How to use this Page

Add a Comment

Disclosure: We received a free Story Starters game from Mama May i for this post, but my opinions are honest, as always!

While my children and I have spent countless hours reading aloud together, the stories we have created on our own are far and few between. Storytelling games, like Mama May i's Story Starters, are a fun literacy enriching experience for young children that are a great supplement to reading aloud. Through these games, children craft unique stories that stretch their creativity and empower their imagination as they take on roles as a story listener, a story teller, and a story writer.

Mama May i's storytelling game is a handmade learning toy that arrives in a shiny tin, complete with 4 story starter dice, a symbol key, a little book of why, and a pen. For group play, the youngest player rolls the cube and begins the story with the image that lands face up. Then the next player rolls and adds to the story. To play alone, you simply roll the dice and let your imagination run wild based on the pictures you see! The dice help you with the who, what, when, and where but the why is up to the players to create. To help you remember your stories, you can write or draw them in the journal provided.


If you are like us and enjoy reading and learning - you might want to invest in Mama May i's story starters as an additional literacy activity (you know, for when you've read that same book 1,000 times in a row and just can't stand to make it 1,001). Plus, storytelling games offer lots of educational experiences, in addition to being just plain fun!

Here's some benefits of storytelling play:

• It fosters creative thinking - "you create the why".
• It enriches your child's imagination because he'll be forming mental images as the story is being told.
• It strengthens reading and writing skills.
• It teaches elements of a story - who, what, when, where; beginning, middle, end; plot; conflict; theme.
• For children who are reluctant to read aloud with their parents, storytelling can provide a different kind of shared literacy experience. 
• It aids in emotional development as the characters in the stories partake in various adventures; children identify with the way a character responds in various situations.
• It teaches new vocabulary.
• It promotes listening and speaking skills.
• It promotes teamwork and turn taking.
• Last but not least, it creates memorable experiences!

What did my kids think of their new game?

They loved it, of course! My 4-year imagined a story around a boy named Will who was given a magical shovel that could pick up leaves on its own, and my 22 month old enjoyed naming all of the pictures and making up some shorter stories.



What did I think of the new game?

I thought it was an easy way to play a game together (without having to read a million rules, which I despise), have some fun and be silly, and sneak in something educational that didn't feel educational. I also loved the personal note from Jessica Perkins, the founder and designer of Mama May i, that came in the game's adorable packaging. The fact that it's all non-toxic is a bonus too, considering I still have a toddler who likes to put things in his mouth.



Interested?

You can order this game as well as other educational, handmade toys inspired by Montessori and Waldorf methodologies from Mama May i. As a fellow Philadelphian, I just adore the Make a Match Game with Philly sites.

You can also follow Mama May i on Facebook and Twitter. If you order from Mama May i before the end of November, use the code LANDOFONCEUPONATIME at checkout for $5 off a purchase of $30 or more.

Enjoy making learning fun!

Add a Comment

What does it take to draw in today’s young reader and persuade them to keep reading?

Last week, in the children’s lit class I’m teaching at Stony Brook Southampton, we looked closely at the beginnings of middle grade and YA novels.  I made a list of important elements for my grad students… but I’d love to hear what else you consider when it comes to starting a story.

Here’s my crib sheet:

The beginning of your story has to accomplish several things. It must:

→ Introduce your setting
→ Introduce your main character/s
→ Establish the tone/rules of the world
→ Hook your reader and compel them to read on

The last point is perhaps the most important. Here, then, are some tips.

Good beginnings…

Start with an event, a problem or a change. Judy Blume says that novels should begin “on the first day that something different happens in your character’s life.” Don’t worry about backstory or exposition – that can reveal itself later.

Fulfill the premise – and promise – of your story. If your book is about a girl who can talk to animals, don’t wait 50 pages before she talks to, or hears from, an animal. Even if she doesn’t realize what’s happening yet, there should she be some hint right away of what your story is really about.

Raise questions. Questions propel the characters into action, and the reader into the next page, wondering what will happen next. What’s going on here? How or why did this happen? Who could have done this?

Avoid clichés. Childrens book authors often start books on the first day of school or the day a character arrives some place new. Although these are natural starting points because they involve a change, they’re also a little too common. Try to be fresh, original. Here are some other common/cliché beginnings to avoid:

→ The weather (“It was a dark and stormy night…”)
→ The hero waking up in the morning and thinking about his/her day
→ A dream or a vision
→ A death
→ Starting with the present, and then going into flashback mode to provide exposition

Establish the rules of the world. If your story is set in a world in any way different from ours, then some hint of how the world works, or the rules operating there, should be in your opening – but remember to show rather than tell. Reveal or demonstrate the rules in action as opposed to describing them through exposition.

Establish the tone, style and pacing of the book. Your opening scene sets the overall mood of your story, whether its dark, funny, contemporary, lyrical, whatever. Whatever the primary tone of your piece is, your initial scene should establish that feeling.

