Guided Story Construction
Jill Kerper Mora
San Diego State University
Rationale: Second-language learners need a framework for creating stories with a strong link between oral language and vocabulary acquired through guided discussion and writing activities that support them in organizing information around components of a narrative.
Step 1: Using a children's picture book or photograph showing an action or event, elicit a discussion of what is depicted. What people do they see in the picture? How are they related to each other? What are they doing? Why are they engaged in that activity? What happened before the event? Write down key vocabulary words on the board or on chart paper to create a Word Bank for the story. Teacher can classify these words according to parts of speech: Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Encourage students to expand on categories where they may need more words later on for composing the story.
An example of a picture book to use for this activity is In My Family by Carmen Lomas Garza published by Children's Book Press, San Francisco, California.
Step 2: Choose two or three people from the picture to use as characters for the story. Describe each one and their role in the event. Create a graphic organizers using key words and phrases. Compose two or three sentences about each character that can become an introduction to the story, using vocabulary words from the Word Bank.
Step 3: Create an action sequence for the characters extended in a logical way. Write a core sentence describing the sequence of events. Ask students questions about each one to elaborate detail. Focus on verb tenses and forms to express past, present and future actions in the story.
Step 4: Using the elements generated above, create a story using conventional narrative features. If feasible, have a confident L2 student or volunteer tell the story using their own words to provide a structure. Have the narrator point to parts of the picture or photograph that depict what they are telling. List expressions that are needed for introduction, transition, and conclusion of the narrative. Guide and assist by using prompts, questions, and summaries. Let children suggest alternative endings.
Step 5: Write the story out in summary form on chart paper. Follow up with a writing activity that requires further elaboration on the story or transformation of the story into another form. Examples of transformation activities are as follows:
- Write a dialogue between the characters in the story or a role play
- Write a letter based on a story character's perceptions of the event of view
- Change the time and verb tense of the story; e.g. Describing an upcoming event using future tense
- Write a news story about the event
- Write an announcement or advertisement for the event or an invitation to the event
- Generate questions for an interview of a participant in the event for a TV report