This lucky library find is word choice perfection. I often encourage my writers to use more specific color adjectives than just your basics. (Ex:
fire engine red instead of
red, sandy instead of
brown, etc.) I explain that when they do this as authors, it's powerful. They don't even need illustrations because they're "painting with words!" Budding writers always seem motivated to try this technique at first. Colors are easy, right? Eventually though, their limited vocabulary and/or tendency to shy away from risk-taking often gets the best of them, and you see less and less of those vivid colors in their writing. By pairing
Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger with plenty of modeling and mentoring, I'm hoping my future 4th graders will dilute the dullness and make "painting with words" a regular practice.
This book celebrates the beloved color GREEN!
Each 2-page spread showcases a unique shade of green.
Some are not what you'd expect.
The book leaves you with fresh adjectives to add to your vocabulary and a new appreciation for this lively color.
Once we read the book together, "painting with words" will be worked into our revising workshop. Rather than telling my students a new color to use, I'll question them to fish one out. If students claim they "don't know" the name of the color they're wanting to use, I tell them to think of something that
is that color and make one up! (One of my all-time favorite student originals was "basketball orange!") Slam dunk!
No matter how hard we work as teachers to help our students improve their writing, it sure does help when published authors come through with solid
gold green books like this one!
