Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 4, “Tremendous Transformations in Writing” (3rd-4th)
Today was a very productive day for our writers! We began by talking about the significance of structure and organization in storytelling. We examined how punctuation provides structure in a sentence, and how that structure can have a huge impact on meaning. Consider the following:
- Larry wrestles the alligator he lost.
- Larry wrestles. The alligator? He lost.
- Larry wrestles the alligator. He lost.
We talked about how sentences have structure, and so do stories. We watched a short video to learn about narrative structure and how writers have to be intentional about what information is presented in the beginning, middle, and end of their stories. We used a graphic organizer to plot a structure for our original stories, using the following steps:
- Every day…
- Then one day…
- Because of that…
- Because of that…
- Then…
- Finally…
Our writers worked hard to organize their characters’ journey into the provided template, identifying a specific problem, resolution, and theme. Ask your writer to share what they came up with!
After a rigorous start in the classroom, we took a break outside to run, skip, and hop down the entire length of the Peabody Esplanade. Our bodies were tired and sweaty when we returned to the air conditioning! After reviewing the writing strategies we have been learning about all week, the moment that these little writers have all been waiting for finally arrived: we started drafting! We wrote until lunchtime, and I conferenced with writers as they worked. We filled page after page with our writing! One writer showed me the new callus she has grown on her finger this week. Almost every writer was able to complete a first draft in their notebook. Many writers were also able to type up a second draft on an iPad, but not everyone finished this step. Some writers opted to take their notebooks home and will be asking you to help them type and send their drafts to SAVY this evening (this is not a requirement, but an option). If you choose to help your child type their draft, you can send it to savy.pty@vanderbilt.edu. Some writers will continue typing in the morning. It is a process (not a race), and we all work at our own pace. This means tomorrow morning will look a little different for everyone, depending on where they are in the writing process.
After lunch, we talked about the importance of staying focused on a specific problem in our stories. Our time together dictates that we write short stories instead of novels, so we have to be focused on the one problem outlined in our structure template. We discussed options for resolution (by luck or accident, by strength, cleverness, or persuasion, with outside help, or with a change of attitude). Ask your writer how their character’s problem will be resolved. We also discussed how narrative problems fall into categories: character vs. nature, character vs. another character, character vs. technology, character vs. society, and character vs. themselves. Ask your writer which category their narrative problem belongs in.
Today’s final lesson was about theme. We considered how various components of the literary analysis wheel (conflict, character, point of view, techniques, etc.) interact to reveal a theme. We watched a two-minute clip from How to Train Your Dragon and came up with some ideas of what thematic messages the character can learn and the viewer can infer from the story. We learned that the theme should be a general statement about an abstract concept, applicable to the story at hand and also to many others.
Some dinner table conversation starters:
- Have you heard the joke about the mushroom that goes to the discotheque?
- How does punctuation and the structure of a sentence have an impact on meaning?
- Why is it important for a story to have a structure?
- Why is it important for a character’s problem to be resolved throughout a story?
- What is a theme? What theme do you want your readers to take away from your story?
Our writers worked so hard today; they are going to be tired this evening! Try to get your writer to bed early, so that we can wake up refreshed for our final day together. Tomorrow we will be peer reviewing, conferencing, revising, publishing, and celebrating!
~ Abby Ashford-Grooms
