Writing with Reactions

Today in school we had more writing to do...the never ending battle.  He had to write paragraphs with "reactions" included.  We had just read a short version of "Gulliver's Travels" so he had to write a story of a fantasy land. 

He choose to imagine being sucked into one of his video games, Lord of the Rings Online.  He did great his first paragraph with reactions of being "confused" & "amazed" but the second parapraph he totally forgot!  He wrote about being attacked by giant spiders & other great action...but no reactions.  What am I going to do with this kid?

So we discussed what his "reactions" would have been...."scared, nervous, frightened", etc. & how they would have made the story more interesting.  Without "reactions" there is no emotion.  When there is no written dialogue, "reactions" tell how the character feels about a person, place, or situation.

So the next time your child writes a story have them add reactions to add more interest & emotion.  Some reactions to include could be:  happy, excited, sad, concerned, sympathy, anger, shy, disappointment,  proud, disgust, etc.  With these additions they will add emotion & interest.