Santa has managed to get himself stuck in the chimney. Write a creative piece about this problem and how it is solved.

Remember to include:

Correct punctuation

Paragraphs

Show not tell

An interesting beginning

A variety of sentence structures

Descriptive Language

Kia ora everyone,

As the warm sun dances across the sky, and the gentle breeze whispers through the air, there's a sensation that tingles in my taste buds – the love of eating ice cream in summer.

Picture this: you're standing barefoot on the golden sands of the beach, waves tickling your toes as you hold a cone filled with a swirl of creamy goodness. The sun, like a spotlight, highlights the vibrant colors of the ice cream parlor, and the cheerful chatter of fellow summer enthusiasts fills the air.

With the first lick, it's as if a burst of happiness erupts inside me. The cold sweetness sends shivers down my spine, and I can't help but close my eyes, letting the flavors dance on my palate. The velvety texture of the ice cream melts, creating a symphony of sensations that make my taste buds do the tango.

The cone is like a crunchy treasure chest, holding the precious gem that is the ice cream. It's not just a treat; it's a moment frozen in time, a memory in the making. As the sun kisses my skin and the ice cream kisses my taste buds, it's a celebration of the simple joys that summer brings.

But it's not just about the taste; it's about the experience. The sound of laughter, the feeling of sand between my toes, and the sticky fingers that tell a tale of pure delight. It's a sensory adventure, a journey of flavors that mirrors the vibrant hues of the season.

So, as we bask in the warmth of summer, let's savor these moments. Let's celebrate the love of eating ice cream, not just as a treat for our taste buds, but as a symphony for our senses. After all, in the language of summer, every lick tells a story, and every cone is a chapter in our book of sunny memories.

Thank you!

What is a cinquain poem?

A cinquain poem is a type of poem classified by the number of syllables each line in the poem has. It was created by an American poet, Adelaide Crapsey, in the early twentieth century.

The poem typically consists of five lines, using the following structure:

Line 1: 2 syllables.
Line 2: 4 syllables.
Line 3: 6 syllables.
Line 4: 8 syllables.
Line 5: 2 syllables.

And is read aloud using the following emphasis on each line:

Line 1: one stress.
Line 2: two stresses.
Line 3: three stresses.
Line 4: four stresses.
Line 5: one stress.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Line 1: One word - The title of the poem.
Line 2: Two words - Adjectives that describe the title.
Line 3: Three words - Usually action words, ending in 'ing'. Tells the reader more about the subject.
Line 4: Four words - Show emotions about the subject.
Line 5: One word - A synonym of the title.

Snow

Lovely, white

Falling, dancing, drifting

Covering everything it touches

Blanket

How do you write a cinquain?

1. Think of your topic.

Just like with any other poem, before writing a cinquain, you need to think of what you're going to write about. You could choose anything. For example, you could write about:

• your favourite food;

• your least favourite food;

• your favourite animal;

• your best friend;

• your favourite season.

When writing your first cinquain, it can be helpful to choose an object or subject that has only two syllables, so that this can form the first line of your poem.

If it has one syllable, you can add 'my' or 'the' to it to make it two. For example, if you were writing about your dog, you could start with 'My dog'.

For this example, we're going to write a cinquain about 'otters' (handy, because the word has two syllables!).

2. Develop your ideas.

Now that you know what you're going to write about, it's time to think of ideas related to that topic. How would you describe it? What adjectives would you use? What does it do? How do you feel about it? Note down as many ideas as possible.

The more ideas you have, the more room you have to play around when it comes to counting the right number of syllables.

For our cinquain about otters, we could use ideas such as:

• they're cute and fluffy;

• they swim in the ocean;

• they collect rocks;

• they hold hands.

3. Tell a story.

Within just five lines, cinquains should be able to tell a story and paint a picture in the reader or listener's mind. You can use the structure of the cinquain to help with this.

• Line 1: The subject.

• Line 2: A description of the subject.

• Line 3: An action the subject does.

• Line 4: A feeling.

• Line 5: Conclusion.

It's not essential to strictly follow these rules, but they can be helpful as a guide, especially if you get stuck for ideas.

4. Count the syllables.

The most difficult part of writing a cinquain is getting the number of syllables right, but all you have to do is count!

With your ideas in mind, experiment with writing a few lines. Count the syllables. Remember that a cinquain has to follow this pattern of syllables:

• Line 1: 2 syllables.

• Line 2: 4 syllables.

• Line 3: 6 syllables.

• Line 4: 8 syllables.

• Line 5: 2 syllables.

Writing an Alliteration Poem in Five Easy Steps

Step 1: To write an alliteration poem, first pick a consonant. It can be any letter of the alphabet except for the vowels a, e, i, o, or u. For example, let’s say you choose the letter “B.”

