Hyperbole is a figure of speech that uses exaggeration for emphasis (and is usually not taken literally). Some examples:
Now create your own hyperbolic statements! How many can you come up with?
New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.
February’s Dart, Arrow, Boomerang, and Slingshot shine a light on the power of perseverance and self-determination. While exploring writing, mechanics, and literary devices, your family can glean inspiration from amazing individuals, some real, some imagined, as they knock down obstacles with a mix of intelligence, humor, charisma, and confidence.
This month’s Quill is Space: Planets, and we think you’ll agree that it’s out of this world! We’ll investigate infographics, master mapmaking, and ignite imaginations with interplanetary wordplay!
Space: Planets
This Quill is out of this world!
In our Book Shop, you’ll find books about space that we adore! These are not required (you can use any books about these topics that you have at home or discover at your library), but we find it’s helpful to have a list to get you started.
In this issue, we’ll:
Ways to Grow Love by Renée Watson
Spend time with fifth-grader Ryan Hart as she navigates relatable childhood twists and turns in this joy-filled sequel to Ways to Make Sunshine. (Note: No need to read the first book before jumping into this novel, but if you want to, we have a Dart for that one too!)
This month’s literary device focuses on Rhyme!
We’ll also:
Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
When a young boy named Homer escapes enslavement from a southern plantation, he finds a wondrous new community, but before he can enjoy his new freedom, he must liberate his mother from the plantation he escaped.
February’s literary device is Juxtaposition.
We’ll also:
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
With eloquence and power, Woodson’s poetry relays her experiences growing up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s amid the civil rights movement.
In this issue, we’ll:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Poet Maya Angelou’s debut memoir, the story of her childhood in the segregated south, is a modern American classic.
In this Slingshot, we’ll:
A note about content: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings touches on mature themes of human experience. We encourage parents to read the book ahead of time in order to be prepared for deep conversations with your teens.
When you’re cultivating a critical thinking space, you want to create a supportive, emotionally safe environment. -Julie Bogart
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available to us today?
In this Brave Writer podcast episode, we delve into the critical need for fostering critical thinking skills in our children to navigate this complex landscape.
Understanding the Challenge
In an era where traditional journalism is intertwined with alternative media, discerning truth becomes increasingly challenging. Our children are growing up in a world where information is tailored by algorithms, creating echo chambers that often reinforce biases.
Equipping Our Children with Tools
To counter this, we emphasize the importance of teaching children to question and analyze information. It’s not just about understanding the content, but also the intent behind it. We believe in nurturing an environment where children feel safe to question, explore different perspectives, and critically analyze the information they receive.
Practical Applications
Through real-life examples, like a simple visit to the dentist, we illustrate how critical thinking can be applied in everyday situations. It’s about teaching our children to:
Creating a Supportive Environment
Critical thinking flourishes in an environment free from pressure and judgment. We discuss strategies to create a space where children can openly express their thoughts and ideas without fear of rejection or evaluation.
As we navigate this age of information overload, equipping our children with critical thinking skills is more crucial than ever. By doing so, we prepare them not only to discern truth in their immediate world but also to become thoughtful, informed citizens of the global community.
Produced by NOVA Media
Are you ready to bring some kinesthetic learning to your living room?
Give your kids an a-ha moment about a grammar concept they use daily!
Grab a chair. Your child will act out the prepositions as you direct them.
Now have your child “push” you around with prepositions.
Ready? Go!
Brave Writer® programs teach writing using your child’s body, mind, and heart.
Discover why writing is the key to all of learning!
I spoke at a conference once where we talked about how to think well. One of the questions came up about certainty, and how you could know something for sure.
What we know is that even an objective fact gets shared by a subjective self. No matter how much people can agree that something is real and true, factual and verifiable, it’s how we talk about the “objective truth” that shapes our shared reality. Your interpretation immediately impacts how that fact is received: “It may be raining: one of us is happy about it and the other pissed off!”
Here’s what I said in my book, Raising Critical Thinkers:
The alternative to certainty is intimacy. Intimacy means knowing more of the subject with more of yourself. It looks like a greater and greater tenderness toward a field of study— a hunger to become close to it, to know its compelling contours and unavoidable flaws. It means reading the subject’s ardent fans and listening with patience to its detractors. Intimacy leads to both a fascination with and protection of a subject’s inherent value. There’s inscrutability and mystery within every subject. Intimacy in learning means developing an ongoing relationship to that discipline, allowing it to morph and change, which requires humility. Mastery is a myth.
Intiimacy means when you feel tweaked or smug or concerned or urgent, that’s the moment to get curious. What else is there to know? Why does the other person see the same information so differently?
BIG NEWS! Introducing BECOMING A CRITICAL THINKER (for ages 12-18). I took the exercises that were inside Raising Critical Thinkers and added a slew more. I included journal prompts, checklists, ranking bars, and boxed spaces for kids to write directly in the book. BECOMING A CRITICAL THINKER is open for presale and will publish on May 7!
