Smiley Face Tricks

This week in LA, we introduced a way to make the students' writing come alive!

After learning about different tricks, students have been writing paragraphs using two different prompts; Write about a superhero power you would like to have, and discuss a most embarrassing moment. Students were asked to write a story using differnt "Smiley Face Tricks" to make thier writng more interesting and fun!

The following are the tricks presented in class:

1. Hyphenated Modifiers – describing a noun, pronoun, verb, or adjective with a series of words “glued” together with hyphens
Example: The teacher shot the class a I-know-this-test-is-going-to-stump-you-all look, as she passed out the quiz.


2. Magic Three – three groups of words, separated by commas. Each group has its own modifiers. Make sure ALL verbs are in the same tense!
Example: I was scared! My palms became sticky and wet, my back tingled with fear, and my body began to feel weak and cold.


3. Figurative Language – using comparisons can “spice up” our writing
1. Simile: a comparison using like or as
2. Metaphor: a comparison of two seemly unlike things (not using like or as)
3. Personification: giving human qualities to something inhuman
4. Hyperbole: using an exaggeration that is not totally true, but exaggerates the truth
Example: She was as embarrassed as a kid tripping on the first day of school. She nearly died when the the desk walked right in front of her.