Step 2: Think of as many words as you can that start with your letter and write them down. You’re going to need nouns, verbs, and adjectives, like this:

Nouns

• Banana

• Bee

• Bat

• Baseball

• Boat

Verbs

• Buy

• Be

• Bust

• Beat

Adjectives

• Black

• Bad

• Big

• Brilliant

• Broken

You may not use all of the words from your lists, and you may think of other words as you begin writing. That’s okay; this list is really just to help you get started.

Step 3: Form a sentence or two with some of your words, like this:

I bought a black banana,
And a broken baseball bat.

Step 4: See if you can add another sentence or two and a rhyme.

I bought a black banana,
And a broken baseball bat.
A burst balloon, a busted boat,
A beat-up bowler hat.

Step 5: Finally, see if you can come up with a reason for all of these things as a way to end your poems. Here’s what I thought of.

I bought a black banana,
And a broken baseball bat.
A burst balloon, a busted boat,
A beat-up bowler hat.

I wasn’t being brainy, bright,
or brilliant, but you see,
My brain was boggled after
Being bitten by a bee.

Here’s another example of an alliteration poem I wrote using the letter “Z.”

Zzzzz

I see zebras from Zimbabwe
zipping all around the zoo.
I see Zeus up in the zodiac,
a zillion zithers too.

There are zephyrs blowing zeppelins
that are zooming near and far.
There are zealots counting zeroes
in a zone near Zanzibar.

There are Zulus wearing zoot suits
eating zwieback and zucchini
plus a zombie with a zipper
on his zinnia bikini.

Yes, I always have the zaniest
most zonked-out dreams like these,
because every time I go to sleep
I try to catch some Z’s.

— Kenn Nesbitt

From the book The Aliens Have Landed at Our School!

Now it’s your turn. Pick a letter and see if you can create your own alliteration poem using as many words as you can starting with that letter. Good luck and have fun!

Haiku are not long. 

But they can be tough to write. 

With practice, it’s fun!

A haiku is a short, unrhymed poem that adheres to a specific three-line, seventeen-syllable format. The form originated in Japan, but today people across the globe read and write haiku in many different languages. 

A haiku is a type of Japanese poem that always uses the same number of syllables in a three-line format:

• the first line is five syllables

• the second line is seven syllables

• the third line is five syllables

4 steps to writing a haiku

Writing a haiku is similar to writing just about any other kind of poem or other piece of text: it follows the writing process.

1 Brainstorm

The first step is to brainstorm to generate ideas. What do you want to write about? Do you want your haiku to explore traditional topics, like changing seasons and other parts of nature? Or do you want to explore something more modern, like your relationship with a sibling, a trending story, or one of your hobbies?

2 Prewrite

Jot down all your ideas. This part of the process is known as prewriting, and it involves building on your brainstorming and outlining. With a haiku, you probably aren’t going to write a full-fledged outline, but you might note how you want to arrange your haiku or play with different word combinations to fit the syllabic structure. Also, think about the general rules of writing poetry, like avoiding clichés and writing from a place of honesty. These aren’t requirements for your haiku, but they can be helpful guidelines. 

During the prewriting stage, decide whether you’ll adhere to the established haiku structure or write a more free-form haiku. You can always change your mind later if the lines you write don’t exactly fit the five-seven-five format, but it can be helpful to have an idea of your format from the outset. 

3 Time to write 

Whether you’re following the five-seven-five format or not, give yourself room to play with words. Group words according to their syllable counts and say them out loud to hear how they sound together. Do this whether you plan on performing your haiku aloud or not—a key part of any poem is its rhythm and flow, so make sure you’ve got a beat that complements your words and subject matter. 

Once you’ve written a draft, give it some time to cool off. You’re a better editor when you revisit your work with fresh eyes, so with your first draft finished, take some time to do something else. 

4 Revise

About twenty-four hours or so later, come back to your haiku. Read it aloud again and listen to how it sounds. You might catch an awkward string of syllables or a spot where you can substitute a stronger word that you didn’t notice just after finishing the draft. Make these changes to shape your haiku into a stronger second draft. 

At this stage, you could be finished. If your hope was simply to write a haiku, you achieved your goal by finishing up that revised second draft. But if your goal is to publish your work, that’s the last step. You can publish your haiku yourself on a blog or by sharing it with your network, or you can submit it to a magazine or chapbook for publication. 

USE THE ALPHABET BRAINSTORM TO DESCRIBE HOW YOU KNOW SPRING HAS ARRIVED.

USE YOUR SENSES:

WHAT CAN YOU SEE?

WHAT CAN YOU HEAR?

WHAT CAN YOU FEEL?

