Writing Mix-A-Lot

GRADES K-2 ELA AND THEATRE

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Provide students with a list of nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Ask students to use their body tool to show each of the words when they are selected by the teacher at random.

Create an anchor chart with four sections: Character, Conflict, Setting, and Solution. Ask students to use the nouns, adjectives, and verbs from the previous list to begin filling in the anchor chart that was just created. IE: “man” would go in “character” on the anchor chart. Continue to fill in the anchor chart with words or phrases that would fit into each category.

Lesson Process:

Step 1:  Provide students with popsicle sticks painted green, red, yellow, and blue, as seen here. Have students write their characters on the yellow sticks, conflicts on the red sticks, settings on the green sticks, and solutions on the blue sticks. In groups, provide students with a random yellow, red, green, and blue stick to put into order. Students must use their body tools to act out their story plot line based on the sticks they were given.

Step 2: On the reverse side of their sticks, have student groups write a new character, setting, conflict, and solution and decide how to use their bodies to portray each stick. Then, students can perform their new storyline using just their bodies in a group. The rest of the students are the audience and must try to determine what the story is based only on the body movements of the performers.

Time Required:
30-45 minutes

Materials List:

  • open space
  • Paper/board for anchor chart
  • markers, pens, pencils
  • popsicle sticks in red, green, yellow and blue
  • theatre element posters
  • selection of illustrated narrative books

Assessment:

Writing from a Story.

Provide each student group with a different illustrated book.

Using the activity above, have students determine the plot line, write each element on the popsicle sticks and perform the summarized narrative using their body characterizations.

Students can complete a peer assessment of each performance, and the teacher can assess for plot identification, writing organization and choice of movement based upon story sequence.