In Writing Workshop, Second Graders are deepening their skills in moving through all stages of the writing process as we explore the genre of Realistic Fiction: stories that are not true, but which could be true. As our young writers know, great stories start with great characters - they are the “heart” of our stories. For this reason, students put a great deal of thought and care into creating their realistic fiction character during the “planning” stage. Students brainstormed both internal and external traits that these characters might have, recording details in their writers’ notebooks before creating an illustration of their character. Next, students identified possible story ideas. Students reflected on the own personalities, preferences, hopes, dreams, challenges and experiences of their characters in order to think of potential problems that their characters might encounter, as well as various solutions. Students then mapped out their stories using a story mountain, focusing on the key story elements of main character, setting, problem, main actions, solution, and ending. After putting such a tremendous amount of hard work and effort into planning their stories, Second Grade writers have been excited to start drafting! Writers have been using all of the story “ingredients” they already know to “show not tell” as they write. These include a hook, small actions, dialogue, setting, sound words, sparkling words, repetition, and comparisons. We can't wait for you to read our stories once they are published!
