Advice! On Teaching A Fantasy Storytelling Fun Class For Elementary Students

I know for many kids writing more than a few sentences is a major tribulation,

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Not just writing! Some will find it hard to imagine! I would spend a week getting to know the kids you will be working with and surreptitiously seek out strengths and weaknesses - which kids don't mind reading in front of a class and which curl up and shrink at the idea. Have you considered that some of them may like acting and a play could evolve from your work with them? That could give them all an opportunity to show their strengths.

Not all kids are interested in fantasy and that could also be something to factor in to your plans - what alternative could you give those who are turned off by the word imagine? A few years back I had to occupy 30 ten year olds for a week and thought of Dracula. I had kids making newspapers, some made Victorian hats, one used Google maps to work out how many miles Dracula travelled and produced a detailed map. Two of the class were totally scared of the idea of Vampyres and I had to find something for them to do - they looked at different forms of transport in the 1890s and how long it would take to travel - they ended up working with mapboy!

Having written all that I think that the most important thing is for you to be flexible with your ideas.

I would look into modern primary teaching methods to help you here - both to control the class (not always as easy as it looks but at least you have experience...) and to make the lesson itself interesting for them. Of course, the latter should make the former easier to achieve as most children misbehave when they are bored.

One technique which may work to get ideas flowing is to invite ideas from the class as a brief 5 - 10 minute starter/introduction. Do it a bit like an improv night - ask the 'audience' for a setting, a character, a situation etc and then work with the class to blend them into a workable plot. Draw a plan on the board and add to it with thier ideas and encourage them to discuss them. What helps with this concept is doing what we call in UK teaching 'creating a safe and purposeful environment' where they understand that they can say what they want, no matter how silly, and no one will tell them off or laugh at them for it. To do this you may need to establish some ground rules like 'when one person is speaking no one may interrupt them'. Some teachers use a 'conch' for this - a soft toy or a ball which is passed around to whoever is speaking next.

Another way to encourage pupils to respond is to remove the 'hands up pressure' by using white boards. Most schools in the UK have these and all the pupils know how to use them (not sure if the same can be said in the US but ask...). Essentially, each child has a small white board (ironically the same size as the slates that used to be used in schools right up until the 60s ) and a marker pen. When you ask a question or ask for input they write thier answer on the board and hold it up. The idea is that no one can see what everyone else is writing save you so you can select answers without publically telling someone they are wrong. In your situation you can ask for ideas to be written on the boards and pick and choose good or popular ones without telling any child their idea is stupid. You can also use this for voting - i.e. write yes if you agree with Freddy that we should write a vampire story and no if you don't.

One thing I have always wanted to see in literacy lessons in schools is a more realistic process for writing and editing. Generally, you tend to have one, one hour lesson in which you need to talk about what you intend to do (i.e. 'Today we are going to look at dialogue', give some examples 'This is how you use speech marks...' and have them write something. That work is then collected in and marked and handed back and the marks recorded and that is the end of it - next lesson we are onto something else. I would like to see a situation where they get into the habit of doing a first draft, having it reviewed by a teacher or another pupil (and peer assessment is also something to look into... it is fantastic how critical they can be and it is a good skill to encourage) and then they do a revision based on those comments and so on. They do it at some higher levels - particularly Btec and GCSE assignments - but I have never seen it at primary level and that is when it is good to get those skills inherent.

Good luck with it. You will love it when you are there in front of the class, it is one the greatest rushes I have ever had, especially when you get them under your spell

I have no suggestions - but I know you'll do an excellent job!

ETA: Actually, I have one suggestion. Instead of focusing so heavily on writing, why not have a variety of activities, so all the kids will feel comfortable participating? Some kids can write a story. Some kids can just tell a story (because oral story-telling is a pretty cool art, too!). Some kids can form a group and act out a story. Some kids can illustrate a story. Or, each group can tell the same story, but through those different modes/techniques.

There are lots of different ways to tell a great story. And you could still document all on paper or via a recording.

In any event, my original comment still stands: I know you'll do an awesome job and the kids will love you!

I did a session for kids about a month ago at a B&N about writing adventure stories. The group ranged in age from about 7 to 11 and they were great. I had another adult with a whiteboard writing down what we brainstormed, but a kid could have done it as well. Let me track down the handout and I'll copy and paste it into a post later today. It might work as an opening for what you want to do.

Your ideas sound great! I think you're definitely on the right track.

