Student Authoring Project Related Classroom Activities Index This is about projects in student authoring. The teacher and a group of students (large or small) are the only critical elements. The result will be the product of their collective effort and imagination. Teachers can collaborate and assist each other. Of special importance is the sharing of books between classes. A group of students submit ideas under a teacher’s direction. These ideas are formed into a story by the teacher. Each day the story grows as students respond to and modify the previous day's work. The goal is to produce a book to which the students can relate. It is to give them a book in which they see their own ideas and characters develop. As the project nears completion, the text and materials will be formatted into a book. The students will, of course, design the book. The most important guide for the teacher is to obsessively find ways to incorporate student ideas, names, feelings, vocabulary, and events into the text. An example of this is the Pondera Project. The school and community experienced a violent storm. This was immediately incorporated into the story line. Student interest in vocabulary related to the storm was very high. Students wrote journal entries about their personal experiences and elements of these entries were built into the story. This project can incorporate a number of activities: art, proof-reading, revision, spell-checking, grammar analysis, character development, literary analysis, performance, audio-visual production, etc. The possibilities are almost endless. A student authored book is ALWAYS a work in progress. Changes, corrections, and alterations are EXPECTED and DESIRABLE. Teachers will make typing errors or compilation errors. Students who find such mistakes should receive some form of reward. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are opportunities for improvement and learning by both teacher and student. Very few teachers write books, but every teacher can write a student authored book. Look for ways to improve the text. Find spelling errors. Change paragraphs and alter the order in which events have been presented. Add detail to the existing characters and create new character when you feel like it. Discuss needed revisions and changes with the class. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Abraham on the Bench (in progress) The Pondera Project (in progress) Getting Started: Begin with a basic set of characters. You'll need one or more good and bad characters. Start small. More characters will enter the story as it develops. Have the class describe the major "good" character. This is a writing assignment. You take the resulting paragraphs, or lists, or even pictures and build the character. Take the composite you develop back to the class and have them redevelop the character adding more characteristics. Have them draw pictures (Note: It helps to provide an outline of a human form. Ask an artistic colleague to draw one for you.) You do not have an obligation to use their ideas "as is." You can modify and combine the entire group's ideas into a single expression of a character. _____________________________________________________________________________ Characters:
Vagas – The main protagonist (good character- the principal character in a literary work.) This female is 12 years old. She is 4’2” tall. She is built like an athlete. Her movements are cat-like and precise. Her deep brown eyes see everything and her gaze is intense. Her voice is calm and she seems totally in control of herself. Rason – The main antagonist (bad character - one that contends with or opposes another.) This male is about 13 years old. He is only 3’ tall. He is thin and sinewy. He moves in a sneaky way and usually hides behind something if he can. His eyes are deep green. His teeth are sharp and crooked. He has a wicked grin. He always wears shiny black clothing. Midori – Brother of Vagas (Supporting character) This male is quite tall at 6’2” and heavily built. He is very shy but incredibly kind. He never loses his temper. He has great endurance and can run long distances in spite of his solid appearance. Zealda - Mother of Rason (Supporting character) This wrinkled old female wears many layers of wispy thin material. She appears to float when a breeze comes up. Her voice is harsh and scratchy and she often laughs loudly with a bark-like sound that startles those near her. She seems taller than her son but this is because she wears high platform shoes that clop when she walks. Mary – The elderly lady selling tickets at the zoo. (We will need a picture and description) Tamarra – The mother of Vagas and Midori. (We will need a picture and description) Toby – The Father of Vagas and Midori. (We will need a picture and description) ____________________________________________________________ You will need to brainstorm with the class about a particular problem around which the story can develop. You may wish to decide this on your own. Different classes will respond differently. Try to pick a situation which will present a number of spin-off possibilities. You can base the story on a local, state, or national event if you like. You are in control. ______________________________________________________________________________________ The Dilemma: There is a small zoo in the town. The watering system is not working. Rason controls the only well in town with enough extra water to save the animals. Zealda owns the property. Vagas and Midori must find a way to get water to the animals. The weather is getting hotter. The animals are suffering. ______________________________________________________________________________________ As a starting point, help the class come up with some motivations for the main characters based on the characteristics the class has given them. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Problem 1: We must motivate Vagas and Midori. We need to give Vagas and Midori a reason to help the animals in the zoo. The motivation must be stronger than just kindness. What might give them both a better reason to want to help the animals? 1. Did they have a pet that was given to the zoo? 2. Have they helped the zoo in the past? 3. Are they connected to the zoo in some way? 4. Have they had some experience in the past that would make them especially sensitive to the plight of the zoo animals? Problem 2: It is important to show positive changes in the behavior of Rason and Zealda. We can make them ugly and unpleasant in the beginning, but how will we develop their characters to show change (conversion)? How will they improve? What event will cause them to improve? What will we write into the book to show that they have changed? ___________________________________________________________________________________________ The Pondera Project was set up to reflect the environmental conditions the students were experiencing at that time. This adds relevance to the effort. Relevance increases the connection and involvement of the group. Involvement is the purpose of the student authoring project. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Setting: It’s the middle of summer. Every day the sun burns down and dries the once-green foliage of the little town into ever crisper shades of brown. The lawns have begun to turn into patches of shredded wheat-like mats. Plants droop their shriveled leaves toward the simmering soil around them. No one ventures outside at mid-day. The town seems empty except for the continuous humming of air conditioners and coolers. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Just start. Don't try to be sophisticated or "talented." The intent is to give the students text to work with and a connection to that text. Have them write the beginning for you if you find it difficult or intimidating to start. A student's writing is just fine. It provides a starting point. This is not about writing great literature. Student authoring is not about impressing your colleagues. It is about involving students in the writing, reading, and creative process. Ideally, you should write at about one grade level above that of the average student in your class. The idea is that they will be able to read at that level due to increased contextual clues and familiarity with the vocabulary. Some versions of Microsoft Word will give you a reading grade level equivalent at the end of a spelling and grammar check. Here is how the section you have just read was evaluated.
