Post date: Jan 25, 2012 10:54:7 PM
The students are working on fiction (End of January into mid- Feb.) and you may see some writing workshop homework coming home. Some of the terms might be confusing so I'll try to explain some here:
Character Traits - how you would describe a character - silly, serious, smart, happy, shy etc.
Outside Traits- these refer to the character's appearnce - tall, short, etc.
Inside Traits - how a character feels, what they wish for, hope for, what they fear etc.
Struggles and Motivation - every character has things they either want or things that are hard for them and this often drives the story line.
Story Map - this is an outline of a story that charts the important plot developments - we've talked about every story having a peak or big moment - this would be where everything "comes to a head" for example in the story of Cinderella, the peak would be when she looses her slipper running out of the ball at midnight.
The students are writing realistic fiction, so their stories may be based on things they've experienced themselves and you can ask about the story ideas they are working on.