Introduction
Children are natural storytellers. They are surrounded by so many experiences that they are always eager to share. It is of utmost importance that as twenty-first educators, we use every opportunity to unearth these storytelling abilities from each child.
The following websites tell about storywriting and provide important tips.
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Good-Story
http://www.aaronshep.com/youngauthor/elements.html]
http://www.brucehale.com/howto.htm
http://www.coreygreen.com/storytips.html
Task
By the end of this presentation, teachers should be able to adequately utilize this webquest to aid Grade 6 students to be better story writers as it relates to writing about a setting.
Process
The time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories the setting is very important, while for others it is not. There are several aspects of a story's setting to consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some, or all, may be present in a story):
a) place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?
b) time - When is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc)
c) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?
d) social conditions - What is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story contain local colour (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)?
e) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?
Teacher will use the following link to gain further insight into the setting of a story. Students can be guided to be better writers as it relates to writing about the setting for a story.
https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordshop/how-to-teach-setting-beyond-time-and-place/
Students can be given short paragraphs and asked to tell about the setting using a setting map.
Example of a paragraph that could be used:
This morning at 8:33, someone robbed the Bank of Nova Scotia in Negril. The thief entered the bank and stated that he wanted all their money. The thief smiled but looked very tired. The tellers seemed worried. The thief received the money he requested, asked to be excused, and then stormed out quickly as the door revolved. He dashed down the street and screeched away in a damaged car that rattled, squeaked and smoked. It appeared that he really needed the money. The police soon arrived. They barreled and chased down the street. They searched and questioned bystanders, but the thief vanished. The police failed to catch him. Investigators abandoned the case and neglected to do anything else. The money was never recovered and the thief was never identified the report of the incident ended.
The following websites provide worksheets/activities that teachers can use successfully to guide students with in the writing of a setting for a story.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/storymap/
http://bogglesworldesl.com/setting.htm
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson107/3ElementsofSetting.pdf
http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/thumbs916-920/sb918prev.html#.U0K3J_ldU9o
Evaluation
Based on the lesson presented including the activities and the learning outcome, a decision can be made as to what is done for the next lesson.
Conclusion
It was really an eyeopener for me as I created this Webquest on Storywriting and in particular writing a setting. Research has shown that students at the primary level are not fully emersed in storywriting. As a result, they face many challenges when they get to high school. This is the age of constructivism. Using technology is the way forward in helping these digital natives learn.
The following site can be viewed on how to write a plot for a realistic story.
http://exploring-plot-in-story-writing.wikia.com/wiki/Exploring_Plot_in_Story_Writing_Wiki
The following site can be viewed to explore characterization in storywriting.
http://www.mixcloud.com/nicolacole/story-characterization/