Question: Is the class something kids self-select (Ooh, Mom, can I sign up for creative writing? Please?!) or is it part of an afterschool program they're assigned to? Because that could make a huge difference in your approach. If kids come into your class knowing they're going to write and wanting to be there, then I'd encourage you to give them daily opportunities to work on their own ideas, using the group story-telling as the model. If it's more of an after-school extra-help situation, then I would agree, many of your kids may be reluctant to set off on their own to do individual writing projects.

(areteus, sounds like the UK and the US are on similar pages when it comes to techniques. One of the first things I train my kinders to do is use a small white board for their answers!)

Gail Carson Levine's WRITING MAGIC has lots of great ideas for writing prompts and exercises, if you're looking for more. I would recommend you stay far away from most "How to teach creative writing" books sold in teacher stores. I haven't found one yet I didn't want to throw against the wall and stomp on.

The problem is, teacher books tend to be written by English majors who are used to analyzing literature and think you can write fiction by doing that backwards. So they tell kids to pick a character, setting, problem and solution, then make sure you have a beginning, a middle and an end. Kids end up with the most boring, random, strange stories when they follow that framework, because they miss the whole cause-and-effect, struggle-to-accomplish-a-goal aspect of storytelling.

Typical first grade story told that way: Once upon a time there was a mermaid. She lived in the ocean. She didn't have any friends. So one day she saw a starfish and said, "Do you want to be my friend?" And the starfish said, "Yes." So then they went to her castle and they played and they ate ice cream and then the mermaid went home and ate dinner and went to sleep. The end.

Glad to hear these techniques are there as well I loved the whiteboards for primary and also use them in secondary as well. I also noticed that they had them in the college I taught in earlier this year - though mainly they used them for drafting exam answers rather than as 'show me boards'

The choice of activities is a good idea, actually. Allow them to express themselves in whatever way they wish. A lot of lessons I have done have offered a choice of output - though mainly these have been essay, powerpoint presentation or poster (because it is science and we rarely do theatre Well, apart from the famous 'states of matter' roleplay ) there is no reason not to have more visual forms of expression. Oral storytelling and plays are one choice but you could also explore puppet shows (one thing we did in primary was act out 'photosynthesis' in a shadow puppet theatre thing).

I would say, however, that the more artistic methods above may well work better if you are careful about your groupings. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the individual pupils such as who is a better writer, who is a better speaker, who is better at art (and also who is better at history research, at using ICT etc) and so on and giving each pupil a role within thier group that plays to these strengths - an excellent lesson in teamwork straight away.

Kitty,
The handout I used is below. We didn't use it during the session, but I wanted something for them to take home. I also talked about some activities they could do at home. I showed them some samples of how my kids and I had aged paper to use for making old-looking maps (easy-tea dye paper) and also talked about how to create fantasy animals by using the head of one type of creature, the body of another and the tail of a third.

Here's the handout:




Part 1 – Planning the Story

Who are the main characters?
Girls or boys? __________ _____________
Names? _______________ _______________
Ages? _____ ______

Where does the adventure take place? ____________
A remote place on earth? In the future? In the past?An imaginary place?

What is the main character’s goal? ________________
Is he/she on a quest to find something or someone?
Is he/she taking a journey to get somewhere?
Is he/she trying to overcome some disaster?

Who are the other characters that can help the main character? (secondary characters or sidekicks)_________________
A friend or relative? An animal? Other? (robot, bug, ghost, etc.)

What are your characters scared of? ___________ ______________

What or who is going to make it tough to reach the goal?(Antagonist) ________________________________________________________
Are the surroundings working against the main character?
(dense jungle, abandoned house, etc.)Are there bad guys or dangerous creatures who want to stop the main character?

Give the main character at least one talent/hobby/interest that will help him or her overcome the difficulties. ___________________
soccer, dancing, solving puzzles, reading, drawing, rock-climbing, etc.

Does your character have any special powers? ___________

Very nice, Amarie! I approve.

*I* want to take the class, Kitty. Please, please, please?

Sounds GREAT! One thing to make sure you add is a way to "publish" work at the end. Some ideas include: author's teas (cookies and parents in audience) - this one encourages a bit of editing too; a play presentation; a portfolio of work bound for parents to review (I actually love getting these and bring them to all the relatives); storytelling to a younger set of kids (write a story and read it to the littles); option of publishing stories in local paper/ PTO newsletter; or a general "art night" where all creations are displayed for wandering parents.

You could go wild with your theme too and have a magic world night complete with a maze and each child at a different station ready to great guests with their favorite work . . . or . . .or . .

Kids really step up the work when they know it is going some place other than a folder.

