Small Moments

A Small Moment zooms in on an event that takes place in a short period of time. It is about an event that happened to YOU! Or, a thing that YOU did! When thinking of a Small Moment idea, you can think about a watermelon...

A watermelon would be an idea that covers a full day or even an entire trip. That is too big of a story, so you will want to think of something smaller or more specific. Even a story idea that covers several hours may be too big (think watermelon slice!). For a small moment, you want the watermelon SEED! The moment you choose to write about could be something as short as a 2 minute sledding experience or the moment you arrived at your destination. The goal is to focus on a small moment in your life and bring it to life!

Once you have the event or thing, you STRETCH out the story, adding in lots of details. We practice stretching out our story by adding in action, talk, thoughts, and feelings, as well as telling the moment in small steps.

In Second Grade, we also focus on the beginning and ending of our stories. No longer will we start a story by writing 'One happy day,...' or 'I was at the store...'. Instead, we practice starting our stories in creative and attention-grabbing ways that use action or talk. For example, we could start our story like this: "My heart was beating quickly and loudly in my chest as I walked up to my parent’s house. I turned the corner to walk to the backyard. As I made the turn, my eyes fell on a friendly and familiar face. My grandma!"

For endings, students also begin to play around with how to conclude their stories. 'The End' endings are strictly prohibited in Ms. Clark's class. Instead, students will try to create playful, powerful endings, such as "As she waved goodbye, I felt my heart feel warm. I was so happy to see my grandma. Her smiles made me smile and I will remember this day forever. It was the best day!"