I love this project! Year to year, I get to see how the very same computer-generated squiggle lines spark the imaginations of my students in grades 1-6. It is amazing to see them look at a line and envision something that has never been seen before. And when I do get repeat ideas, the stories are never the same!
For this project, we did a simple 5 W's and an H story map:
Who is in your picture-
What is happening-
Where is the story taking place-
When is the story taking place-
Why is it happening (story line)-
How the story ends-
After jotting down notes in this organized way, students write a story about their creation. Enjoy these samples!
Shark's Adventure, by Samit (2nd grade)
Once upon a time, there was a lonely shark in the cold antarctic. He was forced to go out of Atlantis because of his ugly jaws - according to Atlantis’ sharks. The shark’s name was Ari. Ari searched the world far and wide to find a new home. One day, a pack of orcas saw Ari. “Well, well, well,” said the biggest Orca. “Look what we have here. A little shark!”. “I - I’m not f - food.”, Ari stuttered. Ari rushed away, panicking.
Ari could feel the freezing water on the tips of his fins as he rushed through the water. Suddenly, Ari was cornered! As the Orcas were getting closer, Ari saw a current above him! Ari quickly swam up to the current. “Wheeheeee!” Ari yelled as the current pushed him. Ari saw some fish next to him, so he ate the sick ones.
Ari didn’t realize that the Orcas were chasing him! The Orcas were really close to Ari! But then, Ari fainted. Ari woke up to the sound of a clacking noise, “Oy! Whatcha doin’ here?” said an unfamiliar voice. Ari saw two beady eyes staring at him. Ari’s head was on land! It was a crab! Ari wriggled into the water.
He saw lots of faces looking at him. They looked just like Ari. “Hey, this guy’s the missing shark!” bellowed one of the sharks. Ari lived happily ever after!
The Truth about the Easter Bunny
by Sylvia (5th grade)
In the world we live in, the Easter bunny does it all, from making you a custom basket to hiding eggs for all, but this story has been warped and played “telephone” numerous times, so your story and my story of the Easter bunny are going to be completely different. Get ready for an odd one!
In this story, it is not just the Easter bunny that does everything, it’s also his mighty sidekick the chick! You may be thinking, “Ha, a chick? No way!” The chicks actually do a lot, such as making those delicious, creamy, and yummy chocolate bunnies as well as those sugary little peeps!
However you can’t randomly say I would like to make peeps and bunnies. No, no, no. There's a whole association for that, in fact the most prestigious in all the chick world is the Bunnies of Easter Agency. In order to join you have to go through a series of tests. I’ll be happy to teach you all about them.
Test 1: Agility. Why the need for speed and swiftness? Well, what if it’s Easter day and none of the eggs for the hunts have been put out? You definitely need a speedy chick for that.
Test 2. Cooking. If you don’t know how to cook, all Easter baskets are going to have burnt, hard, and chewy peeps. So of course we will need exceptional cooks.
The 3rd and final test:. Smarts. This is the most obvious yet important. If they were a dumb chick, they aren’t going to pass the other two tests.
Once a chick passes these tests they become a part of the BEA! They get to help the prestigious Easter bunny with his official duties!
So as you can see, this is a totally different story than what you had in mind about how the Easter bunny really works. So next time you take a bite of your chocolate bunnies or fluffy peeps, I would think again before thanking ONLY the Easter bunny!
The Lady in the Mountains
By Annika (4th grade)
For eons, the great Earth mother watched over her planet. She created the wilderness, oceans, and the clouds. But her favorite creation was the mountains. The living creatures of this world were her least favorite. They destroyed and built ugly stone and wooden monstrosities that they called “shelters”.
The Earth mother eventually created natural disasters and illnesses. She assumed they would take care of the most troublesome pests, humans. With that comfort, she realized that her work was done. She prepared for her rest by creating an enormous lake so that she could drink when she woke.
She found a small valley in between the mountains surrounding her magnificent lake, and laid there. She closed her eyes, and slept.
What she didn’t know was that humans were very intelligent beings. They survived the earthquakes, floods, and storms by hiding in their shelters. Over time, they took over the lands and waters, and built cities that stretched across the largest valleys! The lake the Earth mother made was now named Lake Tahoe. During this process, layers of stone and dirt had formed over her.
