Getting ready for Story Writing
We are just starting the year learning how to print properly (neat, uniform letters, using the margin as a starting place). We do this with lots of practice and journal writing.
Everytime we read a story, we will point out these three parts of a story and I will ask them these questions:
Beginning: Who are the main character(s)? Where the story takes place?
Middle: What is the problem in the story? How do the characters try to fix it?
End: How was the problem was solved or how the situation ended?
This way, students get used to how stories are organized and what information they need to include in their story writing. This is a good habit to get into, even when reading at home. The more students read, the better stories they will write!
Things we will work on throughout the year:
Too often students just TELL, but do not SHOW the reader what is going on. We call them skeleten sentences.
An example of a "Telling" sentence (skeleton): The teacher was angry.
What I wanted students to write (showing sentence): The teacher had a clenched jaw and her face was getting redder by the second! Her lips were pressed tightly together as she glared at the students.
In the second sentence, the writer doesn't have to say the teacher was angry, you can tell with all the words they used to describe the feeling!
Everytime we read a story, we will point out these three parts of a story and I will ask them these questions:
Beginning: Who are the main character(s)? Where the story takes place?
Middle: What is the problem in the story? How do the characters try to fix it?
End: How was the problem was solved or how the situation ended?
This way, students get used to how stories are organized and what information they need to include in their story writing. This is a good habit to get into, even when reading at home. The more students read, the better stories they will write!
Things we will work on throughout the year:
Too often students just TELL, but do not SHOW the reader what is going on. We call them skeleten sentences.
An example of a "Telling" sentence (skeleton): The teacher was angry.
What I wanted students to write (showing sentence): The teacher had a clenched jaw and her face was getting redder by the second! Her lips were pressed tightly together as she glared at the students.
In the second sentence, the writer doesn't have to say the teacher was angry, you can tell with all the words they used to describe the feeling!