Transcript Spivey for the Spirited

S. Hutson
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This
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To THIS!
In just minutes a day!
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From acorn
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To tree
Each individual leaf is
a paragraph or page
from our writing
portfolio.
The branches are
phrases and clauses.
The tree’s trunk is a
simple sentence.
Imagine that the roots of a
tree are words.
One side of
Our Tree will
Represent
“Noun
Expanders”.
One side of
our Tree will
represent
“Action
Expanders”.
Start with the MST
( (Main Sentence Trunk )
5 Criteria for a Sentence:
1. It must begin with a capital.
2. It must contain a noun as the subject.
3. It must contain a verb as the
predicate.
4. It must end with punctuation: . ! ?
5. It must express a complete thought.
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Common Nouns
boy
principal
park
city
vampire
building
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Proper Nouns
Joey
Mrs. Stillman
Central Park
San Diego
Dracula
Twin Towers
Nouns answer the question Who or What?
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Single Subject Pronouns
I
You
He
She
It
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Single Object Pronouns
Me
You
Him
Her
It
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Plural Subject Pronouns
We
You
They
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Plural Object Pronouns
Us
You
Them
Run – zip, dart, jog, race, canter, sprint,
rush
 Walk – amble, saunter, hike, parade,
march, stride, trudge, stroll, lumber
 Say – exclaim, state, vocalize, declare,
ramble
Verbs answer
the question
Does / Did /
Will Do What
Action?
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MST = (Article: A, An, or The) + Noun + Verb.
Use Specific Nouns and Vivid Verbs
Use word choice to make
even simple sentences
The horse ran.
Can become…
The majestic chestnut mare galloped.
First, mark the capital by underlining the first letter
three times.
Second, circle the noun.
Next, zigzag the verb by drawing four small triangles
under it.
Finally, circle the ending punctuation.
4 codes should equal a complete thought.
A crocodile slithered.
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Rhinos rumble!
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Crocodiles cruise.
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Bears battle!
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Cute
Cuddly
Vicious
Angry
Howling
Smart
Clever
Worried
Talkative
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The crying boy pouted. (Which boy pouted?)
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The frustrated teacher grimaced. (Which
teacher grimaced?)
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The calm water pooled. (Which body of water
pooled?)
Code your MSTs / Color your adjectives
When Expanders tell When the action took place.
The sea turtle swam. When did the sea turtle swim?
After midnight, the sea turtle swam.
The sea turtle swam after midnight.
(Notice the When Expander can be written Before or
After the MST.
Recipe for When Expanders:
MST + When Expander
When Expander, MST
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When Signal Words
As
After
Before
During
Since
Until
When
At
On
While
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When phrases
As the tide came in
After midnight
Before the sun rose
During the storm
Since the beginning of
time
Until he was safe
At the start of the
feeding cycle
On Sunday
While at the island
As the storm set in, the sea turtle swam.
After the rain storm, the sea turtle
swam.
 Before she ate, the sea turtle swam.
 The sea turtle swam during the night.
 The sea turtle had been swimming since
sunrise.
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Until she knew she was safe, the sea
turtle swam.
 The sea turtle swam when the whale
chased her.
 At dawn, the sea turtle swam.
 On the eve of the storm, the sea turtle
swam.
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During the storm, the turtle swam during the storm.
After the rains, the turtle swam after the rains.
While sharks slept, the turtle swam while sharks slept.
Until she was safe, the turtle swam until she was safe.
Where Expanders tell Where the action took place.
The sea turtle swam. Where did the sea turtle
swim?
Above the coral, the sea turtle swam.
The sea turtle swam above the coral.
(Notice the Where Expander can be written Before or
After the MST.
Recipe for Where Expanders:
MST + Where Expander
Where Expander, MST
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Above
Across
Along
Against
Around
Before
Behind
Below
Beneath
Down
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From
Inside
Near
On
Outside
Over
Past
Toward
Under
Upon
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along the shore
against the current
around the island
before the great reef
behind the sail boat
upon the rocks
toward the bay
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The sea turtle swam against the current.
The sea turtle swam outside the bay.
The sea turtle swam past the ship.
Beneath the ship’s hull, swam the sea turtle.
Around the island, the sea turtle swam.
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Along the reef, the turtle swam along the reef.
Near the boat, the turtle swam near the boat.
Over the wave, the turtle swam over the wave.
Upon the tide, the turtle swam upon the tide.
Recipe Reminder:
MST + Where Action Expander
Where Action Expander, MST
Why Expanders tell Why the action took place.
The sea turtle swam. Why did the sea turtle swim?
To avoid the whale, the sea turtle swam.
The sea turtle swam because she needed to reach shore.
(Notice the Why Expander can be written Before or After
the MST.
Recipe for Why Expanders:
MST + Why Expander
Why Expander, MST
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Why Signal Words
Because
Since
So that
To + action verb
In order to
Why Phrases
because he was tired
since she had to make
up for time lost
 so that she could lay
her eggs
 to reach shore
 in order to survive (to
survive…)
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In order to find her mate, the turtle swam.
The turtle swam since she had to lay her eggs.
To find some food, the turtle swam to find some food.
Since he was hungry, the turtle swam since he was
hungry.
