January 2010

First sentences - Write a short, short story (beginning. middle and end) that begins with one of these sentences:    

• Horace had a real problem with wart hogs
• Mrs. Felix wasn't so sure what to make of the kid with big ears.
• I thought the coast was clear, but now I wasn't so sure.
• College changed my bother in ways we had never imagined.
• I am a spy, but not the kind of spy you are imagining.

Describe these places:   

• Lonely mall
• Sinister classroom
• Welcoming classroom
• Bizarre Bazaar
• Groovy Library

Imagine that you are:

• walking next to Columbus taking your first steps in the new world
• getting shot from a cannon at a small-town circus
• escaping from an island prison
• preparing to deliver your State of the Union speech
• climbing the highest mountain in Antarctica

Rants. Pretend you're one of these people and angrily tell someone just how you feel. You are a:

• teacher who just caught favorite student cheating
• coach who just found out his star player has quit the team
• businessman who wife just ran off with a spy
• spy whose wife ran off with a businessman
• parent whose daughter has just joined a cult

Write a letter describing one of these exciting moments:

• You have just decided to leave your job as a forest ranger and try to make it as an actor.
• You're a cop who has just cracked the biggest case of his life.
• You just learned that you have an identical twin living in Tulsa.
• You have been given a chance to make a lot of money by performing a risky task.

Write a story for children that relies heavily on one of these word trios.

• anger, ant, attic
• daring, doughnut, department store
• fright, foghorn, Finland
• cunning, crow, carnival
• pride, pigs, palace

Write a children's story that "proves" one of these morals.

• Life is fair.
• Life is not always fair.
• Loyalty has its limits.
• We often learn too late.
• People will surprise you.

Write some true stories with these titles:

• "A Coincidence"
• "Not My Day"
• "Never Again"
• "Not your Usual Classroom"
• "Surprise"

More true stories - Describe:

• your third grade teacher
• your first best friend
• an employer
• coach
• neighbor

Write a short story that ends with this sentence:

• "Now what?" Ruby whispered.
• Life for Uncle Herbie would never be the same.
• "Shut up...shut up...shut up," Gaylord whispered to himself.
• Clancy got ready for the fight of his life.
• When Wilber entered the room, I got up to leave.

Tell the story that led to this headline:

• CLANCY IS FIRED FOR CARING TOO MUCH
• TEACHER BLAMES FIASCO ON MARTIANS
• LUCY FINDS TRUTH IN THE ATTIC
• DOCTOR MAKES A HUGE MISTAKE
• EXPLORER LOSES HIS MAP

Ask students to change a story you have just read. Here are a few possibilities:

• Change the point of view.
• Change the setting.
• Rewrite the first few paragraphs as a children's story.
• Remove a paragraph and then explain how the story has been damaged.