Mary Amato

Writing with Humor, Heart, & Grit

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How to Hear a Character’s Voice

September 2, 2010 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

Teachers, if you can’t access youtube, try teachertube.

Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: creative writing, diaries, Mary Amato, Resources, Teaching and Learning, teaching ideas, videos, writer's notebook, writing for children, writing process, writing tips

Writing Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook

September 1, 2010 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

Teachers if you can’t access youtube, please see teachertube.

Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: creative writing, edgar allan's official crime investigation notebook, pre-writing, Resources, revising, teaching ideas, videos, writer's notebook, writing process, writing tips

Poetry Writing Activities

August 23, 2010 by Mary Amato 3 Comments


Try these poetry writing activities based on Mr. Crew’s lessons in Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook by Mary Amato

Metaphor Poem

When Kip doesn’t understand how to create a metaphor, Destiny says, “Thinks of candy…then think of something else that’s really fun, like a party. Then squash the two things together: Candy is a party in my mouth.” (p. 16) Choose a subject for a poem (a noun is easiest), and then try to write a metaphor poem about the subject.

Riddle Poem

Pretend that you are something else and try writing a riddle poem, like Edgar does when he writes his pencil poem (p. 48) and his nose poem (p. 52). It doesn’t have to rhyme. You might start with “I am…” but don’t reveal exactly who you are so that your classmates can guess when you read it aloud.

Rhythmic Poem

Think of a rhythm in your head (such as Da Dum Da Dum Da Dum) and try writing a poem with that rhythm (p. 78).

Confessional Poem

Imagine that you are a thief and you have stolen something. Write a poem, confessing your crime.

Parody

A parody is a literary work in which the style of another author is imitated for comic effect. Choose one of the poems that the thief leaves (p. 3, p. 66, p. 98, and p.199) and find the original, famous poem upon which Mary Amato based her parody. Then, choose a famous poem or song and try writing your own parody.

Graphic Design Activity:

Mr. Crew loves poetry and drinks Tennyson Tea. Create a 3-D box for Tennyson Tea that uses both poetic words and images to entice the customer to buy it.

Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: activities, edgar allan's official crime investigation notebook, poems, poetry, Resources, teaching ideas

How to Write a Funny Poem

August 20, 2010 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

The characters in Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook write lots of funny poems. Download this pdf to discover how to write your own humorous poetry:

How to Write a Funny Poem by Mary AmatoEdgar Allan final cover

Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: activities, creative writing, edgar allan's official crime investigation notebook, humor, poem, poetry, Resources, teacher, teaching ideas, writing for children, writing process, writing tips

Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook Vocabulary List

August 20, 2010 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook by Mary Amato

Edgar Allan final cover

Vocabulary List

Directions: Fill in the definitions for the following terms.

Professional (p.3)

Nonchalant (p.20)

Forensics (p.30)

Cosmetics (p.32)

Seizure (p.39)

Tread (p.41)

Damaging (p.45)

Sleuthing (p.46)

Neglecting (p.50)

Verified (p.67)

Spectrum (p.68)

Doorjamb (p.94)

Flourish (p.99)

Alibi (p.116)

Precision (117)

    Bonus

    Using the context of Mary Amato’s book, come up with definitions for the following neologisms (made-up words):

    Luminiferous (p.33)

    Slobberjaws (p.79)

    Create your own neologism and its definition:

    Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: activities, edgar allan's official crime investigation notebook, Resources, teacher, teaching ideas, vocabulary

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    Humor and Heart

    I give voice to the funny, sad, messy, and wondrous stories of life, especially the stories of children and young adults. My mission: each book has humor and heart. If you are a teen and/or you're looking for info about my books and music for older readers, please check out my www.thrumsociety.com site.
    Learn more about my mission and resources.

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