story prompts

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Home : 2002 : April : 13

story prompts
By melanie

I also use a disposable camera and take pictures in the classroom of students doing various activities. I put the photos in a basket and have students pick a photo and then imagine they were someone in that photo (other
than themselves). They write what they think that person is thinking at that moment. We call this "Thinking Thoughts". I have a form for this with a head and a "thought bubble" with lines to write on inside of it. The form has a place for the writer's name and the student they are pretending to be. These can be real funny and kids love to share them later. For example, one of the pictures

was of our Thanksgiving program and we were dressed as Pilgrims. One student wrote, "I'm really hungry. When are we going to eat? I feel very silly in this big collar and floppy hat." etc. etc.
I also have students pretend to be a characters, write letters to characters, and write different endings for books we are reading. The main thing is to allow students to write about things they are familiar with.