Authors at Work!

Today the students had an opportunity to take on the role of the author.  For several weeks, we have been focusing on the elements of a story.  We have learned about characters, settings, problems and solutions.  Today the students were asked how authors come up with ideas to write a story. Some authors look for ideas that spark inspiration.  Ideas of inspiration can come from the world around us.  When I asked the students what were some things that inspired them to write stories they mentioned: family life, personal narratives, pets, friends, sports, places in the world, other books they have read, animals, and many other things!  But what happens when an author gets stuck and can't think of anything to write about?  Sometimes they look at pictures!  Ever heard the phrase: "a picture tells a thousand words"?  Well today the students were presented with a picture of a man holding a brief case and a passport.  Independently they had to create their own story to go along with the picture.  The work that the authors of portable 3 created today was phenomenal!!!  Stay tuned to see some of these great stories which will be posted up on the blog shortly!