Hey - I need help with ideas! the little darlings aren't gong to come up with them either, so we're trying to give them ideas. Also I have to model the story (teacher speak for I have to do it first and show them how.) I can write, but need ideas to get started! Everything I think of comes out like Madana (Thai opera). We want them to stay away from Hollywood fantasies and aliens as well.
Well, the idea is to model writing a fantasy. Normally I don't have a problem writing stories, but this time the literacy coach wants us each to have a story written to the same specifications that the kids will have to use to write their end of unit assessment. I have no time. The ideas aren't flying just now. I have to give the other teachers a list of critical elements on Friday at a meeting I'm not going to, so I need it tomorrow. No choice on the genre, I'm afraid.
ok, how much help do you need? if, for examle, i just say "gnomes!" is that helpful, or do you need more, like "gnomes like cheese and will go to any lengths to get it?" or even more, like "harry the gnome ostracized all of his friends in his search for cheese until her realized that friendship truly is better then cheese?"
Sure - the gnome might be the character with the magic powers that helps the kid solve the problem. I got the idea from another teacher at the school to ask the kids what everyday problems they had and use those somehow to create the problem the character is going to have to solve. Interesting - the most gifted kid in the class came up with about 7 problems right off the bat, and very creative they were, too! He swears they really happened, including the time aliens put some birthday cake on his shirt when he hadn't been anywhere near the cake! The kids who have a harder time with academics "didn't have any problems" to write about, they said. It was a revealing and touching assignment. One kid said his big problem was when people yell at him, and his brain kind of shuts down - he's a terrific kid, always tries hard to do a good job. I don't remember yelling at him. I'll sure remember to avoid yelling in the future.
Here's some ideas I got extending what the kids gave me - I'm starting with the problem because the characters and setting evolve from the problem, I think: 1. Character is always neat. Every night he puts away all his toys and books carefully, but every morning they are scattered all over his floor and he has no idea why. His mom doesn't believe that he cleans the room every night and it's beginning to make life difficult for him. How can he discover what is going on - and why? And how can he make it stop? (Here's where the gnome could help - either the gnome is making the mess or it can help find the culprit and stop the messes). this was from my highly gifted kid - he swears it happened. I'm guessing little sister got loose in his room. 2. Character is always late to school. He knows he needs to wake up early so he'll be in time for the bus, but things keep happening to him so he misses the bus. and no one believes him when he tells them what happened. Why are all these strange things suddenly happening? How can he make them stop and get to school on time? 3. Character is a super student in everything except social studies. Whenever he reads the social studies book, the words rush out of his head as fast as he can read them. Answer social studies questions? No way! Will he ever figure out how to understand social studies and pass third grade? 4. Character really wants to be a terrific basketball player, but he has a terrible time making baskets. The ball seems to see the net and veer away from it whenever it gets close. What's going on? Will he ever succeed on the basketball court?
We have to follow a formula here - sigh. The kids need practice thinking about this kind of thing so they'll be ready for their writing assignment in about a month. They'll be writing their own stories, but I have to model one for them first, showing them how to organize ideas. They might be using the ideas I come up with - our plan is to have one bag each containing cards that give Character 1 - the one who needs help, Character 2 - the helper with the magic powers, the setting, the problem, and maybe the solution. We're trying to steer them away from aliens, talking dinosaurs, video game characters, movie characters etc. They are supposed to use their imaginations. It's hard. I'm living proof, and I generally can write pretty good stories. I realize, though, that what I do is to take several elements and synthesize from that. I write the kids a cloze story (story with blanks where their vocabulary words go and context clues so they can figure out what words go there) every week using the vocabulary words. The words suggest the theme of the story. I don't very often have to come up with a story from nothing. It's instructive to do that and realize how hard it is, since I'm asking the kids to do it. And they don't even have LJ help!
Thanks for your willingness to help out and your ideas!
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Here's some ideas I got extending what the kids gave me - I'm starting with the problem because the characters and setting evolve from the problem, I think:
1. Character is always neat. Every night he puts away all his toys and books carefully, but every morning they are scattered all over his floor and he has no idea why. His mom doesn't believe that he cleans the room every night and it's beginning to make life difficult for him. How can he discover what is going on - and why? And how can he make it stop? (Here's where the gnome could help - either the gnome is making the mess or it can help find the culprit and stop the messes). this was from my highly gifted kid - he swears it happened. I'm guessing little sister got loose in his room.
2. Character is always late to school. He knows he needs to wake up early so he'll be in time for the bus, but things keep happening to him so he misses the bus. and no one believes him when he tells them what happened. Why are all these strange things suddenly happening? How can he make them stop and get to school on time?
3. Character is a super student in everything except social studies. Whenever he reads the social studies book, the words rush out of his head as fast as he can read them. Answer social studies questions? No way! Will he ever figure out how to understand social studies and pass third grade?
4. Character really wants to be a terrific basketball player, but he has a terrible time making baskets. The ball seems to see the net and veer away from it whenever it gets close. What's going on? Will he ever succeed on the basketball court?
We have to follow a formula here - sigh. The kids need practice thinking about this kind of thing so they'll be ready for their writing assignment in about a month. They'll be writing their own stories, but I have to model one for them first, showing them how to organize ideas. They might be using the ideas I come up with - our plan is to have one bag each containing cards that give Character 1 - the one who needs help, Character 2 - the helper with the magic powers, the setting, the problem, and maybe the solution. We're trying to steer them away from aliens, talking dinosaurs, video game characters, movie characters etc. They are supposed to use their imaginations. It's hard. I'm living proof, and I generally can write pretty good stories. I realize, though, that what I do is to take several elements and synthesize from that. I write the kids a cloze story (story with blanks where their vocabulary words go and context clues so they can figure out what words go there) every week using the vocabulary words. The words suggest the theme of the story. I don't very often have to come up with a story from nothing. It's instructive to do that and realize how hard it is, since I'm asking the kids to do it. And they don't even have LJ help!
Thanks for your willingness to help out and your ideas!