Add a Comment

More writing prompts from "The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction"

• "Being around you people makes me feel like a genius."
• An army private learns that he has to go back to war for a second tour.
• "I . . . love you?"
• A man sneezes painfully. He looks into his handkerchief and finds something that looks like a microchip.

Pick one that speaks to you and get writing! Find more information about this book at www.freshboiledpeanuts.com

Add a Comment

We've been doing a series of posts with ideas and references for back-to-school writing activities for teachers. I hope that writers are finding these ideas useful too. If you're a writer, I encourage you to try the Writing Workout at the end of today's post.

Jeanne Marie kicked off this series with a Writing Workout that asks students to describe (among other things) what a character is wearing. I've used a variation of this exercise with my adult writing students, asking them to write specifically about a character's shoes. Students are often surprised by how something so mundane as a character's shoes can provide insights into the character's personality, and even plot ideas.

Thanks to Esther's post, I'm looking forward to picking up a copy of Better than Great by Arthur Plotnik, and trying out her splendiferous Writing Workout with my students.

JoAnn's post last Friday reminded me of the importance of encouraging my students. And whether you write poetry or teach it (or both) you'll want to check out the book she discussed, Seeing the Blue Between, compiled by Paul B. Janeczko.

Finally, on Monday, Mary Ann shared an alternative to the dreaded "What I did over summer vacation" assignment. She has her students write about something "they know a lot about," in other words, something based on personal experience. Today's Writing Workout is similar in that it also asks students (and those of you who are writers) to write about an event you personally experienced. But in this case, students use a photograph as a story-starter.

The inspiration for this exercise came from reading Lois Lowry's Looking Back: A Book of Memories.  Here's a description of Lowry's book:

"People are constantly asking two-time Newbery Medalist Lois Lowry where she gets her ideas. In this fascinating memoir, Lowry answers this question, through recollections of childhood friends and pictures and memories that explore her rich family history. She recounts the pivotal moments that inspired her writing, describing how they magically turned into fiction along the complicated passageway called life. Lowry fans, as well as anyone interested in understanding the process of writing fiction, will benefit from this poignant trip through the past and the present of a remarkable writer."

See the following Writing Workout for ideas on how to use L

Add a Comment

     When I was a student back in the last century, there were three things you could count on happening the first day of school;  somebody would throw up, the PA system issued a stream of incomprehensible directives ("First lunch students will eat during second lunch...").  While my teacher figured out the intricacies of her Delaney Book seating chart, there would be our first assignment on the chalkboard, right under "Hello, my name is Mrs. (Fill in the Blank). 99 per cent of the time it was "What I Did on My Summer Vacation." Sometimes this was followed by the threat "Spelling and punctuation count. Must be at least 250 words."

      This assignment was so predictable that after second grade, I started wrting the essay in advance, so I could read a library book instead. The kids who went to the Wisconsin Dells or some place truly exotic like Disneyland had no problem. Kids who stayed home and spent the summer running through the lawn sprinkler or worse, in summer school, (the equivalent of a stint in Sing Sing) stared at their three ring binders, and sweated bullets.  Five minutes into the school year, and the threat of next year's summer school was already nipping at their heels.

     Somewhere between my school days and my daughter's, the "What I Did..." essay had gone the way of the dodo bird. Instead, every morning, she was expected to write in a "journal" for five to ten minutes, using a writing prompt on the white board. I am not a fan of writing prompts. It's hard to come up with a hundred and eighty or so age-appropriate writing prompts, year after year. The kids knew that what they wrote didn't matter, just that they wrote something. Their grade came from the teaching flipping through the journals looking for blank pages or suspiciously short essays.

    Whoever came up with the journal idea had good intentions. Being able to write English fluently is always a handy skill. Unfortunately, journals turn an awful lot of kids off. I wouldn't be a writer today if I had been expected to write on a narrowly defined topic, first thing in the morning. Every morning. By middle school, these journals were used in every class (except P.E.). Six or seven prompts a day would give me brain freeze.

     OK teachers, I am going to give you a writer's workout that will cause you to roll your eyes, gnash your teeth, and call me nasty names (hopefully, not in front of your class.) And yes, it will take more time (in the beginning). Ready?  Let's rev up that creative part of the brain that has probably lain dormant all summer.

Writer's Workout

(This is adapted from Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi.)

   Equipment needed:  Teacher:  A timer, a small legal pad, and writing instrument. Students; the same,minus the timer.

    Plan plenty of time for this exercise; the more students you have, the more time you'll need. Don't plan on multitasking. Your students will need your full attention.

    First, share a couple of your own (short) ancedotes. This serves several purposes. One, students seem more open to learning if they know a little something about you. Something interesting to them.  For instance, second graders are probably not going to care that you like gardening, have two grandchildren and your cat got stuck in a tree last week.

   They may be intereste

Display Comments Add a Comment

by Sharon Blumberg

Spooky Story Starters can foster creative writing by children and young adults. Children can also draw illustrations to accompany their stories. Most children grow up with many unforgettable spooky Halloween experiences. Help your child, or your students if you’re a classroom teacher, create some fun spooky stories for Halloween.

