
Did you know that today, January 29, is National Curmudgeon Day? (Don't feel bad if you didn't.)
Dictionary.com defines a curmudgeon as a "bad tempered, difficult, cantankerous person."
Here are some writerly ways you and your students can celebrate:
Create a character sketch of a curmudgeon. What would this person look like? Act like? Say? What are their hobbies? What makes them most cranky?
In your notebook, make a list of other fun words that can describe someone whose in a bad mood: cantankerous, grouch, sourpuss, sulker, etc.
Write about things that may make you feel like a curmudgeon sometimes.
Write about someone you know who is a bit curmudgeonly. What would it take to turn them around and make them joyful?
Speculate on how the word curmudgeon came to be. It is a pretty interesting combination of letters, don't you think?
Write about curmudgeonly characters in some of the books you've read. What were the writing moves the author used to create this character?
Have fun with this holiday and explore writing with this fun vocabulary word!
Write on,

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