Write about any experiences you have had with goats – toy boats, row boats, cruise ships, motor boats, etc. “Row Row Row Your Boat” is a song most people learn. Write down the words to a few of the songs you learned as a young person. Write the story of …
Stories of trains and other vehicles and you. (toy trains, remote control cars, super cars, racing cars, etc.) Everything you know about clocks (history, types, time zones, alarms, how you keep time yourself) Being on Time. Sometimes time seems to stand still, sometimes it races, sometimes you are late, sometimes …
On December 6, 1917, in Halifax Harbour, a Norwegian ship collided with a French ship that was loaded with explosives. The blast killed approximately 2000 people, and about 9000 were injured. The entire Richmond area of Halifax was flattened. Most of Halifax was destroyed. A tsunami created wiped out a …
Extreme Writing is NOT the writing process….it is only about fluency. Until now, we have assumed fluency will develop well enough just because we ask students to do a lot of writing. Actual attempts to improve fluency directly through Extreme Writing cannot take a minute from the actual process of …
The last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven on November 7, 1885. It was a huge and magnificent achievement of a fledgling country intended to unify the country. It was a promise to BC when they joined Confederation in 1871. The terminus was in Port Moody BC, but …
Thomas Edison is best known as the inventor of the lightbulb – but he also invented the phonograph and the motion picture camera. His most famous quote is “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” A Canadian actually invented the lightbulb, but it was Edison who made it practical. He …
Extreme Writing does basically 3 things; It develops fluency. It can be a source of longer pieces. Leonardo da Vinci made detailed notes in his journals, on many different topics from art to architecture to water flow – you name it. You might want to mention that Bill Gates paid …
Lewis Carroll grew up to become the author Alice in Wonderland. When he was 30, he and his friend rowed the 3 young daughters of Henry Lidell five miles down the River thames. On the way, he made up a story about a bored girl named Alice who went on …
Tell the stories of your very best experiences in school – from kindergarten on. What are the stories of your worst experiences in school – also from kindergarten on? Getting your picture taken. Like it? Not like it? Who takes your picture and why? Favourite pictures of yourself – doing …
At the end of the year, students take their books home. Tell them that of all the things they could save from their school years they should save these. “When you are 35 you will be totally interested in what you were thinking when you were 12” (or whatever age …
