Have you ever felt like you were going to fall asleep in the middle of reading your students' stories? C'mon, admit it! Reading pages of pages of young writers' work can sometimes be just the thing you need to fight off insomnia.
Well, even if you won't admit it now, I will. Left to their own devices, student often produce writing that sounds a little bit like this:
"One day a girl went to the park.

Then she went to the slide. Then she found a friend to play with and they played on the swings together. Then it was time to go home. The girl said goodbye to her friend and went home for dinner. The End.
If you showed your students a story like this, written by someone not in their class, they would agree that it is boring to read and not very effective.

One simple and powerful way to punch up the energy level of student writing is to introduce the idea of sound effects. A well-placed and carefully chosen "Pow!" "R-r-ring!" or "Splash!" can lend a tone of realism and sensory stimulation to a child's story.