Writing Activities: "Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street"

 

Talk about a book being designed as a springboard for writing lessons!  I read this book to a group of third graders, and I knew exactly what the teacher had in mind.  It's primary purpose is to give students good techniques for writing as they follow the journey of a little girl, Eva, through her neighborhood.  She encounters various characters who give her tips for writing:

• Mr. Sims, the actor, tells her to pay attention to details.
• Mr. Morley, the chef who makes mousse, tells her to use old words in new ways.
• Alexis, the dancer, tells her to stretch her imagination.  
• Mrs. Martinez, who makes soup, tells her to add a "little something" extra to give the story some action.

After meeting these characters and applying what she's learned, the little girl's boring day turns into quite an eventful one, and she has a great story at the end.

All the advice from the characters will help your students during the writing process.  

WritingFix has a popular lesson plan based on this book available for free.  It's perfect to use as a mentor text and lesson for writing workshop.

Check out the lesson, printable sheets for students to practice editing their writing based on the book's advice, and check out samples of students' work.


Here is another site that provides printable resources for working with the book.