From Storytelling to Writing Using storytelling as a

From Storytelling to Writing • • Using storytelling as a pre-writing activity Increasing writing skills through storytelling Hints, tips, and hands-on activities Building a safe community of writers Beth Hammett » bhammett@dickinsonisd. org » mbhammett@aol. com

We could learn a lot from crayons: some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names and all are different colors…but they all exist very nicely in the same box. Author Unknown

Benefits of Storytelling • • Remember history Settle disputes Understand the world Increases attention span Helps with sequencing Improves writing fluency Builds a safe community of writers

Research James L. Collins’ Strategies for Struggling Writers Kirby and Linear’s Inside Out Storytelling uses “default strategies” such as: • Prior Knowledge • Narrating • Visualizing • Copying Class benefits include: • Building safe community of writers • Sharing • Positive working atmosphere

“I don’t know what to write about. ” “Nothing interesting ever happens to me. ” “I’ve never been anywhere. ” Road of Life Maps help students find ideas to write about. Looking at the maps of peers can also help students come up with new ideas or remind students of events from their pasts.

A First Week Activity: Road of Life Map • Begin holistically by explaining/modeling your map. • Give instructions for students to complete their maps. • Use one illustration to expand on and to storytell.

Map of My Life Focus on Practice Series Map of My Life has all the freedoms of a student’s imagination, and I give only two grading parameters. The map must include at least 15 events of the student’s life, and it must be colored. The 15 events can be past or future; students who have a good idea of future plans can include them as well. By looking at it, an observer should have insight into the personality of the artist/student. Examples of maps have included drawings in the shape of: 1. Student’s athletic number 2. Student’s initials 3. State the student has lived in or was born in 4. Favorite cartoon character 5. Physical characteristic such as red hair Cindy O’Donnel-Allen Education Packet

Make the Lesson Plan your own! For seventh graders: • Make a map of your life from birth to present. Illustrate the hills, valleys, thrills, and conflicts. Be specific. Be colorful. • Where were you born? • Where have you lived? • Where was your first learning experience? • You must have at least ten colorful events.

Lesson Plan Including Writing Assignment • • Road of Life map Choose only ONE event Tell your story Get peer feedback Re-tell your story (if needed) Write your rough draft Revise and edit your story (peer editing) Write a final copy

Dog Gone by Callie Massa I remember when my dog died. My dog died on January, 1, 1999. It was sunny, but cool outside. It all started when my parents were divorced. When they divorced my dad moved out. It was the worst thing that could ever have happened to me…I thought. The house we lived in when my dad moved out was a two-story house. We lived there for al year or two. My mom was having trouble paying off bills, buying stuff for my brother and me, and stuff she needed. When my mom told me we had to move out and that we were having problems with money I felt like my world was ending. I thought to myself, can anything get as bad as this? At that moment I didn’t think it could. The house were going to move into had people living in it and we had to wait three whole months. My mother didn’t know what to do. We had to have a place to live that didn’t cost that much. The only idea my mom had was not a good one, but we did it anyway. We moved into an apartment this meant my loving dog, Abby, would have to go to live at my aunt’s house. The apartment was not as bad as I thought is would be until I saw it for the first time. It was a little bitty one-bedroom apartment for three people to share.

Sometimes I felt bad because my mom would sleep on the couch just so my brother and I would have a nice cozy bed to sleep in. That Christmas we had a Chrismas tree no bigger than two feet tall. We didn’t get much that Christmas, but I didn’t say anything. I knew we were low on money. That weekend I spent the weekend with my dad and had a little Christmas with him. That Sunday I came back to the little one-bedroom apartment. When we walked in my mom was not smiling at all. I knew something was wrong. I went to the bedroom and put my stuff up, then I went and sat down on the couch next to my mom. My brother came and sat down on the other side of my mom. My mom said, “I have some bad news to tell you. ” I started to cry before she even told me the bad news. When the words came out I didn’t want to believe it was true, but it was. My loving dog I had loved and cared for was…dead. I felt all broken up inside. I didn’t know what to say, how to feel, or what I would do. My dog Abby was gone. Since she was at my aunt’s house I blamed my aunt, but my mom told me, “Abby was going to die sooner or later and it had to happen to her sooner. ” My aunt was nice and buried Abby. Now when I go

to her house I see Abby’s flowers in the yard. Sometimes I think to myself, I am glad she is in heaven with God. When I think that I smile because I know all dogs go to heaven! This is the first writing assignment of the year for students. It allows teachers to see where students are in their writings and gives students the opportunity to do their first peer workshopping in the class. Assessment: 10 items on map Colored map Rough Draft Workshopping Final Draft

From Storytelling to Writing Part Two: Storytelling Your Way Through The Amusement Park

Storytelling Your Way Through The Amusement Park • Have students recall a time they visited an amusement park or carnival. Discuss as a group then read the poem. • Storytell with partners or whole group using vivid words and descriptions. • Model an example of a park brochure. • Have students create their own park brochures complete with titles, rides, games… • After the assignment is completed, have students find a partner to compare/contrast their theme parks. • Students complete a compare/contrast writing assignment.

Seconds of Free Fall and Chaos My bored brother dragged me away from kiddie land, shoved me roughly to the adult ticket booth, the line dividing me from men. Thrilled by tickets snaking from his fist, I entered the kingdom of risks-the hammer and zipper, the roller coaster, I flinched when the hammer slammed down, when the zipper toppled and flipped us, I held the bar In a car jerked up a track and watched treetops and tents fall away. My brother leaned close and hissed how many fell from these seats last year, flung out over screaming mothers. He raised both hands and made me , the crossbar loose on my lap. Older boys tossed their hair and laughed, the heads of girls snug in their elbows. Our car crawled on cable grinding like bicycle chains about to break, all rides of childhood behind me, my arms high in surrender, my skull wobbling through tight turns, mashed down, like being born again to bright lights and dazzling screams. Walter Mc. Donald

From Storytelling to Writing Part Three: Homer’s Shield

Homer’s Shield • Using the handout, have students get into small groups. • Each group will storytell their interpretation of the artwork. • Students then write the story and color the illustration.

• Make sure the shields are colorful. • Stories should be limited to one page. • Arrange each story with its accompanying shield on a large sheet of butcher paper. • Display for all to see. • Ask for volunteers to read their stories.

Thank you for your participation! Beth Hammett