Writing Stories, Journals, Plays and Menus

Kia Ora Room 19 Families,

As requested here is a blog all about children writing stories.

My children and I have been writing stories, plays and menus to pass the time at home.

The following links can help you write your own story based on story starting prompts:

https://www.journalbuddies.com/creative-writing-2/story-starters-for-kids/

https://www.journalbuddies.com/journal_prompts__journal_topics/kids-short-story-ideas/

https://www.teachersnotepad.com/story-starter/

When you think about writing a story, the first thing you do is draw your picture plan. Then the story you write has to match your picture plan. Remember when we were doing our swimming art?

So imagine this picture on the board is my picture plan. I have drawn a picture of myself in the pool, so I now need to write my story about swimming in a pool. Remember the picture plan needs to match my story. 

We then need to remember to re-read the sentence often as we are writing it to make sure that it makes sense. For example on the board I wrote " I am school", but does this sentence make sense? What word do we need to add in to make sure it makes sense?

Have your parents help you hold a sentence in your head, long enough for you to write it down. Also don't forget your punctuation and finger spaces in your sentences.

Capitals belong at the beginning of the sentences and for names of things. Commas help the reader pause for breath and full stops tell the reader that it is the end of that sentence.

Here are the butterfly cards if you don't have them at home:

For the year 2 children and anyone on Purple and Gold levels, your goal is to develop your writing story telling ability. So I suggest looking at pictures and coming up with your version of what is happening in the picture. For example:

Who is in this picture? Two penguins and Polar Bear and a Seal right? But what are their names?
Where is the story set? On an iceberg drifting out to sea? In Antarctica?
What is the problem? Are the hungry? Do they just like to fish? Are they learning how to take turns and share since there is only one fishing rod?
Once you have decided on the problem, how will you solve it? What will the characters do/learn in order to fix the problem?
Finally how will you end the story?

Congratulations! You have successfully figured out how to write an interesting story with a beginning, middle and end!

Once you have come up with your own ideas, and written you own story on this picture, scroll down and see my story.

One day Sam the polar bear was hanging out at home on his ice berg, in Alaska, when his friends Freddie and Frankie the penguin twins and Tania the seal came over to play. They wanted Sam to teach them how to fish. 
Uh oh there is only one fishing rod, and Sam loves to fish. Sam also didn't know how to teach anyone to fish. He thought that they would learn just by watching him, so he started fishing, while his friends watched. 
Soon everyone but Sam was bored and not having any fun. Sam didn't want his friends to leave, so he thought about what he could do differently. 
Finally he remembered that his Mum told him that it is fun to share with his friends and to take turns when they play. Sam decided to let his friends have a go at fishing with the fishing rod. 
Now all of his friends were having fun trying to get fish with the fishing rod. Even Sam was having fun watching his friends splashing, and wobbling around trying to catch wriggly wobbly fish. 
They all had such a great time catching fish, that the decided to do it again the next day. 

The more practice you have expanding and growing your stories the more interesting they will become.
So here are our remember to's:
Write a beginning - saying who, were, when and why
Write a middle saying what happened, using words like first, next, after, then, last.
Write an ending saying what I (you) thought about the event.



That is enough for today, if you want to do a play or write a menu, google has plenty of options and tutorials. Please make sure you share with me what you are working on and how you are doing.

Join us in our next blog for sight words and phonics activities. Have a wonderful weekend. Take care and be safe.

Sending you all big virtual hugs and best wishes, from my family to yours. Enjoy this photo of me (Mrs Futcher) as an avocado!