So that he could eat, the turtle swam so that he could eat
Recipe Reminder:
MST + Why Action Expander
Why Action Expander, MST
Yes, we can start a sentence with because
If
We follow it with an MST.
Because she needed a place to lay her eggs,
the turtle swam. (This is a complete
sentence.)
“Because she needed a place to lay her
eggs” is NOT a complete sentence. It is a
FRAGMENT - a piece of a sentence.
Because she was a fast swimmer, the sea turtle
escaped because she was a fast swimmer.
Because she was able to hide, the sea turtle
escaped because she was able to hide.
Because the ocean coral disguised her, the sea
turtle escaped because the ocean coral disguised
her.
Actually, all Action Expanders
are fragments.
Each Expander is added
to an already complete,
simple sentence.
So, make sure you follow or precede
your Expander with an MST.
MST + Action Expander
or
Action Expander, MST
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Which of these is a fragment?
Because I want to.
Around the road and through the
tunnel.
3. When she was biking.
4. He ran.
5. Because she was tired, she took a
nap.
1.
2.
How Expanders tell How the Who / What acted.
The sea turtle swam. How did the sea turtle swim?
Quickly, the sea turtle swam.
The sea turtle swam quickly.
(Notice the How Expander can be written Before or
After the MST.
Recipe for When Expanders:
MST + How Expander
How Expander, MST
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Quickly
Slowly
Happily
Sadly
Nervously
Warily
Gracefully
Menacingly
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Carefully
Dutifully
Apprehensively
Wisely
Unwisely
Quietly
Energetically
Eagerly
ADD LY
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Nervous / Nervously
Sad / Sadly
Kind / Kindly
Loud / Loudly
Eager / Eagerly
DROP Y ADD ILY
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Hungry / Hungrily
Dainty / Daintily
DROP E ADD LY
Gentle / gently
Adorable / adorably
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With
Without
Like
Unlike
By
As
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with a song in her heart
without a care in the
world
like her mother before
her
unlike her brother
by being courageous
As quietly as possible
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Like the bright sun rising over the east, Lilly
awoke with a great big smile.
Leo moved through the grass like a cat.
David ran to the cafeteria as quickly as a
bunny.
As gently as a butterfly, Flora fluttered to her
desk.
Gently, the sea turtle laid her eggs gently.
Sadly, the sea turtle swam away sadly.
Like a small boat setting sail, the sea turtle swam
toward the rising sun like a small boat setting sail.
Comma after Before Expanders
Period at sentence’s end.
Condition Expanders tell what the situation is
regarding the action.
Even though the sea turtle swam quickly, she was
unable to escape the shark. (What was the sea
turtle’s situation?)
She couldn’t swim faster than her predator.
(Notice the Condition Expander can be written
Before or After the MST. Condition Expander, MST
MST + Condition Expander
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Although
Though
If
Even if
Even though
Unless
Despite
In spite of
regardless
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Although the sea was rough, the sea turtle
was able to reach the shore.
If the sea turtle were any less determined, she
would never be able to swim so many miles.
Despite the cold water, turtle babies are able
to protect themselves with their thick skin.
Regardless of the risk, female sea turtles
trudge along the shore to lay their eggs.
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In spite of the oil spill, the sea turtle was able
to find fresh sea weed in spite of the oil spill.
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Even though people are more careful about
protecting the ocean, the creatures of the sea
still remain in danger even though people are
now more careful about protecting the
ocean.
 After the storm, the sea turtle swam
to shore in order to lay her eggs.
(Code and name the Expanders)
 When she had laid all her eggs, the
sea turtle waddled back into the sea
even though a storm was fast
approaching. (Code and name the
Expanders.)
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Different sentence beginnings. Only repeat
beginnings for intentional effect. (Example: He
was a stressed out guy. He was a teacher.)
Varied sentence lengths. Count totals of words
in each sentence. Make sure you have some
long, languid sentences (30 words or more),
some short power sentences (one to three or
four words long, and some in between
sentences.
Keep sentences interesting by combing action
expanders together in several sentences.
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On the eve of a menacing storm, a large sea
turtle crawled from the blue frothy waves
toward the sandy beach. Flump. Flump.
Flump. Flump. She scratched her fins into the
sand to raise her enormous form up the bank.
As she lay her eggs, she heard human voices.
She knew she must cover her eggs well in
order for them to go undiscovered and
unharmed.
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Female sea turtles live in the sea but must
come to shore to lay their eggs in the sand.
Mother sea turtles choose the dead of night
to crawl onto the shore and often amble
laboriously over several feet of sand in order
to lay their eggs in a safe place along the
shore. Regardless of the care she shows in
depositing her eggs, only one or two out of
the hundred- egg batch will live to adulthood.
What
goes…
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Whoosh
Hissssss
Bang
Grrrr
Thump
Whack
Oh
Ouch
surprise
"Oh! You scared
me!"
pain
"Oh! I feel sick."
Sarcasm or request
“Oh, please!”
pain
"Ouch! That hurts!"
Ah
Hey
pleasure
"Ah, that
chocolate is so
good."
understanding
"Ah, now I see."
attention
"Hey! Watch
out!"
surprise, joy
"Hey! What a
great idea!"
Hmm
Wow!
hesitation,
doubt or
disagreement
Surprise
“Hmm. I’m not
so sure.”
“Wow! That’s
interesting!”