So I was going to post last weekend but life has been a
little hectic. Both of my little guys
got that yucky snotty gross cold thing going around and it has been TONS of fun
at my house! J
When I got back from maternity leave, I really wanted to get
my kids going on writing more stories. Have I
mentioned I love teaching writing??? My
sub did a fabulous job getting them going with writing using a 4 square plan so we were able to take right
off. I noticed that they were having a
problem writing imaginary stories so I came up with a graphic organizer to help
them plan their story before they wrote.
Here’s a freebie of it if you want to try it out!
To provide some background, we read The Snowman by Raymond
Briggs, a wordless picture book. We
worked together on a larger version of the graphic organizer first.
The next day, I read Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
to help them brainstorm some ideas for their own snowman story. I passed out the graphic organizers and we
went through each area step by step. We
talked about the characters, the setting, and then the beginning, middle and
end. I did this one section at a time so
they had time to think about their story, not just write something quickly
without a plot.
Here is one of my kiddos plans:
We talked about how a lot of imaginary stories start. Many wanted to write “Once upon a time.” We decided it would be good to tell the
characters and setting on the first page so readers know who and what they are
reading about!
Then we were on our way to publishing their own book. I have “books” made by stapling half sheets
of paper together. I don’t have lines on
the pages because I let them put their words where they wish, just like an
author and illustrator would in a real book.
I let them illustrate their own books.
It’s great to see the different levels of writing and drawing in my
room!
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After they wrote and illustrated their story, I introduced
the idea of a blurb. What is a
blurb??? I honestly didn't know the
name of this until I started teaching first grade! It is what the author puts on the back of the
book so people can find out what the story is about. My kids are all about blurbs now. Here are a few of my favs!
Enjoy!
Caroline
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