Scott Foresman Reading Street

Genre Skit
Writer’s Craft Strong Verbs
Writing Trait Conventions

Identify the characteristics of a skit.
Write a skit with strong
verbs.
Focus on conventions.
Use a rubric.

Conventions Identify a particular grammar convention that presents difficulty for a student or a small group. Explicitly teach the English convention using an appropriate lesson in the ELL and Transition Handbook.

FOCUS/IDEAS The skit is built

around an event in nature.

ORGANIZATION/PARAGRAPHS

The skit is written in time-order.

VOICE The skit expresses

the ideas and feelings of the writer.

WORD CHOICE The writer uses

strong verbs (spied, guarded)
to further the skit's actions.

SENTENCES Sentences

sound like those used in
ordinary conversation.

CONVENTIONS Conventions

of drama, such as the
characters' names followed
by dialogue and the action
in parentheses, are used.

Model the Trait

Improve Writing

Prewrite and Draft

Draft and Revise

Connect to Unit Writing

READING-WRITING CONNECTION

Pushing Up the Sky tells how people raised the sky by working together.
The play is written in script form with stage directions.
Students will write a skit using conventions of the form and strong verbs.

MODEL CONVENTIONS Discuss Writing Transparency 12A. Then discuss the model and conventions.

The writer has used the conventions of script writing for this skit. Every spoken part is labeled with the speaker's name in dark type. The name is followed by a colon. Stage directions in parentheses describe what actors do. The writer has begun every sentence with a capital letter and ended with a period. This helps make the ideas clear.

Writing Transparency 12A

with | without Answers

WRITER'S CRAFT

Strong Verbs

Display Writing Transparency 12B. Read the directions and work together to replace general verbs with specific ones.

USE STRONG VERBS Tomorrow we will write a
skit about working
together. I could write
about kids who build a tree house.
What strong verbs would help
readers pictured what they did? I
might write, "Jerry scurried up and
down the ladder like a monkey."
The verb scurried paints a more
vivid picture than a general verb
like went or climbed.

GUIDED WRITING Some students may need more help recognizing
strong verbs. Point out some
strong verbs in other selections.

Writing Transparency 12B

with | without Answers

READ THE WRITING PROMPT

on page 321 in the Student Edition.

Pushing Up the Sky tells about people working together to do something important.

Think about a real or imaginary time when a group worked together.

Now write a skit about that time.

Writing Test Tips

Use only a few characters. Have their speeches move the skit’s action along.
Use a narrator to help set up the story and identify the conflict or the problem to be solved.
Use strong verbs in sentences in parentheses to describe the characters’ actions.

GETTING STARTED Students
can do any of the following:

Use a graphic organizer such as a concept map with Things that can’t be done alone in the center.
With a group, discuss things you want to do and need help with. List ways to work together.
Brainstorm about problems your class could work on together.

EDITING/REVISING
CHECKLIST

Does the skit have a few characters who act out a legend about nature?
Is dialogue used to move the story along?
Do strong verbs show characters' actions?
Are words with the prefixes un-, re-, mis-, and dis- spelled correctly?

See The Grammar and Writing Book, pp. 116–121.

Revising Tips

Conventions

Tell as much of the story through dialogue as possible. Do not use quotations.
Use a narrator to tell parts of the story that are hard to tell through characters.
Give directions for characters' actions to tell some parts of the story. Use parentheses.

PUBLISHING Groups of students can perform their skits. Some students may wish to revise their work later.

ASSESSMENT Use the scoring rubric to evaluate students’ work.

PREVIEW THE UNIT PROMPT

Write an essay that compares and contrasts two things in nature.
Your subjects could be two plants, animals, seasons, or weather conditions. Use words that show
what you are describing.

APPLY

A compare and contrast
essay compares and
contrasts two things. It uses
transition words and details
to show likenesses and
differences.
Strong verbs help make a
compare and contrast essay
clear and forceful.