Summer SAVY 2018: Session 2, Day 1 – Story Gardening (Rising 3rd and 4th)
The story gardeners had a busy, productive day today! After introductions, rules, and procedures, students took their pocket notebooks on an idea hunt. During a brief walk outside, they jotted down ideas that were sparked by things they saw, heard, or felt and shared them with the group. They discussed messy first drafts and the revision process and learned about the team of people it takes to make a book. The group brainstormed a story using the “Story Spine,” a tool developed by Kenn Adams and utilized by some of Pixar’s writers. Then students worked independently to come up with their own story ideas. After reading samples of “flap copy,” students created summaries for their own stories that would make readers want to read their books. They also learned about “book maps” — tools some authors use to plan out stories — and experimented with making their own. After discussing illustration and visual storytelling, students came up with four different cover designs for their stories then picked the one they wanted to use for a final cover illustration. Many of them discovered that their first ideas aren’t always the ones they choose to use for their final creations. Ask your student what their ideas were! Some students brought home their pocket notebooks in case they want to use them. They should bring them back tomorrow to write down more great ideas!
-Ms. Young
Creating our Book Maps