I've been enjoying this thread, and wishing I could take the class, too!

There's just one thing in the description that you might consider fine-tuning: the line I've underlined might lead kids to believe that they'll get to create their own video game or movie. I know that's not what you SAID, but I worry that kids might misinterpret it, you know? Just something to think about; maybe it wouldn't be a problem.

Kitty Pryde said:

Class Description: Calling all creative kids! Come learn about storytelling as we work together to create new worlds and amazing stories. We’ll make art, draw maps, tell tales, act out scenes, and bind books. Great writers and not-so-great writers wanted! We will be expressing our imaginations in many ways, not just the written word. This class is perfect for fans of Harry Potter, dragons, fairies, monsters, wizards, and elves. Anyone who enjoys stories in video games, books, movies, and shows, and wants to create their own will have a blast!

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Amarie, I think that hand-out is fantastic, too, and not just for kids, either.

Storytelling falls under drama...

Really. Check out this drama site. It is very similar to a Second City improvisation class I took in Chicago. But the lessons are by a fourth grade teacher.

What was neat was the Second City instructor built up the group using Coming Together (right from the creative drama website). Midway, he had us make a story by each person saying a single word of it. Then finally, we moved into (Yes and ). "There's a lion!" says one. "Yes and he's got a gun, how'd he get past the guard?" says the second. "Yes and there's the security guard with the lion's luggage," says the third. I guess you had to be there.

http://www.childdrama.com/lessons.html

Start with the warmups.

Beware, there is an art to building your group up. There must have been 12 or more activities for our class. What's nice is you can view the lessons by age and if your group doesn't get an activity try a higher or lower one. It was a slow steady build, though. The slowness built confidence. When everything was in place, it became very hilarious.

There is a lesson called the "4th grade play" that you might like a lot, Enjoy!

I know that the 6+1 traits of writing has exploded all over elementary writing curricula, but if you check out Using Picture Books to Teach Writing With the Traits by Ruth Culham, you might get some ideas. The copy I have is for K-2 but I know there is one for older grades. The basic idea is to find a picture book that exemplifies the concept you want to teach and do a read aloud. Have the students analyze the technique and then try it out in their own writing. There are tons of great fantasy picture books (as you know!). If you choose the selections carefully, 8-10 year olds won't balk at picture books-in fact they actually enjoy them! Weslandia by Paul Fleischman might work well as an example book with lots of depth for discussion. Also, just about anything by Chris Van Allsburg has an older elementary appeal. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick has great visual story prompts if you need to get creative juices flowing. http://www.hmhbooks.com/features/harrisburdick/introduction.html If you have access to technology, you might want to consider having the students make their stories into podcasts. Audacity is free and user friendly-even for 4th and 5th graders. I've used it in a classroom with great success.

Those are my thoughts. It sounds like a really fun project. The students who sign up will be lucky to have you as a teacher!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Fleischman

I think this sounds fabulous, Kitty.
My only advice is not to underestimate the kids of this age level - I have a daughter in this age range and her and her friends are all incredibly creative. She would love this class.

You may find the group project brings them out of their shells, then they may want to explore their own creative projects, or they may decide working together is more fun. If you can be flexible, and gauge the needs of the students as you go, I'm sure it will be a wonderful success. All the best.

Great info, I came across some interesting tips from Random House children's dept recently for holding children's events, thought I'd share:

http://www.massbook.org/Author_Visit_Event_Kit.pdf

Awh, Kitty beat me to it (stoopid sickness!)... but yeah, I was going to create a post just like this one, cos, well - I've got the same gig in the works!

Granted, it's not at a school (sooo jealous! ) but at a daycare centre that caters to all ages. So we'll be using the upper floor once a week for seven weeks, where each week focuses on a different aspect of building a fictional world, filling it with characters and creating conflict. Then the last few weeks will be about working together to write the actual story, and when it's finished I'll take the final product, make it as pretty as I can, and make it into a book on Lulu.com (and maybe an eBook on Amazon, too) that we can then give to the families of participating children as part of the course-package they paid for. It's gonna be great!

So good luck with your course, too, Kitty!

Dave

David, make sure they can order extra copies for their grandparents...

Oh, no need to worry - like my book that's already on Lulu (didn't I mention that? It's just a graphic novel I wrote, so I wasn't sure it was worth mentioning on an MG board), it will be up there forever and for everyone. But if you mean physical copies as part of the package, we will be doing a 'multiple copies' deal on the registration form.

Awesome, Kitty! Keep us posted.