WHAT CAN YOU SMELL?

WRITE YOUR OWN 2 PERSON PLAY (DUOLOGUE) ABOUT A SIBLING WHO HAS TAKEN SOMETHING OF YOURS WITHOUT ASKING.

Look at some realestate advertisements from the website below.

How do they persuade you to buy the houses? 

What features do they use try to enhance the house?

Write a short story based on an everyday dilemma that you and your peers have faced. The focus is on making deliberate choices of content, structure and language to engage the reader and tell a credible story.

Using your six-sentence story, add more detail to your text.

The first sentence begins with 'Once upon a time' and introduces the character.

The second sentence describnes where the character lived.

The third sentence describes the character's special talent.

The fourth sentence describes the character's problem.

The fifth sentence tells why the character felt that way.

The final sentnece tells how the character solved the problem.

Your task is to use the notes you took from the given information about "What Makes Us Sneeze" and write your own explanation about what make us sneeze. 

You can add another clause which begins with an '-ing' or  'his is a dependent clause (it does not make sense on it's own).

Gliding through the water, the mighty sea turtle searched for food.

If you start with a dependent clause, you use a comma after the clause. 

YOUR TASK IS TO WRITE A PROCEDURE ABOUT HOW TO DO "SOMETHING." 

YOU WILL MAKE AN INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO ON THIS "HOW TO". 

What is procedural writing?

Procedural writing is simply any text that provides instructions in a simple, step-by-step format. The name comes from the fact that the reader must follow a procedure if they wish to carry out the instructions. A procedural text is a great way to teach someone something new, from how to ride a bike to how to get from one place to another. Procedural writing is a great example of a non-fiction text that you might encounter.

What is the purpose of procedural writing?

The main thing that unites different types of procedural texts is their purpose. All examples of procedural writing are informational and directional - they aim to instruct the reader, and help them towards a specific goal.

What are some examples of procedural writing?

Procedural texts are everywhere. This might include formats such as:

• A recipe - how to cook something;

• Directions - how to get from one place to another;

• A how-to guide - for example, how to tie your shoelaces;

• Rules - for example, of a board game;

• Safety procedure - telling you how to stay safe, for example if there's a fire;

• Craft instructions - such as how to make a paper chain;

• Instruction manual - how to use a new toy.

There are plenty more types of procedural writing out there - these are just a few common examples. Can think of any more, or any specific examples that they have encountered recently?

Verbs

What is a verb?

Verbs are the action words in a sentence that describe what the subject is doing. Along with nouns, verbs are the main part of a sentence or phrase, telling a story about what is taking place. In fact, without a verb, full thoughts can’t be properly conveyed, and even the simplest sentences, such as Maria sings, have one. Actually, a verb can be a sentence by itself, with the subject, in most case you, implied, such as, Sing! and Drive!

When learning the rules of grammar, schoolchildren are often taught that verbs are ‘doing’ words, meaning they signify the part of the sentence which explains the action taking place: He ran away, she eats chocolate cake on Sundays, the horses gallop across the fields. Ran, eats and gallop are the ‘action’ parts of those sentences, thus they are the verbs. However, it can be confusing because not all verbs are easily identifiable as action: I know your name, Jack thought about it, we considered several applications. These are non-action verbs, i.e. those that describe a state of being, emotion, possession, sense or opinion. Other non-action verbs include include love, agree, feel, am, and have.

How to Recognize a Verb

As you can see from the examples above, one clue to help you recognize a verb is its location compared to the subject. Verbs almost always come after a noun or pronoun. These nouns and pronouns are referred to as the subject.  The verb thought comes after the noun Jack, so the action Jack (subject) was taking was thinking (verb).

1. Mark eats his dinner quickly.

2. We went to the market.

3. You write neatly in your notebook.

4. They thought about all the prizes in the competition.

Here are some other ways to recognize verbs in a sentence:

1. If you’re not sure if a word is a verb, ask yourself, “Can I do ______?”

Can I think, wonder, walk, yawn? Yes, so these are verbs.

2. You can also ask, ”What is happening?”

In the sentence Mark eats his dinner quickly, what is happening? Eating is happening, so eating is the verb.

In the sentence They thought about all the prizes what is happening? Thought (thinking) is happening, so thought is the verb.

What's a song that brings back memories for you? 

Listen to the song (if you don't have a recording, you can probably find it on Youtube.com), and travel back in your mind to a time that it makes you remember. Spend a few minutes inside that memory, reliving it in as much detail as possible. Then write about that memory, trying to recreate it on the page.

WRITE ABOUT A TIME THAT YOU WERE EITHER:

• FRIGHTENED/SCARED

• EXCITED

• ENJOYMENT

• DISGUSTED