Language Arts, Writing, Writing Process

Grade 1- 3

Objective

The students will be able to write an adventure story that contains a title, as many sentences as you require*, and a conclusion.
*On the peer and teacher assessment sheets, the number of sentences required will be left blank so that you may determine the criteria which meet the needs of your students.

Directions

Prewriting

1. Read an adventure story to your class.
2. Discuss the elements of an adventure story. (Adventure stories have some sort of adventure in them. Some examples of adventure might include climbing a big mountain, going to the first day of school, learning to ride a bike, going to the principal's office, etc. Remember the things that a first and second grader would consider an adventure will be different from those of an adult.) Ask the students the following question: What was the adventure in the book we just read?

1. Distribute a copy of "Adventure Story Starters" (page 93) to each student. Have students select one of the story starters and finish the story by telling what happens in the adventure.
2. Go over the criteria for an adventure story (see objective above). Clarify with students the expectations for these stories. Allow time for students to draft their adventure stories.

1. When the stories are drafted, pair students and have them read each others' stories. Provide copies of "Adventure Story Peer Assessment" (page 94) for this purpose. Partners should check to make sure that all the criteria for the adventure story have been met.
2. Following the peer editing, students should make any necessary changes and revisions before writing the final copies of their stories.

1. Students should type their drafts, using a word-processing program on the computer. Students could illustrate their final copies with a picture of a character or the scenery.
2. Use "Adventure Story Teacher Assessment" (page 95) to evaluate the final copies of the adventure stories.

Resources

• adventure story
• copy of "Adventure Story Starters," "Adventure Story Peer Assessment," and "Adventure Story Teacher Assessment" (pages 93-95) for each student