It’s that time of year when I know teachers are preparing their classrooms for returning students. I would be remiss if I didn’t jump at the chance to share how you can incorporate my annual writing contest into your classroom.
The theme this year is Pets! I picked this years theme because children enjoy hearing stories about pets. They also love to tell stories about pets. Whenever I am visiting classrooms via Skype, the students always ask me how many pets I have in my house. The answer is 1547! Yes, I know, it’s a lot but it gives me ample opportunity to demonstrate the art of storytelling. I always leave the students with this message, “If you can tell a story, you can write a story.”
I don’t find it surprising at all that animal stories appeal to children. So many kids wish for a pet. Books featuring animals often show a child a trait in themselves when it is depicted humorusly, and I’m sure that’s why so many well-known picture books focus on animal protagonists, like Peter Rabbit, Curious George, Babar, Clifford, and Paddington Bear.
In preparation for this years contest, I encourage your classroom to use my free video storytelling site. Most all of the videos show the words to help young students master their reading skills.
My Animal Tales playlist provides an opportunity to discuss fables and fairy tales -
Fables: The animal fable is one of the oldest forms of children’s literature. This short story in which an animal is associated with a human trait is usually accompanied by a moral at the end. I have great examples of some of Aesop’s Fables. He was a Greek story teller, and from what I can tell, a very keen observer of both animal and human behavior. Androcles and the Lion and The City Mouse and the Country Mouse are two of my favorites.
Fairy Tales: usually have a once upon a time that starts the story and are often set in a castle, a forest, or a town. These tales are about ordinary people, from boys and girls to women and men, that find themselves caught up in a magical event. Often there is a strong difference between the good and evil characters. And we know it wouldn’t be a fairy tale unless good triumphs over evil and the problem in the story is solved. Puss-in-Boots is a great example of a fairy tale that uses an animal in the same manner as a fable.
For your younger students using poetry as a way to get stories ideas flowing can be a good learning device. I created several short animal poems you can share as examples with your students on my Poetry Fun Playlist.
I also have my Imagination Launchers I created with my pet dog Spyri, named after the author of “Heidi,” a favorite book of mine when I was little. Imagination Launchers are meant to help kids jump-start their imaginations and get those stories started. These are animated story prompts, and what kid doesn’t like something animated? I also have a a printable worksheet kids can color too. Download Imagination launcher worksheet
There is also nothing like an old-fashioned writing prompt. So try some of these with your class:
- Describe your favorite pet. What do you love about it? If you do not have a pet, describe the one you would like to have the most.
- Invent a new kind of pet. What would it look like? How would it sound? What would you feed it?
- Write a conversation you would have with your pet if you could talk with animals.
- What if you went on a vacation with your pet - What kind of adventures would you have? Where would you go?
- What is your pet was a performer? what tricks would they do?
- Which pets are the best? Why?
- What would your day be like if you were a cat? Or a dog? Or a fish? What sorts of things would you do? What would you say to your owner?
I will be Skyping in Sept and Oct and would love to talk to your students about creativity and help them start their stories. I do group Skypes, so you also get to meet other classrooms. You can find all of the details here.
Please bookmark my Be-a-Famous Writer writing contest for your classroom too. It’s free to enter and your classroom can be filled with books in every format from these amazing sponsors. Tales2GO, Mackin Educational Resources , FableVision and Powell’s Books.
With the excitement surrounding the new Dr. Seuss book "What Pet Should I Get?", I hope this years theme will tickle your student’s imaginations.
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