Lori: 2nd Grade Creative Writing

2nd Grade Creative Writing

By Lori Gentry

Gentle Giant Octopus

By Karen Wallace

Mentor Text: Gentle Giant Octopus is a story that explores the life of an octopus. It is a very describtive book that has been poetically written. The story is give in small chuncks so that children learn the most. The book also is informative. Students learn that Octupus have no bones, and they have 60,000 babies at a time. When a fish bites off a tentacle, the tentacle grows back. It can fit in really small places. Octopi squirt ink to get away from predators. Students will not only learn many true facts about the octopus, but this book does a great job of modeling descriptive and creative writing.

Purpose: I have chose this author and book because of its high interest, and beautiful word choice. This is a great example of how to creatively write about a true thing. I feel that this author has done an excellent job presenting the octopus in such a poetic form.

About the Author: Karen Wallace was born in Canada and grew up in a log cabin in Quebec. She had a very good childhood and reflects on her senses as a child when writing her natural history books. Karen writes for children ages 5 to 15 years of age. She went to London University to read English. She also writes scripts for children's television, natural history programmes and the occasional documentary. Although she states that writing scripts uses a different writing muscle. Some of Karen's publications include: THINK OF AN EEL, IMAGINE YOU ARE A TIGER, and I AM A TYRANNOSAURUS REX. Other publications and more information about Karen Wallace can be found at

www.karenwallace.co.uk/about.htm

Karen Wallace -

Lesson Plan: After reading the book Gentle Giant Octopus guide the students into
Creative Writing:
First go through and list vocabulary from the book. Then approach the students:
You are a deep sea diver whose mission it is to explore the seas. Describe what you see through your diver’s mask. Remember to use vocabulary from the Gentle Giant Octopus book by Karen Wallace. Let your creative juices flow by using your senses (sight, hearing, touching) to help you write your response. Include a labeled diagram of what you have visualized in your writing piece.

Content Standard: Writing Process Standard

D. Use revision strategies and resources to improve ideas and content, organization,
word choice and detail.