____________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction Vagas has spent her entire life in this little town of Pondera. It was a sleepy gathering of several thousand people near the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California. The residents were very different than most Californians. They rarely hurried anywhere. They seemed to have all the time in the world. Most of the businesses depended on tourists and travelers passing through. There were always new faces which would probably not be seen again in the stores and restaurants. Oddly dressed outsiders would wander up and down the main street stretching their legs after driving all day. The two motels at the north and south ends of town always filled up as the sun began to set each evening. The Pondera town zoo has always been part of her life too, at least as far back as she can remember. She and Midori spent many wonderful days there watching the various animals.
It wasn’t a big zoo – like in the big city. The entrance was on Kilda Street. There was a tall brown adobe type of wall across the front with evenly spaced windows on both side of the opening where the ticket booth stood. There was a sign on the front of the booth with the hours of operation and $2.00 general admission in big letters on it. Children under the age of twelve got in for $1.00. Kids under the age of six got in free. The ticket booth was one of those that had a thick pane of glass with a round hole in it to talk through and a square cut-out near the bottom for collecting payment and dispensing tickets. There was an elderly lady named Mary who had worked there selling tickets for as long as Vagas could remember. Old Mary, that’s what they called her, was kind and polite. She always remembered their names. She usually fudged and let the kids get in for free until they were almost ten years old. She seemed to like children. Vaga’s mother, Tamarra, usually brought Vaga and Midori to the zoo several times during the week when the weather was good. Their father, Toby, would take them on Saturday or Sunday afternoon if there was time. It wasn’t that the animals were so strange or exotic. It was that they were close enough to really watch and there were quite a few that were allowed to wander the zoo grounds. At times it seemed like one big petting zoo. The two children came to know them by the names the keepers had given them. It was a safe place. It was special. Vagas remembers also that Rason used to come to the zoo as well. He was brought there by his mother Zealda. It angered Vagas when she saw Rason taunting the animals in cruel or uncaring ways. Zealda saw what he did but would act as if it was all right or would just look the other way. Of course, Vagas knew it was not all right and she felt it was unfair that Arson’s mother didn’t teach him to respect and enjoy the animals. Even though Vagas, Midori, and Rason lived fairly close to each other, they never became friends. There were just too many differences between them. Midori was the kindest person you would ever meet and Rason took advantage of him whenever they were together. Vagas was afraid that Rason would do something to get Midori into trouble. It was no surprise to Vagas that Rason, encouraged by Zealda, would do nothing to help provide water for the thirsty zoo animals. There was a deep pond on Zealda’s property that was fed by a small stream all year. It was one of the few water sources in the area that could always be counted on. Zealda and Rason had a few animals on their land but there was plenty of water to spare. Rason refused to let the zoo take any of the water. The well that provided water for the zoo still had a small amount of water that could be pumped out each day. It was becoming progressively sandier and might soon dry up. The recent spell of very hot weather was causing concern. You will need to frequently ask the students to provide you with input. That's what makes the writing so easy. You don't have to come up with the idea. You just take their ideas and elaborate. They will even do the proof reading and make further suggestions. The section below was given as a homework assignment. It produced a wealth of input of various kinds. Vagas and Midori have to think of something. We need: 1) A map of the zoo; 2) A drawing of Zealda’s place; 3) A map of the town; 4) A Picture of Tamarra; 5) A picture of Mary; 6) A picture of Toby; 7) Pictures of some of the zoo animals; 8) A picture of Vaga’s home; 9) A picture of Vagas and Midori talking to Rason; 10) Anything else you can think of.
Where do you stop? This is entirely up to you. You can write pages, chapters, short books, or longer ones. That is the best part. All of the decisions are yours. I think you will enjoy the results. I am sure you will be amazed at the scope of activities and productivity a student authoring project will produce. You may ask me a question and I will be happy to attempt to help you.
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