#3890. Chapter Story (with directions)

Reading/Writing, level: Middle
Posted Mon Jan 15 19:50:35 PST 2007 by Leif Tokerud (leitoker@whitepine.k12.nv.us).
White Pine Middle School, Ely, Nevada
Materials Required: handouts, paper, and a computer lab
Activity Time: 4 weeks
Concepts Taught: Writing - the whole process

**Get out of your students' way and let them write! My students have loved this assignment for years now. Many of them will write stories that are 15-20 typed pages long. Of course, I do have a few that write 50-80+ pages. Enjoy. Try to have them use the chapter titles to frame their story before they write. The more advanced kids will stray from this, but most of them do need the support that having the chapters planned ahead of time provides. Lastly, yes, I do send this home to have their parents(or somebody other than myself) attempt to help them edit their typed draft.

Chapter Story -- Fiction Name _________________

Directions: You will write a fictional story organized in chapters. Your first step is to select eight chapter titles from the the various tables of contents given to you today, __________. Your eight chapters may come from the same table of contents or be from different lists. Each chapter will be a minimum of three-fourths of a typed page in length (size 12 font) which translates to 1-2 hand-written pages depending on your writing style.
You should average one chapter per class period. We will be writing and typing these during class! I ask that you please not rush off and start typing a second draft at home. If you do and choose not to use class time, I will give you a zero for productivity during class time.
List your eight chapter titles below:
1. 5.
2. 6.
3. 7.
4. 8.
9. 10.
****You must have your eight chapter titles all picked out and listed on this sheet before you start writing your story!!!

Grading Criteria:
Rough Draft 400 points-done
Ideas and Content 250 points
Organization (story flow) 250 points
Conventions (grammar) 250 points
Voice (originality and personality) 250 points
Home (editing and revisions) 200 points
If your story is 6 full typed pages long, I will multiply your above total by ".80" to calculate your grade.
If your story is 8 full pages long, I will multiply your above total by "1.00" to calculate your grade.
1 page- total x .15 2 pages- total x .30 3 pages- total x .45 4 pages- total x .60
5 pages -- total x .70 7 pages- total x .90 9 pages- total x 1.10 10 pages- total x 1.20
Please keep in mind to not only concern yourself with the plot of your story, but remember to have a good mix of description in your writing. When you change settings, set the tone (the mood), include the sights, sounds, and smells. Make your characters real -- give them a background and history ( Why do they act the way they do in the story?) Remember dialogue. You know the end of your story, so you can foreshadow events to come by giving clues and setting things up to get you towards the end of the story.
Chapter Story -- Fiction Name ________

You wrote a fictional story organized in chapters. Each chapter should have been a minimum of three-fourths of a typed page in length (size 10 or 12 font utilizing double spacing) which translates to 1-2 hand-written pages depending on your writing style.
Grading Criteria: YOUR GRADE
Ideas and Content 300 points _________
Organization (story flow) 300 points _________
Conventions (grammar) 300 points _________
Voice (originality and personality) 300 points _________
Home (editing) 300 points _________
TOTAL _______ x ____=______
If your story is 6 full pages long, I will multiply your above total by ".80" to calculate your grade.
If your story is 8 full pages long, I will multiply your above total by "1.00" to calculate your grade.
1 page- total x .15 2 pages- total x .30 3 pages- total x .45 4 pages- total x .60
5 pages -- total x .70 7 pages- total x .90 9 pages- total x 1.10 10 pages- total x 1.20
Chapter Story -- Fiction Name ________
You wrote a fictional story organized in chapters. Each chapter should have been a minimum of three-fourths of a typed page in length (size 10 or 12 font utilizing double spacing) which translates to 1-2 hand-written pages depending on your writing style.

