Story Planning help required?
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Story Planning help required?
Anyone got any helpful suggestions on getting my child to plan a story in 5 mins and then write one in 30? At this stage he can plan in 15 to 20 and write in 45?!! HELP
you could draw out a "writing frame" a set of boxes. as space is limited then the plan is kept short -- lots of children start writing the story rather than just planning the outline
main characters, setting, theme, mainevents (or who, why, where, what)
main events. (opening , main story, end)
he just makes notes e.g. John --a robot.
It helps to think of a story like a hill, it starts off, builds to a climax and then you tie in all the loose ends to go down to the end..
Perhaps you could do planning of teh story as an exercise in itself.
Cards with different settings, characters, objects and genres. (write them or draw/cut out pictures) face down
pick up a set number from each pile, turn upright and then set a kitchen timer for 5 minutes. This can be fun if you play it as a group, best plan wins.
you can extend it to swapping plans and writing the expanded story in a set time too.
Make sure he uses imaginative vocabulary.
again a set of cards with single words like big, nice, little etc. Turn one over, set timer who can find most synonyms for that particular word...
gorgeous, stunning, excellent, wonderful ............dictionaries encouraged!
main characters, setting, theme, mainevents (or who, why, where, what)
main events. (opening , main story, end)
he just makes notes e.g. John --a robot.
It helps to think of a story like a hill, it starts off, builds to a climax and then you tie in all the loose ends to go down to the end..
Perhaps you could do planning of teh story as an exercise in itself.
Cards with different settings, characters, objects and genres. (write them or draw/cut out pictures) face down
pick up a set number from each pile, turn upright and then set a kitchen timer for 5 minutes. This can be fun if you play it as a group, best plan wins.
you can extend it to swapping plans and writing the expanded story in a set time too.
Make sure he uses imaginative vocabulary.
again a set of cards with single words like big, nice, little etc. Turn one over, set timer who can find most synonyms for that particular word...
gorgeous, stunning, excellent, wonderful ............dictionaries encouraged!
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- Posts: 194
- Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:30 pm
Like Yoyo I try to get the children to think of the story as a hill. I get them to draw a hill shape on their page and cut it into 5 pieces: Introduction, build up, climax, resolution, conclusion. For exams I also get children to learn ten high quality words that can be sprinkled throughout the story.
To your second question. Initially write a story, no matter how poor the quality, just to get something down on paper. You can then work with him to improve this.
Another activity is to sit with a word processor and change a basic sentence by adding adjectives, adverbs, etc. Change verbs for stronger verbs, nouns for more interesting ones. I usually take turns with a child when doing this, deliberately turning what they have written into something silly. One word at a time after the initial sentence.
Another activity is to sit with a word processor and change a basic sentence by adding adjectives, adverbs, etc. Change verbs for stronger verbs, nouns for more interesting ones. I usually take turns with a child when doing this, deliberately turning what they have written into something silly. One word at a time after the initial sentence.
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- Posts: 194
- Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:30 pm
essay planning
Hello Panic Attack,
My DS also has writer's block when faced with a blank page and a title. His teacher has taught him to put 5 dots on the page, representing the five phases of the essay. Then break down each section into about 5 sentences - starting with the introduction, build up, dilemma, events and conclusion.
The teacher also said, always include a subordinate clause - as I was educated in the 70's when they abandoned grammar, I did not know what this was, however DS did, lucky!!
I like this method, it makes the essay seem less over whelming if you can break it down into smaller chunks. My DS likes this method because he is mathematical and it seems nice and logical for him.!!
Hope this is helpful
My DS also has writer's block when faced with a blank page and a title. His teacher has taught him to put 5 dots on the page, representing the five phases of the essay. Then break down each section into about 5 sentences - starting with the introduction, build up, dilemma, events and conclusion.
The teacher also said, always include a subordinate clause - as I was educated in the 70's when they abandoned grammar, I did not know what this was, however DS did, lucky!!
I like this method, it makes the essay seem less over whelming if you can break it down into smaller chunks. My DS likes this method because he is mathematical and it seems nice and logical for him.!!
Hope this is helpful
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- Posts: 194
- Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:30 pm