No More He Said, She Said

As we  continue to work on your stories, I am noticing that many of you are only using the world SAID when you write dialogue. This can get really boring quickly for both you and your readers. I wanted to share with you some resources to help you find new words to use instead.

There are many sites on the Internet with lists of alternatives to using the word SAID. You can start here or here, or just google the phrase "Alternatives to Said" and see what you find.

I have taken many of these words and put them on the wall in the classroom as well, but if you want a shortcut you can always print this list out for your room.



Looking forward to reading your exciting new dialogue!

Adding Your Voice

In class, we have been talking a lot about Voice. I showed you a list of things you can do to help you find your voice. Here they are below. If you have any comments, advice, or questions about the items on this list leave them in the comments below.

• have something important to say


• find new ways of expressing familiar ideas


• capture a range of emotions, from gleeful to poignant to afraid


• offer sincere thoughts


• you are confident that what you say matters


• you are willing to take a risk and


• try something that no classmate has tried before


• apply original thinking

Year 7,8,9 English Homework

1. Type up the descriptive paragraph we worked on in class on a google doc and invite me to collaborate with you on it. My address is jabizraisdana@gmail.com

2. Write a blog post about what you learned from the first writing trait: IDEAS. Describe the process and what you would tell others about this part of the process. Give examples! Be sure to focus on these ideas:

1. Clear, focused main idea


2. Intriguing, important details

3. Title it as Six Traits: Ideas and categorize it as Six Traits and writing

Nick Toczek

As you may have heard, we are lucky to have author Nick Toczek visit our school this week. Nick will be performing for the entire school on Wednesday night from 6-7, but he will also present solely for the secondary during school on Wednesday.  We will have a great opportunity to chat with him after and ask him some questions.

Here are the basics:

Best-selling author, Nick Toczek, is a full-time professional writer and performer who currently works variously as a poet, magician, storyteller, puppeteer, novelist, stand-up comic, radio DJ, creative writing tutor, journalist, librettist, advertising copy-writer and political researcher. He's published over thirty books and has made more than 30,000 public appearances. His poetry books alone have sold over quarter of a million copies.

We would like you to do some research on the man and prepare some well-thought out questions to ask him during his talk. I have decided to help you out a bit. Here are some places to learn more about him:

1. MySpace page


2. Some of his poems


3. Some of his books


4. Some of his videos

This is a great opportunity to speak with a professional writer, so let's come up with some insightful questions