With a Nervous Grin

Rewrite the following paragraph by changing the bolded adjectives and adverbs so that the new paragraph has an entirely different meaning.

With a confident grin, Jeanie leaned up against the locker and smiled sweetly up at Brian. She was supremely confident that he would instantly agree to go to the dance with her. Slyly putting her hand on his arm, she said, in melodious tones, "Brian, do you have plans for the dance?" Brian quickly glanced down the hall. Jeanie was bewildered by the nervous, hesitant look in his eye. "Didn't you hear?" he said quietly. "You're not the most popular girl in school anymore. I can't go to the dance with you."

Mountain Tale

Write a very short story that ends with the sentence, As he approached the top of the mountain, he raised his hands in victory.

Straw into Gold

Can you think of a time when you had an opportunity that you passed up, either because you did not recognize it as an opportunity or were fearful of pursuing it? What can you do in the future to recognize opportunities and take advantage of them?

A Terrible Loss

Imagine that you've lost your most precious and prized possession. Write one paragraph about what the item was, and why it was special to you; a second paragraph about how you lost the item; and a third paragraph about how you felt when you realized the item was missing.

Movie Making Reflection

I realize that we only had a short time to make your snow-go movies. What do you think you could have done as a group member to improve the project? How could your group have worked better together? Why do you think I pushed you to be detailed in your storyboarding? Please be honest, but kind, in your comments.

An Army of Everyone

Persuasive Writing tries to convince readers of something. Skilled persuasive writers can be convincing about any position, even one they don't believe in themselves.

Try your hand at persuasive writing: Compose three paragraphs arguing that every American teenager should be required to serve in the army for two years.