Introduction

What better way to teach students to write than at the hands of a master? That's what happens in the video Mark Twain--Teaching Our Children to Write. Students are transported to a place where literature, writing and life are blended together. Mark Twain, himself, orchestrates the action. The lead character, a girl named Angie, learns that writing can be fun and that literature can come to life.

This video teaches specific writing skills. There are the descriptive skills of the five W's--Who, What, Where, When and Why. Students are taught to search for the W's in situations and places, and to put that information into writing. Students are taught about metaphors, personification and onomatopoeias. There are opportunities to learn other figures of speech like alliteration and similes.

This video inspires students to write. The action in the video is dramatic. The situations are spellbinding. Students are drawn into the emotion of literature, and in turn encouraged to express their own emotions and ideas in writing.

This video teaches students integrity in writing. Angie, the lead character, faces the choice of cheating or writing her own work. The choice she makes and the dramatic results of that choice can have a lasting impact on students of all ages.

But this video is also about Mark Twain. There are those who say that Mark Twain invented modern American literature. Hemingway thought that American writing began with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain caught the imagination of a nation and the world. He was an American with a soul in the heartland. He was a humorist who could show us ourselves and spot the wonderful inconsistencies of human nature. Who would be better than Mark Twain to teach our students to write!


Using The Video

This dramatization is a springboard to launch a whole study in writing--word skills, creative descriptions, and plot development. The teaching ideas and exercises included in this book are available to supplement your study.