Would you offer English Writing prompts for my dd (senior)?

[sheryl]

I've googled before but I thought a new, fresh approach would be interesting. 

 

Please post any ideas you have (all writing forms/types).

 

Thanks!       :001_smile:

 

[fairfarmhand]

Why texting and driving is dangerous

 

Vegetarian, vegan, and other types of diets

 

Why citizens should vote

 

Or summaries of biographies. I found the one Madelyn Albright wrote about exploring her family history fascinating. Don’t agree with her political views but she’s had a fascinating life.

 

Also you can find some interesting podcasts and use them as a springboard for write prompts. I just listened to one this morning about a potential release of genetically modified mice on Martha’s Vineyard. The mice are altered to resist Lyme and they’re hoping tp eliminate it on the vineyard.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[luuknam]

What percentage of our jobs will be taken over by robots by 2060?

 

Any question college admissions offices ask, and whether the questions college admissions offices ask make sense and whether there would be better questions. You can also do this with standard employer interview questions.

 

Should everybody do a year abroad in high school or college (or, alternatively, be an "exchange student" in a family of a different subculture within their own country)?

 

Kids are required to be educated from about 6-18yo. Should we change that law? If so, how? Make tertiary education required, require adults to take some number of hours of further education through their lives as part of lifelong learning (say, 100 hours per year or w/e), etc? Or should we require less education?

 

Should the world population get bigger or smaller, and how to accomplish either goal?

 

If you could cut the budget of any government department in half, which department's budget would you cut? Or alternatively, if you could double a department's budget, which one would you double?

 

Should countries be able to draft people to be soldiers? Should women have to register for the draft? 

 

NL just dropped fro 16th to 32nd place in the global gender equality index, mostly because a lot of women don't work and most of the women who do work work part-time. At the same time, a 2013 study shows that Dutch kids are the happiest kids in the world. Discuss your thoughts on this. 

 

If you were a foreign country and you wanted to conquer the US, how would you do it?

 

If there's one thing you could change (add, delete, change) about the US (or your state) constitution, what would it be?

 

Should teenage moms be encouraged to keep their babies or to give them up for adoption (and if keep, should there be more govt support)?

 

For what price would you be willing to never access the internet again, and what would you do if you actually got that money?

Edited November 7, 2017 by luuknam

[displace]

Most of my senior English writing was based off (world) literature.

 

Here's a wiki link to some good books (some may be too easy) - https://en.m.wikibooks.org/wiki/IB_English/World_Literature

 

I think the majority of the essays took a basic format (discuss character flaws and strengths, effectiveness of author's writing style, discussion of conflicts/resolutions). But since you can apply similar questions to any book, it can be a two-for-one.

 

Unless you're focusing on research. I'd focus on modern events - mass shootings and guns, healthcare insurance in the US, marijuana and legalization, racism, etc. Those type of topics are so large that someone can discuss any point of view or tangents.

[Andromeda]

I really like the text Teaching Adolescent Writers by Galagher. He also has another excellent book Write Like This: Teaching Real World Writing through Mentor Texts.

 

It teaches the teacher how to work with high school students - to guide them to produce pieces that are focused, interesting, supported by facts when needed, have a personal touch when applicable, etc. It has many excellent writing prompts toward the end of the book, too.

 

Here is the amazon link to the first book and the second book (not affiliated with author or amazon in any way).

Edited November 7, 2017 by RosemaryAndThyme

[Andromeda]

What is the youngest age you think these books will benefit?  My daughter is in 7th grade.

 

 

 

You can adapt the books to younger students. Seventh grade is perfectly doable with this method. I would probably get the "Write like this" book and read it myself before giving assignments to my student(s). It changed how I think about teaching writing.

 

The book taught me to sit down and let my student watch me write, in pen, spelling errors, and all. It makes it easier for the student to internalize the importance of the writing process and understand that there is no such thing as perfect writing, not from the first draft anyway. You don't have to use the sample texts that are in the book. You can use anything your student is interested in - history, art, current events, sports, really anything at all. You can create prompts that hold their interest and guide them to produce something they can feel proud of.

[Andromeda]

You are most welcome!

 

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. It gave me a boost in confidence as well as the understanding of what teaching writing can look like. Even if you don't end up using it as written, it can still help. For me it was a bit like going behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz throne room and seeing all the bits and pieces that make the magic happen. 

[sheryl]

Thanks to those of you who offered many great ideas!   :)