#1591. Story In A Bag

Reading/Writing, level: all
Posted Mon Feb 21 09:27:21 PST 2000 by Karen Murphy (Karabobba@aol.com).
Lowell Public Schools, Lowell, Mass
Materials Required: A gift bag, some pictures, and students =0)
Activity Time: 50 minutes
Concepts Taught: Descriptive writing, oral presentations

I took a very fancy, shiny metallic gold bag. I wrote "Tell
Me A Story Bag" on 2 neon index cards and taped them to
each side.
I then used my Printshop Deluxe 6.0 Program and printed 36
different photos from their stock photo collection. Photos
of landscapes, old farmhouses. animals, people, food and a
couple of great loop the loop rollercoasters. 6 per page
roughly. I cut them all out and numbered them on the back.
I put the photos in the bag, and shook it up. Each student
picks a picture, and writes the number chosen on their
paper. Then the students are asked to use their imagination
and describing words (adjectives) and write a great story.
I suggest that they use the question words like who, what
where... to help them. I teach 2nd grade.
I also include an authors chair at the end. I hang many
pictures that were used up on a board and when the student
reads, the others have to guess which picture the author
had. I also use a self assessment rubric and a writing
rubric to assess the activity. Here they are:

Please circle the number that matches how you feel you did
today during this activity.

4 I did a great job. I didn't waste any time and
I followed drections. I used a lot of description and
imagination.

3 I did a good job. I wasted a little bit of
time, and missed a few directions. I used
a good amount of description and imagination.

2 I did a fair job, but could have done better. I
wasted time and did not follow
directions. I didn't use much description or
imagination.

1 I did a poor job. I wasted a lot of time and
did not complete a draft. I did not
follow directions and I did not participate. I
must write a paper to complete the
assignment.

WRITING

Below is a score for your writing.

4 Great topic sentence, great details, and a
great clincher. Lots of description and
imagination.

3 Good topic sentence, good details and a good
clincher. You may have missed the
meaning or lost track of your subject.

2 Fair or no topic sentence. Details and clincher
need work. You didn't make sense or
you didn't write about the picture.

1 You did a poor job writing or you didn't write
a piece at all. You must complete an
assignment to complete your work.