Today the 4th graders started the day by doing some crankie construction prep work to prepare for next week when they have a guest teacher while I am at a district training. Then, the rest of the day was dedicated to story craft. The students practiced using Rory's Story Cubes to help them generate ideas for characters, settings, and plots. This activity inspired most students to develop a hero's journey complete with detailed character profiles, and plot points for each step of the hero's journey.

After lunch, I met with most (but didn't get to all) students to workshop their stories. They will have next week in class to further refine their stories, but I will not be there to help. Some students may need help simplifying their stories so that they better fit the crankie format, but I am also fine if they figure that out on their own through the process. (Or maybe they will surprise me and exceed what I thought was possible!)

Next week, with the guest teacher, they will be storyboarding their hero's journey, and creating the backdrop for their crankie. I can't wait to see their progress and hear about their time spent in the Learning Pit!