Before you have your children start writing, remind them that effective stories for children need to contain essential elements. Aside from a beginning, middle, and end, those elements are as follows:

1. A point of view character. Write the story from the point of view of the main character.

2. A problem or conflict for the main character. The story must have a problem that needs to be solved. Try to present this as early in the story as possible in your story, or your reader will move on to something more enticing.

3. Rising action. Once your problem is established, create some rising action, where the conflict begins to build in intensity.

It is acceptable to have parents involved in the story, but the main character should try and solve the problem himself/herself.

4. Dialogue and Action. Try to tell much of the story through dialogue. In other words, “show,” don’t just “tell.” Be sure you have plenty of action, though. You story needs to be MORE than just people talking.

5. A Twist. Have your story end with an unexpected “twist.” This could be something the reader never saw coming, but would wonder why he didn’t.

Now for some Spooky Story Starters to help your children start writing:

1. You just moved into an old, large home with your family, in a new town. Everyone at school tells you the house is haunted. You are alone on Halloween evening, giving out candy, when you hear footsteps coming from the stairway.

2. Nobody ever Trick or Treats at the dark house on the corner of your block. Children have seen a shadowy silhouette of a women peering out of a second story window, and viscious dog-barking rattles the front windows. Your companions have dared you to ring the bell for Trick or Treat.

3. Every Halloween night, your neighbor down the street tries to scare children by growling, and jumping out of his door while wearing a costume. In addition, creepy-sounding Halloween songs blast from a boom box on his lawn. However, this year you notice something a little different. You don’t see your neighbor jumping out with a costume, nor do you hear the scary Halloween music. What you do see is a tall, dark hooded figure standing behind a clump of tall, evergreen trees near your neighbor’s house. Your friends still want to go Trick or Treating at this house. You don’t want to go, but you don’t want to seem like a wimpy baby by backing out.

4. You are interviewing a well-known vampire about his best Halloween memory. He is known for terrorizing bullies in the neighborhood on Halloween night. He tells you one time he…..

5. You have gone Trick or Treating ever since you were a young child because this particular house gives out the best treats. You are now 12 years old, but you are not quite ready to give up Trick or Treating while you still have younger friends. The lady at the door insults you by saying you are much too old to still be Trick or Treating. In fact, she says you should be ashamed of yourself. But she eventually gives you a big candy bar anyway.

Display Comments Add a Comment

SIMON SAYS
A weekly column from children’s author Simon Rose

One of the best story starter ideas can be to simply wonder ‘what if.’

What if you received a letter telling you you’d been accepted into a school for wizards?

Or discovered a door into another universe at the back of your bedroom closet?

Or a flying boy dressed all in green appeared at your bedroom window, inviting you to take a journey to a magical land?

Perhaps you followed a rabbit down a hole and ended up in a bizarre underground universe?

What if you met someone who’d been imprisoned inside a painting for over three hundred years?

If you could travel back in time, where would you go?

What would you do if you had a clone for the day?

Whether this is how Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland or The Alchemist’s Portrait first came about isn’t the point, but rather how this type of thinking sets the thought process in motion.

Another great way to get started is to consider an overheard conversation and where it might lead. How about. “I’ll never forgive him for as long as I live” or “I didn’t mean to set the laboratory on fire, it just kind of happened” or “after that incident last year, her family will never be the same again”. Any of these could be overheard in the aisle of the supermarket, at a store checkout or on a long bus or train journey.

You could even find a mysterious note or find a cell phone with either a text or a voice message with tantalizingly vague details, from someone who may be in serious danger.

Or maybe you receive a letter and immediately recognize the name above the return address as belonging to someone you thought was dead.

All of these are great story starters, but can also help you develop your own idea or take it on a completely different path altogether.

No Tags

Add a Comment

SIMON SAYS
A weekly column from children’s author Simon Rose

Even if you are really determined to work on your writing and have set time aside for it, there will be days when nothing seems to work to get you started. An interesting exercise to get a story moving is to use a collection of random objects drawn from a bag.

The idea is then to create story, in which these objects must all be used as a significant part of the narrative. It’s a method I use on a regular basis with children in younger grades at school visits and during summer camps and parties, but can easily be adapted to an older audience. For example, you could place a set of keys, a hairbrush, a pen, a cell phone, an apple, a sock, a postcard from the Caribbean, a toy bear, an address book, a broken pair of sunglasses, a post-it note, a watch or indeed any other collection of random items in bag. You then draw out four or five at random and use them to create your story. This type of exercise always sparks the imagination of children and you’d be surprised at what you might come up with when confronted with a set of seemingly unconnected objects.

You could even set yourself a time limit to force yourself to devise the beginning, middle and end of the story. The final result may not be best-seller material, but the process will certainly stimulate your imagination and like some of the other ideas we have examined, it might be just enough to get your creativity moving again.

No Tags

Add a Comment