading. They should keep their lists in a handy place where they
have easy access to them when they’re writing.
*
See 6+1 Traits, pgs. 168 – 170 for more lessons about Natural
Language.
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Teaching Organization: Developing a Core that is Logically
Organized *
Though the story flows smoothly, our sweet possum Epossumondas is very
confused! Each time he brings home another goodie from his auntie’s
house, he does it all wrong! If only his auntie and mama would give
him the instructions BEFORE he heads home, he wouldn’t have made so
many mistakes! As writers, we need to also do the same in our own
writing. When we are unclear, or when our own information is out of
order, we leave the reader to make his/her own assumptions.
Epossumondas was confused, but really meant well. Each time his mama
gave him an instruction, he followed it perfectly. But he didn’t know
that the instructions changed for each treat he was given. Our own
writing needs to be clear and concise, with a logical pattern that
leads the reader carefully from one idea to the next.
Lesson Idea for Organization: Helping poor Epossumondas!
1.
Let’s help Epossumondas do everything
RIGHT this time!
2.
On strips or pieces of paper, write down
each item that auntie gave to Epossumondas (a piece of rich, gold
cake; a pound of freshly churned butter; a sweet little puppy; a
freshly baked loaf of bread).
3.
On another piece of paper, record the
directions that mama gave Epossumondas AFTER he took the item home
(…put it on your head, put a hat on your head, and come along home).
4.
Have students retell the story, this time
putting the directions BEFORE the items so that Epossumondas doesn’t
make so many mistakes and all the goodies get home safely!
* See 6+1
Traits, pgs. 91 – 95 for more lessons on Developing the Middle of the
Paper.
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