- Point
out that the words presented here convey a lot more meaning
than a simple 'said'. In many cases can convey emotion.
- Role
play and dramatise situations where these words can be
used for maximum impact.
- One of my favourites is to do a little play building
where the phrase, 'What are you doing?' has to
be used to portray: anger, surprise, interest, suspicion,
intrigue, humour, dismay etc.
- Substitute
some of these words for 'said' in existing sentences and
ask the students to comment on how the sentence has changed.
- Make
Your Own Word Wall - collect your own 'said' words
during reading sessions and each time another way of saying
'said' is discovered write it up on a large sheet of paper
hung on the wall.
-
The power of this activity comes from having the children
collect their own words.
- Avoid
repetition of 'said' (Unless
you wish to convey bordom or the fact that a person is
going on and on and on)
- Reference
chains - go through a passage from a writer that the children
think is good. Record the ways the characters say 'said'
over a couple of pages. You'll find something like this...
said,
echoed, exclaimed, exploded, muttered,
said, snapped, demanded
Next
take a piece of writing done by a child (I usually keep
a few from previous years) and track the 'said' words. Mostly
it will look like this...
said,
said, said, said, said, said
- Have
the students go back through a piece of their writing
and track the 'said' words and then substitute other
more descriptive words into their narratives. (I
find this best done in small groups or pairs the first
few times you do it)
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