Refrains/Repeated Ideas

Creating Interest And Reinforcing A Message…

Suggested Activities

1. Read and discuss the text, Just the Way They Are.  Before you begin, prompt students to listen for ideas that are repeated throughout the story.
2. Explain to students that an author might use a repeated phrase or idea to create interest or reinforce a message.
3. Present the following repeated phrases/ideas to the class.
   • Things were just fine the way they were
   • ….was not happy….was not happy at all
   • but most ____  didn’t agree…
   • little boys (and girls)…dreaming of….when they grew up
4. Discuss how the above repeated phrases/ideas help reinforce the book’s message — Some people embrace change while others resist it.
5. Create a class chart where students can record examples of repeated phrases/ideas in the work of other authors that they find as they read independently or as a class.

Have A Go

1. Have students select a piece of their own writing, and decide what message they are trying to convey to the reader.
2. Have students rework that piece of writing, by adding a repeated phrase or idea that creates interest or reinforces the message.
3. Have students share this piece with a partner.  Ask the reader to explain how or if the repeated phrase or idea helped reinforce the message.