Embedded Files
Mentor Texts
Now, before you start anything, you need to listen to some good narratives. Have a classroom discussion about what they makes them good. I have a whole page dedicated to printed mentor texts, but these are videos to get your kids disucssing story elements.
The Weaving Contest Umande Garvey's Choice Yeh-Shen Procrustus
Charts
Lucy Caulkins suggested these charts: They help kids start brainstorming. My favorite is for students to make a t-chart list of the first and last times they did something. It is also a great way to bond with youer students: For me, it was the last time I saw I saw my father, the first time I saw my husband, the last time I saw my dog alive, the first time we brought her home, the last time I saw Kirk, the firsrt time I logged into Facebook... you get the idea.
Great Leads
Seven Circles This is a youtube video that shows how to get reluctant writers get writing. After more than a decade in the classroom, this seven circles strategy has worked so well that I used it every single year on the first day of school. I have students make the circles in the first page of their writing journals. We have some real good community building moments talking about each circle, and I make my own for the class, so they get to know me. In December or March, when the kids get stuck, I have them take this page out again. I say "Turn to your seven circles" and I point to a random name and say "Tell me about Bianca." I ask some probing questions like "When was the last time you saw her?" and "When will you see her next?" If I were you, I would watch the video so you understand the seven circles, then present it yourself to your class.
Maps This is another youtube video lesson. The strategy presented here can work for real or fictional characters. It is a good way to get reluctant readers going, but it also serves to help get character development going. Where does the character live? Who lives near them? What kind of neighborhood is this? Overall, it is just a great way to start understanding the students in your class, if you have their draw their own neighborhoods, but also get creative juices flowing... How would this neighborhood be different it was two blocks from the ocean? How would this neighborhood be different if it was 1948? Maybe you can image there is a suyper annoying kid next door.... Stuff like that...
Great Leads Lesson This is a link to a worksheet on a Google Doc. This lesson is for students who have an idea for a story, but don't know how to start. I have included six ways to start, and students can practice all six ways and then choose the one the like best for their published story. The first page of the "lesson" is the teacher example. The year I made this, I had many boys very interested in war stories. That's why my story is about Charlie, a guy returning from war. But you can make your own example of course, using any story. I give the students a copy of the worksheet, and then I have them choose one of their stories from the writers notebook to rewrite the lead for.
Writing Fluency I have an entire page dedicated to just getting the juices flowing. Click here for the web page. The idea is that once student get their creative juices flowing, it is easy to pull parts of this journal entry and that journal entry to make a really good story. That's when students can start focusing in on parts of a good story, like, for example, how to develop characters into likeable, lovable, relatable beings....
Character Development
Story Mountain.pdfFirst, after a few days of creativity running wild, you got to zoom in, focus in.
This Planning worksheet should help you get things going in the right direction.
When students are thinking of their character, I have them visualize some things that the character owns.
Character Traits Synonyms List
Character Development: Examples This worksheet has a few story starters in it, because never assume the kid wants to write about their own life. Give the kids an out and give them these story starters.
Character Development: Personal Connection This worksheet is for the students to visual things in their own life, either for the purpose of writing a personal narrative or in order to make their narrative seem more personal.
Modeled Text Here is the story of me and my real life sister with a few details changed to make the story better. As the old Irish saying goes, never let the truth get in the way of a good story!
Epiphany
An epiphany is a moment is time when you realize something and the rest of your story, or your life, changes. If an author can write in an epiphany into the narrative, wow! Here is how to write a narrative and some examples of two REAL life examples. Mr. Padilla is a PE coach and all-around great guy. There was one moment in his life, and changed his whole life. And Ms. Santos? She was an Olympic athlete, but her epiphany has nothing to do with that...but everything to do with the rest of her life. Watch each one of these teachers explain a moment that changed their lives. Then, have students conduct adult interviews to learn about epiphanies and see if they can work an epiphany into their narratives.
Emotions
Writing with emotion is hard to do... Try this slideshow with your class! It not in Google Slides or Powerpoint.. It's in Keynote, from a Mac. So, download it and let your mind be blown!
Now, the best way to learn about an epiphany is to interview an adult or two. Here is a form where you can Interview Some Adults.
Character Voice and Dialogue
The next part is about writing with character voice and adding character dialogue. There are some worksheets and auxiliary support to help practice and skill and transfer it to your writing.
Character Development Practice Worksheet
Developing Inner Monologue Worksheet
Developing Inner Monologue Practice
Developing Inner Monologue template
Character Voice Practice Worksheet
Editing for Dialogue: Quotes and Commas Worksheet
Point of View Worksheets This a good time to introduce parts of the speech. In the editing process, if a kid does not know how to revise, you can just have them write from a different point of view!
Developing the Problem
Developing Problems for Characters This is a graphic organizer that helps students to develop unique problems and wants for each character. Now, it is worth noting that not all characters will become main characters, of course. However, it helps to think of each character as a real life human, not just a prop. Makes the story writing even better and the characters more realistic. Work on this for a few days, experimenting in student's writing how different characters can react differently to the same event and then keep the one you like best.
Editing the Narrative
Seriously, do any kids edit? It like pulling teeth. They think they are done when they only did one draft! So, you got to get real specific about what you want them to edit for. The three videos below show that we are editing for three things: (1) Sentence Variety (2) Adding dialogue (3) Transitions.
DAY ONE of Editing: I tell kids to re-read their work in its entirety. Make sure it sounds good and is spelled right. Second, re-read it and think about the sentence variety. That is when I play the first video.
DAY TWO of Editing: Now, we have to go back and just think of the dialogue. Play the second video here. But I do give a mini lesson on how to write dialogue, using quotation marks and commas, and starting on a new paragraph with each new speaker. But that's all in the second video.
DAY THREE of Editing: The very last thing is those transitions. Watch the third video and then make a big chart as students search for transition words in model texts or mentor texts or each other's texts even. Once we have a big list of transitions to use in writing, they can watch the video themselves and edit their writing to add better transition words between the scenes, and between the paragraphs.
SENTENCE VARIETY
DIALOGUE
TRANSITIONS
Grading the Narrative
Writer’s Checklist for Narratives.pdfMentor Texts
Fun Story Starters
It takes forever to load but it is pretty fun!
Taking it to the Next Level
Story Skeleton.pdfWriting with a theme?
I use this graphic organizer all the time. We start off by reading some short stories ( or listening to videos of short stories and completing the chart. This is so kids get used to how the chart works and how stories are organized. Then, I have student map out their own stories. For some students, this really does improve the level and rigor of their writing. Other kids.... well, it just frustrates them because their brain don't work like this.....
Seeing the Big Picture?
This is a common chart that I use with my class. See the little blue post it note? I move this along as we add new lessons. Sometimes, kids need to see the whole planning of their story to push it to the next level. However, other kids still struggle with getting paragraphs and whatnot. This chart helps.
The orange parts is the bare bones I start with every year. Then, I add notes, like the green and pink, based on what that class needs.
Varied Sentence Structure
This next step is for students who are very fluent writers, but very very boring. I like to do this worksheet to teach them about varied sentence structures. This activity just gets their brain thinking about re-writing sentences. This is also a good activity to do when you need to kill a day, like before winter break, or when a fire drill interrupts your regular lesson. There are two story starters: Oliver, who has to testify in court, and Miguel, who wants to take a dance class.
You scrolled all the way down... this means that you enjoyed my work. Yes, it is free. Yes, there is no obligation... besides telling me if there is a spelling error or something... But, you know, I do like coffee... and I am not going to say no if you want to buy me a cup of coffee via Venmo. I am @AmaraLee-Brenner.
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