Day 5: Writing
Self-guided activities:
1. Practice your argumentative writing.
Read this paragraph about it:
In an argumentative essay, the writer takes a stance on a debatable topic. This stance, and the claims to back it up, is the argument. An argumentative thesis statement allows the writer to take a position about a subject (e.g., the deeper meaning of a literary text, the best policy towards a social problem) and to convince readers of their stance. The body of the argumentative essay uses examples and other evidence to support the writer’s opinion.
For example: Shakespeares’s Taming of the Shrew uses humor, disguise, and social roles to criticize the lack of power women had in Elizabethan England.
Go to Thesaurus.com’s Writing Tool. Write an argumentative paragraph using these 7 argumentative words:
2. Fun writing challenge: write your own scary campfire story!
Then share it with your family. (Bonus: turn off the lights and use a flashlight while you read it!)
Family time activity:
1. Play a game: Roll of the Dice!
This game puts a twist on the typical charades. If you have more than three players, you can divide the players into teams.
- Have each player write 2 to 3 words on individual scraps of paper or index cards. Put the words into a hat or other container.
- At the start of each turn, the player picks a word and rolls a die (you can make one if need be). If the player rolls a:
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- 1, they have to give a definition of the word.
- 2, they have to use the word in a sentence.
- 3, they have to give an antonym of the word (a word that means the opposite).
- 4, they have to give a synonym of the word (a word that means the same thing).
- 5, they have to draw the word.
- 6, they have to act out the word.
- The other player(s) have to guess what the word is.
- The player who guesses the word right first gets a point.
- Hint: Check your answers on Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com!
