This next collection of writing comes from the younger kids in June's creative writing "sampler" workshops. These kids, mostly rising 2nd graders, did an amazing job of coming up with stories from the random items in their story buckets.
Story Bucket Items:
figurine of a lady
kitchen sponge
slice of pizza
mirror
fancy purse
7 year old B. wrote this story inspired by her items. I edited the spelling only. Note how this story has both a plot and a moral lesson--very cool for this age group. During later revisions, we will work together to strengthen the plot and further develop the moral lesson B. has in mind.
The Rich Old Lady and the Poor Old Lady
Once there lived a rich old lady and a poor old lady. They both had houses. Poor old lady had a sponge and a rotten pizza. The rich old lady had a purse and a mirror. But the one thing that the rich and poor old lady (ies) didn't have. A heart. The rich old lady and the poor old lady were very cruel. They had very dangerous creatures hunting their forests around them so to scare people nearby. One night the creatures snuck up on the houses of the old ladies. They attacked them and ate them! The end!
Story Bucket Items:
glow wand
flashlight
boot
fancy glove
manatee key chain
toy horse
7 year old L. wrote this story. I edited for spelling only. I love how one item--the fancy glove--inspired a wedding that connected the different bucket items into a single plot. My next step will be to work with L. on punctuation. I encourage the group to write, write, write without regard to rules during our brainstorming time. Revision can and should follow later. This process also keeps budding writers from becoming too attached to their first drafts.
The Animals at the Wedding
Once there was a woman and a man they were going to get married at the exact same time two animals were assigned to write invitations for the wedding. One animals was a boy horse the other was a manatee. The horse had a flashlight the manatee had a glow wand as a lamp. After the invitations were handed out the animals got in their places at the end of the aisle when the wedding was over the woman and the man lived happily ever after. The horse and the manatee were very happy too. The end.
Story Bucket Items:
coil of wire
ball
necklace
snake
empty medicine bottle
action figure
6 year A. was the youngest in our group. She was eager to start writing but wasn't sure how to connect her items in a story. So I told her to list her items and then describe each of them. She did a great job and I could see her starting to think about that wire and its role in the story. Later, we developed a story idea by way of a question and answer session. What does the snake have to do with the medicine bottle? Does it matter that the bottle is empty? Why would you need that wire?
I got a ball in my green bucket. It has a lot of colors red, white, and blue. I do not like boy's stuff. I got a green necklace. I like girl's stuff. I got a yellow and black snake. It is long and skinny. Another thing I got is not a toy. It is an empty medicine bottle. I also got another toy. It is an Iron Man toy. The last thing I found a gray wire thing. You can bend it.
Story Bucket Items:
caterpillar
glasses
birthday candles
gold chocolate coin
red apple
necklace
7 year old E. wrote this story. Again, I edited her spelling only and we will work on punctuation revisions later. I love that you can really get a sense of E.'s voice as a writer coming through in even this short piece. Don't you want to read more?
Once there was a caterpillar he had a home and a red ball and some glasses and a necklace a toy too he never has a bad day but oh no he had a bad day he could not find his candles for his birthday he was turning 7 who has a bad day on their 7th birthday
But he just found them Yay so he sent the invitations and he stuck them in his chocolate coin The End
Not only are these kids thinking and writing on their feet, they are also developing confidence and poise in presenting their stories aloud! What a great group of smart, creative kids!
“ Creativity now is as important in education as literacy.
And we should treat it with the same status.”
~Dr. Ken Robinson, creativity expert and author of
The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
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