Creative Writing Assignment - Homer Older Beg.

[Laurie]

Hi,

I am using Homer for Older Beginners with my 12 & 14 year old. I wish you had included one additional chapter wrapping everything up with an “original” narration assignment. This has been our first year with CW, and while I appreciate all we have learned, I 'm still fuzzy on how to put this all together. There is so much!!

I would really appreciate your guidance. My kids want to write their own story. How would I go about assigning a 1 to 3 scene narration? I was thinking of first having them define the conflict and resolution to their story. Next, have them give me a character sketch (written or oral), about the people in their story. From there, I thought they could complete Theon's 6 components for each scene, and finally do an outline. Would that be to much?

What would you do for this type of assignment?

Thanks so much for your help.
Laurie

[Lene Mahler Jaqua]

Well, for writing a story, you can give as much or as little guidance as you wish to.

You could start by outlining a story loosely (like the Princess and the Pea) and then write a different story using the same structure of bad weather, a test, and finding the true person. Or for modeling on the Hare and the Tortoise, a boast, a challenge, a race (of some sort), then humility.

In other words, you could give structure via a certain story sequence. Or you could give structure to the characters and say, write the sequel to any known story.

You could ask the students to rewrite the Hare and the Tortoise in a space setting, or the Little Red Hen in a medieval setting, also. In that case it's the poetic truth and moral of the story you keep while you change characters all around. In the Little Red Hen, the moral is that if you don't work you don't eat. In that vein you could give your students any good old proverb (haste makes waste, the early bird gets the worm, a stitch in nine... etc) and ask the student to write a story that illustrates that moral.

Those are a few ideas.

Lene

[Laurie]

Lene,

Thank you for your great ideas, which I plan to use. I would also appreciate your guidance on how I can direct them on a story they write from scratch? My daughter, who is only 12, loves to write stories; unfortunately, she rarely finishes. What "structure" would you suggest.

Thanks,
Laurie

[Lene Mahler Jaqua]

Well, every story has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Ask her to think about a setting and an issue: that is the beginning.

Ask her what crisis or problem or issue arises in her story, and how it is resolved, that is the middle.

Ask her what the moral of the story is, that could be the end.

For each aspect of the story, pull out the corresponding Theon component of a narrative to fish for ideas.

Lene