Grade Level: First Grade

Content Area: ELA

Standard: ELA21.1.34 With prompting and support, write a narrative that recounts two or more appropriately sequenced events using transitions, incorporating relevant details, and providing a sense of closure.

Objective: Students will design a geoboard maze using rubber bands to help a “turkey” (marble) escape danger and write a narrative that recounts the turkey’s journey through the maze, using sequenced events, transition words, relevant details, and a clear sense of closure in alignment with ELA Standard 34.

Directions: After building their maze on the geoboard, students tested the path to see how the turkey (marble) would travel. Students observed how the turkey moved through turns, obstacles, and open pathways, then used these observations to write a narrative describing the turkey’s escape. Their stories included an introduction to the turkey and its problem, two or more appropriately sequenced events using transitions such as first, next, then, and finally, descriptive details about the maze and the turkey’s actions, and an ending that provided closure.

Guidelines: Students created their mazes using rubber bands and geoboards, ensuring the marble could roll smoothly through the path. Each maze was required to include at least two turns and one obstacle to support detailed storytelling. For their narratives, students planned their writing using a beginning–middle–end organizer before drafting and were encouraged to add descriptive words to bring their story to life. Each completed narrative needed to be written in complete sentences, include transition words, and clearly show how the turkey escaped.