Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing » (New Edition)

Children have a natural affinity for language play; Pyrotechnics on the Page demonstrates how writing teachers can tap into it. This book provides a wealth of resources for teachers, including information on the roots and developmental importance of language play, a how-to on using the writer’s notebook as a playground for students to explore and experiment with verbal pyrotechnics, an in-depth look at the kind of language play commonly used by writers, twenty-four brand new craft lessons to bring pyrotechnics into the classroom, and an extensive bibliography of relevant mentor texts. Pyrotechnics on the Page is vintage Fletcher: personal, anecdotal, and practical.

Craft Lessons

Foreword Katie Wood Ray Ray, Katie Wood

Preface

Acknowledgments

PLAYING AROUND 7

1 Pyrotechnics and Play 2

2 A Love Affair with Words 7

3 Writers Behaving Playfully 15

4 Lessons from a Talking Elf 21

5 A Developmental Perspective 27

GETTING SERIOUS 33

6 Inventing Words 34

7 Puns 43

8 Idioms/Expressions 51

9 Allusions 61

10 Harnessing the Supple Power of Sentences 69

PLAYFUL CLASSROOMS 75

11 Reclaiming the Play in Language Play 76

12 Igniting Pyrotecchnics in the Classroom 81

13 The Limits of Labeling: A Brief Cautionary Tale 89

14 Parting Shors 93

15 Questions and Answers 95

CRAFT LESSONS 101

16 Pyrotechnics Craft Lessons for Young Writers 102

RESOURCES 129

Appendix A Pyrotechnics Glossary 130

Appendix B Oxymorons 137

Appendix C Expressions/Idioms 139

Appendix D Sentence Reversals 141

Appendix E Rosie's Book of Sayings. Kim Stafford 143

Appendix F Getting Phoo Dog, Seth Loomis 147

Appendix G Once Upon a Twice, Denise Doyen 149

Appendix H Playing in the Face of Reason, Rich Reilly 150

Appendix I The Poetry of J. Patrick Lewis 152

Appendix J Where Can You Find a New Nose? Ralph Fletcher 157

Appendix K Snicking Up the Rug, Ralph Fletcher 159

Appendix L Beach Baby, Ralph Fletcher 160

Appendix M Chocolate, Max Gilmore 161

Appendix N Owl Pellers, Ralph Fletcher 162

Appendix O Sledding Disaster, Ralph Fletcher 164

Bibliography 165