SPOOKY
HALLOWEEN CLIFFHANGERS
A collaborative project "Round Robin" style
In this lesson students will each write the first paragraph of a Halloween story and leave it at a cliffhanger. They will then e-mail their stories to the next classroom on the list who will add a paragraph and send them to the next school and so on. The original writers will receive their stories back in the end and will have the opportunity to end them, print them out and illustrate them.
IRP'S COVERED:
GRADE 4 LANGUAGE
ARTS:
-read,
listen, and view for specific purposes
-demonstrate an awareness of relationships among the elements of story structure,
including plot, setting, and characters
-identify common literary elements in various genres
-use grammatically correct language when writing and speaking, including consistent
verb tenses and correct pronoun references
-demonstrate an awareness of how register and pacing should be adjusted according
to content and audience
-apply conventions of capitalization consistently in prose and begin to use
the rules of capitalization that apply to written dialogue
-use conventional spelling of frequently used words
-monitor and correct their own spelling by using manual and electronic spell
checkers, dictionaries, and thesauri
-create and express thoughts, ideas, and feelings in a variety of oral, written,
and electronic forms -create and present a variety of personal and informational
communications, including written and oral poems, stories, explanations, informal
oral reports and dramas, personal letters, and illustrated charts or posters
-listen to and show respect for the ideas of others
-demonstrate a willingness to work with others toward a common goal
GRADE
5:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
-read, listen, and view for specific purposes
-use a variety of sentences in their written work
-use verb tenses consistently and accurately when speaking and writing
-use register and pacing in their verbal communications that are appropriate
to the content, purpose, and audience
-use correct capitalization and basic punctuation consistently
-use conventional spelling for most words
-appraise their own and others' work
-revise and edit their own and others' work for content and clarity
-edit to correct their own and others' use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation
using both electronic and manual means
-demonstrate pride and satisfaction in using language to create and express
thoughts, ideas, and feelings in a variety of oral, written, and electronic
forms
-create a variety of personal and informational communications, including
written and oral stories, poems, or lyrics; explanations and descriptions;
informal oral reports and dramatics; and brief factual reports
-apply the basic rules and conventions of writing or speaking for the oral,
visual, and written forms they select
-assume a variety of roles when interacting in groups
-demonstrate a willingness to communicate with others to reach common goals
within the classroom
GRADE 6:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
-demonstrate increased control over their use of sentence
structures and begin to vary the beginnings of their sentences and the structure
of clauses
-use grammatically correct language when writing and speaking
-adjust their degree of language formality as required by the form and purpose
of their presentations
-use basic punctuation and capitalization consistently and explore the use
of more advanced punctuation for such purposes as letter writing, script writing,
and e-mail
-spell most words correctly
-demonstrate pride and satisfaction in using language to express their thoughts,
ideas, and feelings in various written, oral, visual, and electronic forms
-create various personal and transactional communications, including real
and invented narratives, poems or lyrics, summaries or retellings, descriptions,
letters, informal oral presentations, charts, and posters
-apply the basic rules and conventions for the forms of communication they
select
-paraphrase and elaborate on the ideas of others to clarify and extend understanding
-demonstrate a willingness to interact with others in a variety of classroom
and school activities involving communication
GRADE 7:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
-demonstrate increased control over their use of grammatical structures and
begin to vary grammar to achieve particular effects
-adjust the degree of formality in their language to suit the form and purpose
of their presentations
-use the conventions of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization in a consistent
manner
-select a means of organizing information and ideas that is appropriate for
their purpose and audience
-use expository and persuasive styles to shape and structure language in stories,
character sketches, posters, and other forms of communication
-use manual and technological resources to edit for the correct use of grammar,
spelling, and punctuation
-demonstrate pride and satisfaction in using language to create and express
their thoughts, ideas, and feelings through a variety of oral, written, and
electronic forms
-create a variety of personal and informational communications, including
fiction and non-fiction; written summaries, instructions, and reports; oral
and visual presentations; oral and written opinions; poems; or lyrics
-elaborate on others' ideas
COMPUTER SCOPE
AND SEQUENCE COVERED:
-Relate writing process to computer.
-Save, name and retrieve files.
-Compose stories on the computer and draft to good copy.
-Use spell checker and understand its limitations.
-Launch browser to access the World Wide Web, FTP sites, Gopher.
-Send/receive electronic mail/attachments using an Internet browser
-Observe appropriate etiquette at all times
-Participate in collaborative projects.
-Understands the need for security when using a network or telecommunications.
1. To set the mood for this assignment and to help the students get some ideas, you may wish to read them some scary stories. Some recommended books for this are (check the stories before you read them some are a little too much):
Stephens, Nicholas. Enter If You Dare-Scary Tales for the Haunted Mansion. Disney Press, 1995.
Schwartz, Alvin. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Scholastic, 1981.
Schwartz, Alvin. More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. J.B. Lippincott Junior Books, 1984.
Schwartz, Alvin. Scary Stories-More Tales to Chill you Bones. Harper Trophy, 1991.
After reading discuss
some of the following questions:
What makes the story scary?
What makes you want to continue reading the story?
How does the author keep you interested in the story?
2. Talk about what a cliffhanger is and how to students can add suspense to their writing. If you need a guide for this discussion, check out this web site:
http://www.teenwriting.about.com/teens/teenwriting/library/weekly/
aa102397.htm
3. Brainstorm scary/Halloween words that students can use in their stories. There are also word lists at the above web site. On the main Halloween Webpage are some sites students can look at to help inspire them.
4. Practice writing
a Round Robin story with your class. To learn more about how to write Round
Robin stories you can visit this web site:
http://www.jamm.com/roundrobin/faq.html
You may wish to
use one the following formats:
-Go to this web site to read a lesson plan for a suspense Round Robin idea:
http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/hmll/purple/dark/suspense.html
-Students sit in a circle. One person holds an object (a ball or beanbag is
good) and this person starts the story and when he/she gets to a suspenseful
moment, he asks for a volunteer. Students who wish to take over the story
raise their hands and the first person passes the ball to one of the volunteers
who continues the story and passes it to someone else.
5. Discuss story structure with your class. What must be in the first paragraph of these stories to help the next person add on? (Characters introduced, setting introduced and students will need to begin to introduce the problem.) What about the second and third paragraphs? (More character development, further complicate the problem, add reasonable characters.)
6. Now students should begin writing their story beginnings. Teachers click here to get the student instruction sheet in Adobe Acrobat or click here to download the sheet into MSWorks. It is your choice for whether students write their stories completely on the computers or if they begin by writing them paper. If you need story starter ideas please check the following site out: http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/hmll/purple/dark/prompts.html
Students should write their stories in Microsoft Works in the computer lab and check them for spelling. Teachers should check all writing before it is sent (have students raise their hands when they are done and read it over for them).
7. Instructions for how students send their stories and receive the next story are on the student instruction sheet. Please be sure to check the stories before they are sent. You may wish to have students print them out and read them over in class.
8. Your students will receive their stories back and can end them, print them out and illustrate them. You can then send them home and/or make a school book out of them to post in the library. Students should be given the opportunity to e-mail other that they worked with and have them send the finished story to them incase they are interested in how it ended.