Scariest Stories

Whether it be a scary story or a fall poem, we encourage students to share their literary work and discuss it with one another. Students can use this project to develop their writing skills by sharing and discussing their narrated and/or illustrated (optional) writing in our online community.

The Scariest Stories project activities described below are designed to take about one hour a week in a school computer lab or on set of classroom computers. Teachers should plan to spend an hour a week in addition to the computer time. Students who get involved spend more time writing, sharing and discussing their stories.

NOTE: As you view and read results from past years, please remember that this is the first year we are using the NEW iCollaboratory site. In past years, we used the Survey Studio and Nexus Communities for the Scariest Stories project. It is going to look different.

October 1-7: The Scariest Survey 
Students take an online Survey to learn about the other students who are participating, what they like to do on Halloween and what they are most scared of.

October 8-14: The Scariest Cybrary

After registering for the Project, students, as a class, select one link representing their collective ideas about a scary story, Halloween tradition, or local legend from their hometown or region for students in other regions to view. Teachers submit the selected link to the Scariest Stories Cybary.

October 15-21: Write and Share Your Scariest Stories
Students use their iCollaboratory Sites classroom account to write and share a scary story. The story may include text, illustrations and audio narration/sound effects (optional) or a very short video (optional). The stories can be written in any native language.

October 22-31: Review and Discuss Stories
Students review the stories others have written and discuss them online by contributing comments at the end of each story. The comments can be written in any native language. Please also translate them into English.

Interactive Map: Students use an interactive map to identify where their fellow scary storytellers weave their ghoulish tales.

• Interactive map for 2008.
  
• Interactive map for 2007
• Interactive map for 2006

View a slide show about The Collaboratory’s Scariest Stories, 2007. As you view the slide show, please remember that the Scariest Stories completed in previous years did not use Google Tools. 

K-12 teachers send email to collaboratory@collaboratory.northwestern.edu between September 1 and October 1. In your message, please include your full name, email address, grade level you teach, your school's name, city, state or province and country. Upon registration completion, you will receive a teacher iCollaboratory account and a classroom iCollaboratory account for each participating classroom.