Grading Criteria: YOUR GRADE
Ideas and Content 300 points _________
Organization (story flow) 300 points _________
Conventions (grammar) 300 points _________
Voice (originality and personality) 300 points _________
Home (editing) 300 points _________
TOTAL _______ x ____=______
If your story is 6 full pages long, I will multiply your above total by ".80" to calculate your grade.
If your story is 8 full pages long, I will multiply your above total by "1.00" to calculate your grade.
1 page- total x .15 2 pages- total x .30 3 pages- total x .45 4 pages- total x .60
5 pages -- total x .70 7 pages- total x .90 9 pages- total x 1.10 10 pages- total x 1.20

Chapter Story -- Fiction Name _________________

Chapter Story Organizer
1. What type of story will it be? Action/Adventure? Fantasy? Mystery? Romance? Historical fiction? Science fiction? Realistic fiction? Comedy? Horror?

2. Who and/or what are your main characters? Describe them and explain why they do what they do in your story.
A.
B.
C.

3. In what types of settings is your story taking place? Explain.

4. What is the main goal for the characters? What problem has to be solved or overcome during your story?
5. Lastly, will one of the characters be telling the story (as in first person perspective) or will the author/narrator (as in 3rd person perspective) tell the story? Why?
Chapter Story -- Home Editing Name ________

Dear Proofreader,
The student standing before you wrote (and typed) a fictional story organized in eight chapters. We are asking your assistance to complete this project. Every student must have an adult or capable older student edit their story. Yes, your task does require a bit of time, but it is important to help give the story a good finished/polished touch. Please, try to not "revise" the story; just try to help the student in terms of grammar, word choice, spelling, and punctuation.
As a point of information: each chapter should have been a minimum of three-fourths of a typed page in length (size 10 or 12 font utilizing 1½ spacing) which translated to 1-2 hand-written pages depending on your writing style.
Thank you,
Mr. Tokerud
Proofreading Checklist Proofreader_______
Your "editor" must read and proofread your writing. To accomplish this, your proofreader should read the paper softly aloud to her/himself; that is the best way to figure out if something is written correctly. I suggest first reading for the story's sake, and reading it again paying attention to grammatical details. Please, use your own judgment, and assist the student as best as you can. Thank you.
Proofreader #1
I have checked for and corrected
____Grammar and word usage
____Spelling
____Punctuation and Capitalization
____Sentence structure (checking for short, choppy sentences or long, awkward sentences)
Signed_________________________________, the proofreader
Notes:
A. Fred whispered, "Remember to capitalize the first word in a quotation."
B. Jordan sighed, "Yes, I know. Will you remember that end punctuation including periods, question marks, and exclamation points are placed before the ending quotation mark?"
C. "You will remember that if the identifier is after the quote and the end punctuation for the sentence would normally be a period, then you use a comma instead," Fred responded.
Please remember every time that you change who is speaking in a story to start a NEW PARAGRAPH!

(One more note: This signed sheet does need to be given to Mr. Tokerud along with the equivalent of six chapters of your handwritten rough draft, your typed draft with the suggested corrections, and your final draft.)
Mrs. Whatsit
Mrs. Who
Mrs. Which
The Black Thing
The Tesseract
The Happy Medium
The Man With Red Eyes
The Transparent Column
IT
Absolute Zero
Aunt Beast
The Foolish and the Weak
Busy at War and Love
The Pinch Bug and His Prey
A Pirate Bold to Be
Tragedy in the Graveyard
Dire Prophecy
The Howling Dog
The Cat and the Painkiller
The Pirate Crew Sets Sail
The Cruelty of
"I Didn't Think"
Seeking the Buried Treasure
Found and Lost Again
Floods of Gold
Who Am I?
Cantrev Cadiffor
Goryon and Gast
A Matter of Cows
A Judgement
A Frog
Friends in Danger
The Wall of Thorns
The Hand of Morda
The Broken Spell
Dorath
The Wager
The Lost Lamb
The End of Summer
The Open Cage
Taran Wanderer
The Weir
1 Up the Alley
2 The Safe Stuff
3 Secrets of the Old Masters
4 Ginny's Parents
5 Ginny's Wake
6 Otis Goes to the Circus
7 Abby Takes Her Lumps
8 Backyard at the Circus
9 The Great Canneloni

13 Yellow Is the Color
14 The Lion's Jaw
15 Fear of the Cat
16 Hector's Boss
18 Hector Brings in a Specialist

20 The Scranton Public Library
21 Accident at Pistol Pete's
22 Gypsy Blue Goes Fishing
23 Night at a Circus
24 Abby Bites

