Oh, what twisted plots they weave!

Fingers are flying in ELA as conflicts arise, tensions build, and characters become embroiled in messy plots!  Young writers are exercising their imaginations and sharpening their writing skills as they craft their stories.  They are using their prewriting work to weave in character and setting details; they are practicing descriptive writing by employing literary devices; and they're expanding their vocabularies by using a thesaurus as they write. 

We are devoting all of this week to the writing process of drafting, editing, and revising.  I'll be giving students an editing checklist as well as the rubric (linked below).  Depending on their pace, students can turn in their final story either by the end of class this Friday or upon return in January.  I'll be reminding students that they have a choice about the final format of their story, as outlined in the original instructions.

Short Story Editing Form

Short Story Rubric


Homework:

Mon-Thurs:  work on story!

Winter Storms and Brainstorms

Not only is the winter weather churning, but so are active young minds in ELA class!  Students are immersed in brainstorming their characters, setting details, and overall plots of their stories. This week we will also examine the rules of writing dialogue--for which punctuation can be tricky--as well as practice showing characters' emotions, setting, and situation rather than simply telling the reader.  Students should be ready to begin drafting stories by the end of the week!

Homework:

Tuesday:  finish prewriting station 2

Wednesday:  finish prewriting station 3

Thursday:  finish dialogue practice & show not tell practice (if needed); if finished in class, can begin drafting story

Friday:  work on story draft

Let the Stories Begin!

I skipped writing a post last week due to the shortened week, and here we go with another one!  Sometimes the shorter weeks turn out to be the busiest!  I'm not complaining, though--found time outside of school is always a blessing.  Speaking of blessings...in the spirit of the holiday season, I wanted to express my gratitude for having such sweet, intelligent, and creative students under my wing.  It is truly a privilege to be able to work with them each day!

It seems that most have returned energized and excited to dive into short story writing.  Someone even texted me yesterday asking if they could begin--because they just couldn't NOT begin!  Today we discussed why we're writing stories, reviewed the instructions and criteria, and I explained the process of moving through prewriting stations to drafting.  These stations, covering character, setting, conflict/plot line, dialogue writing, and "show not tell" language, allow all students to engage the writing process in steps in order to dispel any feelings of angst.  I've attached below the instruction handout outlining criteria and the prewriting tracking chart.

Homework:

Wednesday:  think/list story ideas (any genre and topic)

Thursday:  work on story prewriting station #1 as needed

Friday:  finish station #1 prewriting


Short Story Writing Workshop (instructions/tracking chart)