Many people lived at the shores of the vast lake, and played in the gentle waves of the water. One human was a young girl named Annika. She came to the lake very often, and loved it there.
She was playing at the shore when she felt an earthquake. A strong one. What no one knew was that the Earth mother was awakening.
“Mom!” she yelled. “Is this a level 10 earthquake?”
“Yes, I think it is!” her mother shouted back. “We have to get back to the house!”
As they made their way up the hill, on the opposite side of the lake, some mountains crumbled to reveal the Earth mother.
“MOM! WHAT IS THAT!?” Annika screamed.
“NOT AN EARTHQUAKE! RUN!!!”
Then, the Earth mother spoke. “WHO DARED TO BUILD HERE!!!???”
The Earth mother made one giant step to reach Heavenly Village. She started crunching buildings with her enormous hands and feet.
Then, Annika had an idea. She started running as fast as she could toward the giant.
When she reached the edge of town, she was panting hard, but she was breathless when she saw the lady of the mountains up close. She had a dress made out of leaves and rocks, and her eyes were as blue as the lake itself.
Though still in shock, she ran at the lady’s legs, and jumped. She miraculously found a ledge on her rocky dress, and started to climb. The Earth queen didn’t notice her until she was already at her shoulder.
Annika faced her giant ear and yelled, “STOP!!!!!!!”
Strangely, the Earth mother listened, and obeyed.
“Please, don’t destroy the town,” she pleaded. “No one knew this was your land. Many people live here now. Lots of them are my friends and family. So please don’t hurt them.”
The Earth mother was surprised about how much this girl cared for these people. She picked Annika up from her shoulder, and placed her gently on the ground. She slowly walked toward the lake, and drank. When she finished, she stood again, and walked back to where she had emerged. She laid down again, and this time, didn’t get up again.
Koko's Day
By Erin (5th grade)
Koko hopped down the steps onto the dock. It was a cool dark night, adn Koko was tasked with a dangerous job, with only a lantern, fishing net, and pole. It was a dark time in the quiet village of Sorra. Monsters were spotted nearby the village gate! More and more reports of monster spottings led to their need of volunteers to fish-- their most important food source.
As she set out for sea, Koko took a spear with her. If a sea monster was present, she had to defend herself. She set out, expecting the worst.
When the boat reached the fishing spot, Koko dropped her fishing line.
"AHHHH!" Koko screamed. She didn't know how, but the only things she saw were huge bubbles which rocked the boat. She slowly reached for her spear, then WHOOSH! A green serpent-like sea monster appeared with a mighty leap!
With a surprsingly friendly voice, the creature spoke. "Hello. My name is Sammy. Who are you?" Koko was stunned, but she managed a weak greeting.
"I am Koko from Sorra Village. I came here to fish." Soon, Sammie asked why she was reaching for a lethal weapon. Koko hastily explained all the trouble with monsters that her village had. Soon, however, she became sad, as Sammy seemed like a very sweet sea creature. Soon, she had an idea.
"Can you talk to the. monsters and ask them to help us in return for respect?"
Sammy smiled. "Of course!" he said. "I can do that, since you were so kind to me."
Koko returned to the village, which was cheering her name. They were very happy, and continued to peacefully live a sweet dream.
Lesson Learned, by Bree (6th grade)
"Eat your food!" Daddy Alligator was not a patient parent, and Baby Alligator was getting yelled at because of it.
"But whyyyyyy?" Baby Ali complained. "It looks so gross!" You might think that Baby Alligator was not right, but he really was. The vile ice cream looked and smelled like the slimey swamp they were living in.
"Eat it!" Daddy Alligator was yelling now, and not messing around.
"Whyyyyyy?" Ali whined.
"NOW!"
"Argh, Fine!" Baby Ali hesitantly reached out his tongue, and took a tiny lick of the "ice cream." "HUUUURK!" Baby Ali gagged.
"See? That was not so bad," Daddy Alligator exclaimed.
"If you think it is not so bad, then why don't YOU try it?"
"Fine. I think I will." Daddy Alligator confidently reached his tongue towards the disgustingness ahead of him, thinking it would be fine. Then, a dark look crossed Daddy Alligator's face. "HUUURK!"
The moral of the story is, Sometimes your parents are NOT right!!