26 Otis Bites
27 The Art of Baseball
28 Jersey Testing
30 Abby Runs for Her Plane
31 Flight 505
32 JFK Intern'l Airport, La Paz, Bolivia
34 The Altiplano
36 Abby Figures It Out

45 Jacco's Amigos
46 The Floor Falls Through
47 Getaway
48 Tacking to Peru
49 Otis Takes a Dive
50 Lucky Shot
51 Gypsy Blue, Snitch
52 Otis's Future
53 Circus Gossip
54 Curtains for Canneloni
55 Pietro Stands Guard
56 Otis Goes Home
57 Three Fingers
58 Abby Writes
Chapter 3: Rocky
Chapter 4: Rocky's Future
5: Best Friends Forever

"Being Yourself"
"What Is Friendship?" "Friends in Trouble" "Growing Apart"
"The Best of Friendship."
Chinese New Year
A Journey of Ten Thousand Miles
China's Little Ambassador
A Hungry Ghost
Two Black Eyes and Wispy Whiskers
I Pledge a Lesson to the Frog
Toscanini Takes a Walk
Monsters
Secrets
The World Series
Moon Cakes Without Grandfather
A Star-Spangled Christmas
Prologue. . . Alexandra encounters her dragon.
Introduction. . . Pythos reveals the secrets of mastery.
Chapter One. . . Alex discovers that she is exactly what she imagines.
Chapter Three. . . Alex finds and then, loses her mind.
Chapter Four. . . Pythos spins a tale about hurricanes.
Chapter Six. . . Alex attends a tea party with Gaia. Pythos loses a bet.
Chapter Seven. . . Pythos paints a picture.
Chapter Eight. . . Banana bread and hot soup.
Chapter Nine. . . Monkey business and tomfoolery.
Chapter Ten. . . Quetzal feathers and quantum soup.
Chapter Eleven. . . Problems with an E-virus and Creole fish soup.
Chapter Twelve. . . An alternate path home & the other side of the looking glass.
Chapter Thirteen. . . Another tea party with Gaia, Pythos wins a bet.
Chapter Fourteen. . . Alex sleeps on the mountain of death.
Chapter Sixteen. . . Stardust and Ashes.
Chapter Seventeen. . . Alex gains an empty mind, Pythos gets a virtual mind.
Planting the Garden
The Birds
Solving The Problem
Chapter 4: Building The Man
Chapter 5: Scarecrow On Review
Chapter 6: Stuart
Chapter 7: The Straw Hat
Chapter 8: On The Job Training
Chapter 9: Charlie The Crow
Chapter 10: Soggy Stuffing
Chapter 11: Help From A Pal
Chapter 12: The Magic Feather
Chapter 13: On The Loose
Chapter 14: Barn Life
Chapter 15: Horace The Horse
Chapter 16: The Adventure Begins
Chapter 17: The Hobo
Chapter 18: Run For Freedom
Chapter 19: Safe At Last
Chapter 20: A Bedtime Story
Chapter 21: On The Road Again
Chapter 22: Where Are We Going?
Chapter 23: Decision Time
Chapter 24: Racing Home
Chapter 25: Home
Chapter 26: As Good As New
Chapter 26: Long Winter's Sleep
Chapter 28: A New Day
2. Modest Heroes
5. Patrick goes back
6. A New Insider
7. Patrick in Boone-land
10. A Rough Ride
13. Mr. Johnson smells a rat
First Sign of Trouble
Misleading Appearances
Darkening Clouds
Tow Out of Trouble
The World's Whopper
Money to Burn
Breakfast at Dr Dudgeon's
Worse and Worse
Two Ways of Looking at the Same Thing,
The First Clue, Rival Detectives
Spreading the Net
News From the Outposts
A Scrap of Flannel
Unwanted Gift Dunlop Tires
Morning Visitors
Another Coat of Paint
The Villain Leaves His Mark
The Last Chance
Setting the Trap, Blinding Flash
"All the Evidence We Got"
The Legal Mind
What Happened to the Fish?