One thing I’ve noticed: struggling and emerging writers often rely on little itty bitty verbs—the “is/was/has/go” kind. It makes their writing sound flat, even young.
To help with this, I’ve built an activity that separates verb usage into 10 distinct categories. This lets students see the range of choices they actually have when writing.
I also model the process with Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” I wrote four different introductory paragraphs about the poem—two with simple, basic verbs and two with stronger, more active verbs. When students see them side by side,
the lightbulb goes off 
: verbs are what give writing maturity, rhythm, and power.
This activity has sparked some of the best “aha” moments in my classroom. If you’re looking for a concrete way to get kids out of the “itty bitty verb” trap, this might be just the thing.
Slide deck is available ... just scroll down a tad bit in the video's description.
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