Create Your Own Adventure Books: Real Authors with Real Readers

Authors in Mrs. Bass' 5th grade class at Hughes elementary recently published work for an authentic
audience at their own school! 1st grade students were learning about Caribou while 2nd grade was studying Christmas traditions around the world. Knowing their needs, Mrs. Bass allowed her students to write both fiction and nonfiction stories that the younger students could learn from. These were not ordinary stories. Students used their knowledge of story elements and plot to write create your own adventure books. The beginning and middle of the story was written collaboratively as a class, while the ending was written by each individual. Students choose a unique ending and a picture icon that symbolized what their ending was about to hook the reader and give them a hint.

Zoe, Aubree, Lainey, Hailey, and Terrance got a lot out of this project. When asked what they enjoyed most about the project, Aubree stated, "I loved that we got to write to younger students. We knew lots of people would be reading our work. I also enjoyed getting to read other people's stories and seeing how creative they were." Haliey added, "I loved that every ending was completely different." Some stories ended in Canada, while others ended in Hawaii, Times Square, giant homes, and even Krusty Krab's House.

Terrance explained the project in his own words, "At first we wrote as a squad and then we went solo. I'm glad we got to choose between fiction and nonfiction stories." Terrance is new to Hughes this year and said that he learned a lot about Google docs and how to format documents. He has also noticed that he got better at typing the more he wrote. This project allowed students to learn about writing, while simultaneously learning technology standards. Lainey comments, "I learned that every story needs to have a problem and a solution." Aubree adds, "we also learned how to get a shareable link for our Google Doc and copy and paste shortcuts such as Ctrl C and Ctrl V."

"The hardest part of this project was deciding on the beginning of the story with the group," states Lainey. "We all had ideas and had to choose which one would be best."

Perhaps the best part about this project was getting to share writing with others. All of the stories were published on a Padlet wall for readers to not only read the books, but also give them a 1-5 star rating. "My mom loved me story," said Hailey. "Over Christmas break I read everyone's story from the class. They were all so interesting." The class hopes to have the Padlet bookshelf available in the library for others to read. They are hoping that more people read and rate their stories.

Terrance concludes by saying, "I hope next year's 5th grade class gets to have as much fun doing this project as we did. We learned a lot about writing, but we had a lot of fun at the same time. This project was good for everyone, even the students who are shy because we start in a group, but then get to finish on our own. We all got to show our creative side."

These students are excited to present this project at EXPO 2018 in February!

Read and Rate Student Created Stories Here:
https://padlet.com/cbass5/ReindeerWriting

Highlighted Student ISTE Standards: 
Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

• 6d Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

• 7C Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.