2.25.08-3.7.08: Short Stories - full writing process/in-class workshopping

Short Stories

In conjunction with our unit on adaptation to the physical environment, students created short stories with a focus on the environment, particularly exploring human adaptation to a new environment. The guidelines for the final piece were intentionally left open; students had the option of incorporating geographical terms from their geography studies as a way to expand setting descriptions or could choose to set their story in one of the regions that they had studied (the Andes mountains, Canadian forest, Sahara desert, Mt. Everest). The results were a wide range of stories that took the theme of "adaptation" and "survival" to wide-range of stories.

The writing process began with "trying on" characters and settings, playing with mood and tone, and a series of short writing exercises that allowed students to begin tossing around possible ideas to later develop into full stories. "Story mountain" brainstorms (attached) began the official writing process, followed by drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Workshop time in class was spent on these areas so that students could engage in peer and teacher conferences.  Grammar lessons included lessons and practice with punctuating dialogue and making dialogue effective. All students were given a calendar of the story process to guide their work over the two weeks of writing.

Once stories were handed in, we spent a few days looking at summarizing: how to write a summary that is effective, the difference between a summary and a review, and the uses of a summary. Students presented their stories in a small group setting during assembly, where they each did a short reading, featuring a summary of the story, presentation of the final piece, and a short excerpt of their writing.

Stories were assessed using the rubrics (attached) for both story writing, the writing process, and "publishing."