We have spent the first six weeks working on writing power plans and using those to write expository essays. A POWER PLAN is written in the pattern 1-2-3-3-3-2-3-3-3-2-3-3-3-1.
We have also been writing comparison paragraphs. We once compared our shoes to those of a Gator basketball player. We also compared apples and oranges--right down to tasting them.
During the next six weeks, we will begin writing story plans and narratives.
(STORIES)
Main character: *has to be the person or thing with the problem
Setting: Place:
Time:
Problem or situation: *will be solved at the end, *main character
has the focus
Events: *two or three good pauses or happenings, *the story takes
place here, *something has to happen in an event, *will
lead to the solution
Solution: *story is wrapped up, *we feel an ending
Stories are limited to two sides of notebook paper. Stories must take place in a 24 hour or less period. Stories can be written based on *text to self, *text to text, or *text to world